Gold Cup 2023: Why was Carlos Vela called up to Mexico?

This isn’t a good context for Mexico to contend for the title. The 2023 Gold Cup finds them in a disorganized situation following the loss to the USMNT in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals a week ago.

The team won’t be led by Diego Cocca because the head coach was fired despite being hired this year. There weren’t good games played by Mexico during his brief stint, but it still seemed like the decision was based more on off-field issues.

There are going to be several big absences in the tournament from different teams. However, Carlos Vela should be included among the most important names. The LAFC striker won’t be representing his country.

Why isn’t Carlos Vela playing for Mexico?

The roster for the tournament was already set before Cocca was fired. However, he was out of it even before the later move. Vela is not playing for Mexico because he resigned from the national team in 2018. His last game was a round of 16 loss to Brazil in the World Cup played in Russia.