The Mexico national soccer team has had a large number of great players that took their game to the best level, turning their country into a Concacaf force. Some of them did it performing in the greatest local teams, while others fulfilled their dream of making a move abroad shining alongside worldwide known superstars. The Mexico schedule 2021 is demanding but El Tri have reasons for optimism.
At the moment, Gerardo Martino can rely on a significant amount of players that perform in Europe, which is considered to involve the best teams and footballers in the world. Well, Mexico have some of their own featuring in that level.
El Tricolor arguably is the most powerful side in the region at the moment, and that's partly because of having a bunch of their players taking part in Europe's prime competitions. Here, check out the best Mexican players in those teams.
Andrés Guardado - (Real Betis)
To begin with, we start with the iconic midfielder and captain from El Tricolor. One of the most experienced in the squad, Guardado has been a figure of the Mexico national team for a long time due to his leadership skills and the talent that enabled him to perform in Europe since 2007.
He amassed 143 games playing for Deportivo La Coruna before moving to Valencia, then had a short spell in Bayer Leverkusen, and after that PSV signed him. Guardado is currently playing his fourth season for Real Betis, where he earned an important place as well with his experience.
The 34-year-old played a huge part for El Tricolor in his career. He took part in four FIFA World Cups - 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 - and lifted three Concacaf Gold Cup trophies. Guardado is the second player with most appearances for Mexico with 163 games, below Claudio Suárez who has 177.
Hirving Lozano - (Napoli)
'Chucky' Lozano is probably the most exciting Mexican player at the moment. It didn't take too long for him to jump into professional soccer, as he made his first appearance at Pachuca with only 18 years of age. Almost four years later, PSV signed him.
Lozano was up to the challenge with the Dutch side, being the team's leading goalscorer in his two-year stint. Napoli meant another huge step in his career, in the most expensive transfer in history for a Mexican player - tied with Raúl Jiménez. And he didn't let the Italians down, as he made his way to being recognized as one of the best wingers in Serie A.
With El Tricolor, he took part in the 2018 World Cup, in which his goal against Germany in the first game cleared the path for Mexico to progress to the following stage.
Diego Lainez - (Real Betis)
Lainez is a young, promising talent that Real Betis have in their squad with high hopes for his future. The 20-year-old is expected to be one of the greatest players, not only for Mexico but in the world as well, as over the last years many newspapers ranked him among the best youth talents.
He already was called up for Mexico's senior squad playing a part in International Friendlies. Lainez still is developing as a soccer player on the big stage, but he has a bright future ahead.
Raúl Jiménez - (Wolverhampton)
The Wolverhampton striker earned recognition as one of the best offensive players in the entire Premier League. He is, alongside the likes of Lozano and Guardado, one of the greatest Mexican players at the moment.
Atlético de Madrid were the first one to bring him to Europe after he became unstoppable in Liga MX playing for América. Even though that move didn't turn out well, from then on Jiménez went on rising in soccer's elite level. He bounced back in Benfica, before making a permanent move to Wolverhampton. Jiménez was the top scorer and named MVP of the English side in two consecutive seasons - 2018/19 and 2019/20.
He and Hirving Lozano share the record for the most expensive transfers for a Mexican player in history. Moreover, Jiménez tasted success in the 2012 Olympic Games with the Mexico national team U-23's, played in the 2018 World Cup, and lifted the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Jesús Manuel Corona - (Porto)
The winger moved to Europe shortly after making his first steps in Monterrey. Corona played for Twente for three seasons before calling the attention of Portuguese giants Porto, where he established himself as a great player.
Corona saw first-team action from the very beginning with that side and went on to spend many years with them in a successful stint which included five domestic titles. He already featured for more than 200 matches there and was named best player of the Liga NOS 2019/20 season.
Edson Álvarez - (Ajax)
Mexico have a good piece at the back in Edson Álvarez. He performs for Dutch giants Ajax, who signed him for around $17 million in 2019. Asides from being a solid central-back, Álvarez can also be a good option for the right-back or even may perform as a defensive midfielder.
He already played important tournaments with El Tricolor, such as the 2018 Russia World Cup, and two Concacaf Gold Cups, including the successful campaign in 2019 when they claimed the title.
Héctor Herrera - (Atlético de Madrid)
The midfielder was also part of the Mexican squad that claimed the gold medal in London 2012, and he built an impressive career to remain for many years in top European teams.
He arrived at Porto for the 2013/14 season and stayed with them for six years, in which he played an amazing amount of 253 matches. He left in 2019 to a big Spanish side like Atlético de Madrid, where he still performs, being one of the Mexicans that are currently in a world-class side.
