It’s no secret that Mexico are favored in these matchups, having won 26 of the previous 27 meetings between the two teams. Honduras have won seven games and drawn 10 others thus far.

As part of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, their last meeting occurred on March 27, 2022, when El Tri came out on top, winning by a score of 1-0. When these two nations meet for the first time since then, in the 2023 Gold Cup, it promises to be an even more intriguing encounter.

Why is Mexico’s Diego Lainez missing the 2023 Gold Cup?

After having won the 2023 Liga MX Clausura with Tigres UANL, winger Diego Lainez is getting ready to end a hectic season by being left out of the Mexican National Team. Ahead of the June friendlies and CONCACAF’s Nations League finals and Gold Cup, the Mexican Federation released their provisional squad at the start of the month.

In preparation for the Nations League, the initial roster of 33 was reduced to the final 23, and the 23-year-old was thus one of the players cut from the roster. This will be the second time this season that Lainez has been left out of a major competition after being ruled out of the Qatar 2022 roster.

Problems in the scoring department have dogged Mexico for the last 12 months, and it’s unknown whether any of their top strikers will be able to return to form in time.Prior to the friendly match against Iraq on November 9 in Spain, the team revealed their preliminary World Cup squad on October 26. Finally, on November 14, the final roster of 26 players was released.

Before leaving for Qatar, El Tri trained in Girona, Spain, where they played friendlies against Iraq and Sweden. On November 22, they will face Poland in the first game of Group C.There won’t be anybody as crucial as Diego Lainez to help them in their pursuit of aspot in the round of 16.

Why is Diego Lainez missing the Qatar 2022 World Cup?

On Monday, Mexico coach Gerardo Martinoannounced his rosterfor the 2022 World Cup, and Diego Lainez is one of the most notable players who did not make the cut. The 59-year-old managerrevealed the names of the 26 players he would be calling up out of the 31 who were in Girona for the camp, confirming Lainez’s absence.

Although his quality has been acknowledged before, the current Sporting Braga winger on loan from Real Betisdidn’t appear to be enough to sway the Mexican coach, who instead opted for Roberto Alvarado of Cruz Azul as a scoring threat. Unexpectedly, Lainez still showed up in Girona for the Mexican national team’s final training session before departing for Qatar to watch the 2022 World Cup, where they will compete without him.

In recent years, the 22-year-oldhas been a key player for the Mexican national team. The striker left Mexican soccer, but he hasn’t found the consistency he was hoping for with any of the European teams he’s played for.Lainez realized upon joining Real Betis that he would have to work hard to earn a spot on the team.

After fewer chances presented themselves, the La Ligaclub loaned him to Sporting Braga in the hopes that he would recover his best form and develop personally and professionally. The player now seems to have been unsuccessful in his search for a suitable destination, as shown by his willingness to consider other locations. Consequently, the lack of rhythm has been costly for his call to the national team.

Currently, Gerardo Martino and the Mexican National Team have a low number of their players playing in Europe’s top leagues. There are Mexicans in Italy, Spain, and England. However, not all of them have earned the chance to play week in and week out.

Looking ahead to Qatar 2022, there is no Mexican player in Europe who stands out from the rest of his compatriots. Raúl Jimenez has not been able to return to the level he had before his skull injury and Hirving Lozano has suffered from various injuries that have taken away his rhythm. Andres Guardado is at the end of his career and Hector Herrera has just said goodbye to Atletico Madrid as he will emigrate to MLS.

Mexican soccer player in the sights of Bayer Leverkusen in Germany

While Bayer Leverkusen’s 2021-2022 season did not include any titles, finishing third in the Bundesliga, one of the best leagues in the world, is a significant achievement. Thus, Leverkusen is an interesting destination for any Mexican looking to emigrate to Europe. However, its coach, Gerardo Seoane, has already expressed which player from El Tri he would like to sign. The lucky one plays in Spain’s LaLiga.

“We look a lot at foreign players. We like players with an offensive profile, fast players. There is a very good Mexican who plays in Spain and I would like to see him in our ranks, but there is a lot of competition“, stated Seoane in a press conference prior to a friendly match Bayer Leverkusen is having in Mexico against Club Toluca.

Following the profile of the Mexican that Seone would like to sign for Bayer Leverkusen, the options are limited to Jesus Corona of Sevilla, Orbelín Pineda of Celta Vigo and Diego Lainez of Betis. All are players who stand out for their speed and skill, although Pinedaplays much more in midfield and Lainez and Corona play on the flanks.

However, all indications are that it is Diego Lainez who could be on Bayer Leverkusen’s wish list for next season. According to ESPN Mexico, when Betis and Leverkusen met in October 2021 in the Europa League, Lainez caught Seoane’s attention and there was a rapprochement between the two sides, but nothing materialized.

Mexican players who have played for Bayer Leverkusen

The relationship between Bayer Leverkusen and the Mexican players has already had a few chapters written in the past. Specifically, there are two. It all started when in January 2014, Andres Guardado, now a Betis player, and teammate and mentor of Diego Lainez, played 6 months with Leverkusen, without much success.

The other Mexican who wore the Bayer shirt left a very pleasant sensation. That was Chicharito Hernandez, now playing for the LA Galaxy, who won over the Leverkusen fans with his goals. In two seasons, Hernandez played 76 games and scored 39 goals. Very decent records.

First of all, Lainez who was battling injury returned to the Real Betis team on October 3rd but since then has only featured in one La Liga match out of six. Lainez was an unused sub in five matches and played only 20 minutes against Rayo Vallecano on October 24th.

When Tata Martino put out his squad it was important for those called in to have had first team minutes in the lead up to the two matches. Lainez has not played in his last three games missing out against Valencia, Atletico Madrid, and Sevilla.

Diego Lainez not on Mexico roster

For Diego Lainez his season has been largely disappointing in his now fourth year in Spain he has not scored a single goal and has only played 21 games at the most last season. This season Lainez has played only 2 games both substitute appearances.

Andrés Guardado, Lainez Betis teammate did make the squad while other notable absences is most of the MLS contingent of players, Johnathan Dos Santos, Rodolfo Pizarro, Efraín Álvarez, and Alan Pulido.

On the international front, Lainez has scored 3 times in 14 outings for El Tri, his last goal coming in a friendly against Panama. Nonetheless, Tata Martino has not had Lainez in the last few qualifying call ups, mostly due to injury and drop in form.

Now with Mexico set to take on Canada in the Azteca and two more games after that, Mexico will have to continue their road to Qatar 2022 without Diego Lainez as he was left off the roster. Here is why Diego Lainez is not with Mexico.

Diego Lainez out of Mexico squad

Diego Lainez is coming back from injury with Betis, and this was one of the reasons Tata Martino left him off the roster for these three games. Martino thought it best that Lainez return to full fitness at the club level and come back stronger for Mexico. Kind of what Gregg Berhalter did with Pulisic and Gio Reyna for the USMNT.

Martino is slated to put out Ochoa; Guardado, Araujo, Montes, Sanchez; Dos Santos, Herrera, Pineda; Corona, Jimenez, and Funes Mori for tonight ‘s game against Canada. Mexico sits first in Concacaf octagonal World Cup qualifying.

Ranging from his playing days as a goalkeeper, when he conceded a spectacular bicycle kick goal against Hugo Sánchez and then dared the ‘Pentapichichi’ to do it again since “he wouldn’t score another (goal) like that in 100 years”– which Sánchez did.

Going through his claim that the 2002 Apertura title Toluca won with Alberto Jorge as manager — since La Volpe was appointed as new Mexican national team head coach mid-tournament– should be awarded to himself. And then, his refusal to call up Cuauhtémoc Blanco to the 2006 World Cup at the peak of his playing career, seemingly because of a grudge after Blanco celebrated mockingly in front of him in a Club América – Atlas game in 1999.

Publicly calling out multiple managers and team presidents, not shaking the opposing head coach’s hand before games, wearing a dragon tie as a good luck charm, bragging about Pep Guardiola admiring his style of play and then calling him a ‘vendehumos’, and being accused of sexual harassment, ‘El Bigotón’ usually finds a way to be in the spotlight.

His most recent jewel of a statement compared Diego Lainez, to whom he handed his debut as Club América manager in 2017, to Lionel Messi, something La Volpe has donein the past. In 2020, the 1978 FIFA World Cup winner advised Mexico national team manager Gerardo Martino on how to properly use the current Betis man, since he is a “Messi type”. Now, the controversial figure doubled down on his opinion in an interview with The Athletic.

“Physically they’re the same player. I always compared Lainez to Messi because of his physical attributes and his burst off the dribble, his dribbling and his intelligence as a creator. He’s going to continue to get better. He’s a very important player for Mexico’s future”, La Volpe argued. Although the Buenos Aires native never stated Lainez and Messi both have the same level of talent, or that the young Mexican star could ever be what ‘La Pulga’ is, he did mention both of them in the same sentence.

Similarities between Messi and Lainez

Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina, while Lainez on June 9, 2000 in Villahermosa, México. Messi is 5’7’’ while Lainez is 5’6’’. Both are left-footed attacking players. They were both born in the same month, have similar heights and play in near-identical positions on the pitch. Both players made their professional debuts at 17, Messi doing so against Espanyol in a 2004 LaLiga match and Lainez plying his trade for the first time against Santos Laguna in the 2017 Clausura Copa MX.

‘La Pulga’’s time during his first season at the Barcelona first team (2004/05) ended with a tally of nine games and one goal, totalling 238 minutes and the obtention of the LaLiga title.Lainez‘s first season: 11 games, registering two assists over 664 minutes. Messiplayed in the UEFA Champions League, and against far tougher rivals, having a slightly higher goal contribution than his Mexican counterpart.

Differences between Messi and Lainez

Messi’s meteoric rise to the height of world soccer took him a mere four years after his first team debut. During the 2008/09 season, he took over Ronaldinho’s iconic number 10 and under Guardiola’s leadership, led the ‘Culés’ to their first-ever treble. The Rosario native capped off a highly successful year with a resounding 2-0 Barcelona win over Manchester United in the Champions League final, a tournament in which he ended as top scorer with 9 goals. At the end of the year, Messi won the first of his six Ballon D’Ors, overcoming Cristiano Ronaldo in the final vote.

As for Lainez, the 2021/22 season is almost exactly four years after his first-team debut in March of 2017. Asking anyone to even come close to what Messi has achieved is impossible, and the Mexican international is no exception. After an injury had him removed from the Bronze medal match at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Lainez is yet to make his first appearance for Real Betis this season. Just for comparisonsake, Messi’s 2008/09 season (his fourth year as a first team player) ended with 38 goals and 19 assists in 51 games.

The Club América youth product just turned 21 but has never been able to establish himself as a solid starter for ‘Los Verdiblancos’ for more than a few games at a time. Lainez is one of Mexico’s most promising players, something he showed against the U.S. in the Concacaf Nationals League final with a 79th minute goal, and regular Olympic outings from the bench, but still needs consistency to reach what an entire country expects of him.

Comparisons, especially to a legend of the game, are rarely fair. La Volpe, as an experienced manager and with a 40-year long career in soccer, should know that doing so with Lainez and Messi will only tack on unnecessary pressure onthe 21-year old. All we shouldexpect from the left-footed virtuoso born in Villahermosa is stability, professionalism, and a spark of brilliance here and there that will have ‘El Bigotón’ mentioning him in the same sentence as ‘La Pulga’ once again.

The two defeats at the hands of the USA over the last few months have put coach Gerardo Martino under pressure. Following a shocking loss in the Concacaf Nations League final, El Tri’s 2021 Gold Cup journey ended in disappointment as well.

Now it’s time to turn the page and they have to focus on bouncing back on the road to the next World Cup. The international break doesn’t come in the best timing, though, as they won’t have Lainez, among others.

Why is Diego Lainez not playing for Mexico in The Octo?

The Real Betis playmaker wasn’t included in Gerardo Martino’s squad. Diego Lainez hasn’t recovered from an ankle injury he suffered in the Tokyo 2020 bronze medal match against Japan.

That night, El Tri U23s ended up celebrating by claiming the third place in the Olympic Games, but the 21-year-old star would immediately receive bad news. Lainez hasn’t been able to play since then and now misses the international fixture.

However, he is expected to be back sooner rather than later, which is why this could be just a minor setback in his promising professional path. Mexico must overcome this situation and receive Lainez in a strong position inthe next international window.

Other Top Stories:

Concacaf World Cup Qualifying 2022: Schedule for September matches

2022 World Cup Qualifiers: Why was Carlos Vela not called up by Mexico?

Why isn’t Hirving Lozano playing for Mexico?

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 ofhaving 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 thesquad, Guardado has been afigureof 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 intoprofessional 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 madehis 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 gamecleared 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 withhigh hopes for his future. The 20-year-old is expected to be one of the greatest players, not only forMexico but in the world as well, as overthe last yearsmany newspapers ranked him among the best youth talents.

He already was called up for Mexico’s senior squad playing a part in International Friendlies. Lainezstill is developing as a soccer player onthe 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 greatestMexican players at the moment.

Atlético de Madrid were the first oneto bring him to Europeafter he became unstoppable in Liga MX playing for América. Even though that move didn’t turn out well, from then on Jiménez wentonrisingin soccer’s elite level. He bounced back in Benfica, before making a permanent move to Wolverhampton. Jiménez was the top scorer and named MVP ofthe 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 teamU-23’s, played in the 2018 World Cup, and lifted the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.

Jesús ManuelCorona – (Porto)

The winger movedto 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 actionfrom the very beginning with that sideand went on to spend many years with them in a successful stint which included five domestic titles. He already featured for more than 200matches thereand was namedbest player of the Liga NOS 2019/20 season.

Edson Álvarez – (Ajax)

Mexico have a good piece at the back in Edson Álvarez. Heperforms for Dutch giants Ajax, whosigned him for around $17million in 2019. Asides from being a solid central-back, Álvarez can also be a good option for the right-back or even may perform asa defensive midfielder.

He already played important tournaments with El Tricolor, such as the 2018 Russia World Cup, and two Concacaf Gold Cups, including the successfulcampaign 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 of253 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.