Mexico is clear that Qatar 2022 cannot be the same as the past seven editions of the FIFA World Cup, where they were automatically and painfully eliminated in the Round of 16 after thrilling their fans with a great group stage. That is why Gerardo Martino and the Mexican Federation want to use every possible tool at their disposal, even at the expense of the USMNT.
El Tri is paired in Group C of Qatar 2022 along with Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, a group that will undoubtedly require them to play to the best of their abilities in order to fulfill the tradition of eight consecutive World Cups by advancing past the first phase.
The Stars and Stripes will also have a tough test to overcome in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, as they share group B with England, Iran and one more European opponent that will be drawn from the Ukraine, Scotland and Wales, all of which have enough talent to make any team's night at Qatar 2022 a bitter one.
Watch out USMNT: MLS gem in Mexico's sights
Globalization and migratory phenomena have opened up a range of possibilities for many National Teams, but they are also a source of dispute. That is the case of Mexico and the USMNT, which recently competed to seduce and convince promising young soccer players of both nationalities to play with them. MLS's striker Cade Cowell's situation is a clear example of this.
Born in California in 2003, Cowell can choose to play for either the U.S. or Mexico National Team. This is because he is of American father and Mexican mother. After dazzling in U15 national tournaments, he joined the San Jose Earthquakes academy in 2018.
He participated in the USL Championship with Reno 1868, a club affiliated with the Quakes, until in 2019, after signing his contract as a Homegrown player, he made his debut with San Jose in the US Open Cup. His first steps in MLS came until 2020 where he even scored a goal in his first game as a starter, against LA Galaxy.
Cade Cowell's stats in the MLS so far
The 18-year-old has 57 appearances for the San Jose Earthquakes so far, 22 of them as a starter, and has scored 7 goals; in the previous season he had a career-high 5 goals and 6 assists. Some impressive numbers for a youngster like Cowell.
Record's insider David Medrano revealed that Gerardo Martino and Mexico National Team have every intention of having Cade Cowell follow in the footsteps of LA Galaxy's Julian Araujo and Real Salt Lake's David Ochoa, both of whom have opted not to represent the USMNT but Mexico, due to the interest shown in them by Martino and his coaching staff.
It should be noted that the current San Jose Earthquakes forward has already played for the USMNT, both at the youth and youth levels, as well as at the senior level. In fact, Greg Berhalter debuted him in December 2021 in a friendly match against Bosnia, however, he could still play for Mexico because he has not yet played in an official competition as an International American player.
