Mexico reveals part of its World Cup squad, makes key decisions amid mass confusion

Erik Lima and Armando González are poised to play at the World Cup for cohost Mexico Agustin Cuevas / Getty Images One of the most anticipated parts of a World Cup are the official squad announcements. Brazil has made it a tradition to televise the squad reveal on public television. It makes for fun social media content, as fans enjoy the reactions from Brazilian players and their families. Mexico has a tradition of its own when a World Cup is right around the corner. It's not always a feel-good story, though. There have been several controversies over more than a decade involving parties and players that have led to suspensions and media firestorms. The latest episode won't make it into the Mexican tabloids. It does, however, underscore a tendency by the Mexican national team to muddle the process unnecessarily. On Tuesday the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) released a list of 20 Liga MX-based players -- 12 of whom are guaranteed a World Cup squad place -- who will take part in a mini pre-World Cup camp in Mexico City beginning on May 6. The other eight players are candidates to be part of Mexico's 2030 World Cup qualifying cycle. They'll challenge the World Cup-bound players in training as Mexico prepares to play its final warm-up matches against Ghana (May 22), Australia (May 29) and Serbia (June 4). But what first began as a novel idea by the FMF and head coach Javier Aguirre, to prioritize team chemistry and tactics prior to the World Cup, has confused fans and angered pundits. The FMF and its sporting director, Duilio Davino, had originally planned to release the partial World Cup list before last weekend. That date was then pushed to Monday. The delay led to speculation in Mexico that perhaps Davino and Aguirre weren't on the same page. An FMF spokesperson told The Athletic on Tuesday that a publish date for the partial list had actually been set for Tuesday, and that Monday had not been the agreed upon date. In the meantime, the internet did its thing. One social media meme compared the announcement of the incomplete list to the official announcement of the Catholic church when a new pope is introduced. "There's still no habemus from the national team regarding the Liga MX players," one X user joked. Davino had told reporters that no player on the list would miss the Liga MX playoffs (which begin this weekend) and not take part in the World Cup. That meant that any player from Chivas, Club América, Cruz Azul, Tigres, Pachuca, Pumas, Atlas, and Toluca who Aguirre chose was guaranteed a World Cup place. The FMF spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that the additional 14 players who make the final World Cup squad will come from Europe and other leagues outside of Mexico. For now, Aguirre named five Chivas players and one each from Cruz Azul, América and Toluca. But before this much-anticipated list was placed on FMF letterhead, members of the Mexican press began to report the names of players who had been excluded. Late on Monday night, it was reported that American-born dual national Richard Ledezma, an attacking right fullback with Chivas, along with Toluca midfielder Marcel Ruiz and Cruz Azul midfielder Charly Rodríguez had been omitted from the list. Ledezma, 25, made his senior international debut with the U.S. in March of 2020 and made the FIFA-mandated one-time switch to Mexico in January. Ledezma played well in Mexico's January and February friendlies against Panama and Iceland. His Chivas teammate and another Mexican-American, 22-year-old Brian Gutiérrez, was among those chosen by Aguirre, along with midfielders Erik Lira (Cruz Azul), Luis Romo (Chivas) and Gilberto Mora (Tijuana). Rodríguez was on Mexico's 2022 World Cup team, yet despite being a 10-year national team player, the 29-year-old is not universally respected by Mexico's demanding supporters. Ruiz, conversely, was seen as an emerging player with a modern midfield profile. The 25-year-old has been a staple of Aguirre's starting XI, but a knee injury in March put his participation this summer in jeopardy. Ruiz was hurt during a Concacaf Champions Cup match against San Diego FC. Toluca initially announced the injury as a rupture of Ruiz's right anterior cruciate ligament, plus some damage to his medial meniscus. Surgery and a long recovery period was set to be the next step for the player, but Ruiz decided to forgo an invasive medical procedure after the injury was downgraded to a partial ACL tear. His much-publicized injury comeback was ultimately unsuccessful. While Rodriguez's exclusion was tactical, the Ruiz decision was philosophical. Aguirre had made it clear that injured players would remain on the outside looking in. "As long as I'm here, no one is going to come (to the national team) who isn't 100 percent," Aguirre said on March 31. "They have to be playing and be match fit. They may be playing well or poorly but they have to be participating, even if it's training with their first team." Ruiz had made his way back into Toluca's starting lineup last week. Aguirre was watching closely and openly hopeful that Ruiz would make a miraculous recovery. Unfortunately for Ruiz, the World Cup is a competition where fitness and squad depth often overshadow tactics. One player who has earned an opportunity to feature in his first World Cup is Chivas center forward Armando González. Nicknamed "Hormiga" (the Ant), González, 23, is battling Paulinho (Toluca) and João Pedro (Atlético San Luis) to be the 2026 Clausura tournament's top scorer. González has only made six senior national team appearances, all under Aguirre. The manager is expected to take three strikers, with Fulham's Raúl Jiménez and AC Milan's Santiago Giménez potentially joining González. Giménez recently returned to training with Milan's first-team after undergoing ankle surgery in December. Per Aguirre and FMF's rationale, González is guaranteed to be part of Mexico's squad when El Tri open the World Cup and Group A matchplay against South Africa on June 11. Giménez and captain Edson Álvarez, who also had ankle surgery this winter, are in a race to get fit in time for the World Cup. If Giménez is ruled out, Inter Miami's Germán Berterame could have a clearer path to find his way back into the team this summer. Despite all of the mixed messaging, confusion and piecemeal roster revelations, clarity is forthcoming. Mexico will announce its final 26-man World Cup squad on June 1.