Today, the Mexico Football Federation revealed that the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup will feature an El Tri side with 11 countrymen who have played with their clubs in Europe.
Two big names for Mexico include Real Madrid forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Real Sociedad man Carlos Vela. These players will also be joined by Giovani dos Santos and his brother, Jonathan, both from La Liga side Villarreal.
For Hernandez, a move to Real Madrid originally seemed to damage aspirations of first-team soccer, but he’s begun to take advantage of his opportunities, scoring four goals and adding two assists in the month of April.
On the contrary, the elder Dos Santos and Vela have endured seasons slowed by injury, and will look forward to the Gold Cup to improve their form.
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As far as Mexico internationals making their presence felt across the Atlantic, captain and PSV midfielder Andres Guardado has enjoyed a wonder season in the Dutch Eredivisie and was therefore named the league’s player of the year.
Another important man in the midfield for the Greens is FC Porto’s Hector Herrera, in addition to Guardado’s fellow Eredivisie player, FC Twente’s Jesus “Tecatito” Corona.
Mexico’s defense will have the services of Hector Moreno, recently subject to a $10.9 million bid from Arsenal, according to The Metro. Moreno last started for Mexico in a 1-0 friendly win over Ecuador at the LA Coliseum. Herrera’s teammate at Porto, Diego Reyes, and Miguel Layun, who signed with recently-promoted English side Watford FC in January, will also be present in the backline.
Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is still the first-choice goalkeeper despite seeing his minutes at Malaga diminish.
Twelve other players, all based domestically, will be named later in the Mexico’s Gold Cup roster.
