Top 25 Mexican Players

Top 25 Mexican Players (updated 4/6/18)

THE MEXICO TOP 25!

If you aren’t aware of my current project, I will be collaborating with other El Tri experts every month and rank who we deem to be the best Mexican players at the moment. It isn’t a “best of the month” list, but recent performances will of course influence our decisions. It should be fun.

Remember, these rankings are subjective. My main goal is to inspire discussion and conversations about our top players. Let us know any and all thoughts.

Collaborators from this month include: Jason Marquitz, Jon Arnold, Bryan W and yours truly.

1. Hirving Lozano
Club: PSV Eindhoven
Age: 22
Position: Midfielder/Winger
“Heading into the World Cup, Lozano will likely continue to be Mexico’s most in-form player” -Cesar

2. Hector Herrera
Club: Porto
Age: 27
Position: Midfielder
“The Porto captain has continued his solid play and is a guaranteed starter for Mexico this summer” -Jason

3. Andres Guardado
Club: Real Betis
Age: 31
Position: Midfielder
“Although injury problems seemed to take a toll in his recent El Tri performances, Mexico’s captain should quickly bounce back” -Cesar

4. Hector Moreno
Club: Real Sociedad
Age: 30
Position: Defender
“This is Moreno’s time to shine. He needs to finish this La Liga season off strong, especially with all eyes on Mexico’s defense in Russia” -Bryan

5. Javier Hernandez
Club: West Ham
Age: 29
Position: Striker
“Despite the fact that Chicharito is an undisputed starter for Mexico, a lack of consistent starts and minutes for West Ham will do little to boost his confidence heading into the World Cup” -Cesar

6. Raul Jimenez
Club: Benfica
Age: 26
Position: Striker
“When he plays, he performs. Would be nice if he played more” -Jason

7. Carlos Salcedo
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Age: 24
Position: Defender
“Unfortunate to see Salcedo suffer an injury during the international break. Hoping he is fully fit and ready to go before the summer” -Cesar

8. Miguel Layun
Club: Sevilla
Age: 29
Position: Defender
“Layún scored two goals against Iceland, gave up a pk against Croatia, then filled in brilliantly against Barcelona. Let’s hope he continues his role with Sevilla” -Bryan

9. Guillermo Ochoa
Club: Standard Liege
Age: 32
Position: Goalkeeper
“Regardless of what Corona or Talavera accomplish in net during the next several week, Ochoa should still be Mexico’s No. 1 goalkeeping option” -Cesar

10. Carlos Vela
Club: LAFC
Age: 29
Position: Striker/Midfielder
“It would be hard to have a more impactful start to his MLS campaign” -Jason

11. Jesus Manuel Corona
Club: Porto
Age: 25
Position: Midfielder/Striker
“The kid suffered some personal tragedies late last year and that’s something we all need to keep in mind. Tecatito has understandably looked lost in recent months” -Cesar

12. Diego Reyes
Club: Porto
Age: 25
Position: Defender
“Porto continues to rotate players around and it backfired this past weekend. Reyes was cemented in and his absence was evident as Porto lost 1st in Portugal” -Bryan

13. Nestor Araujo
Club: Santos Laguna
Age: 26
Position: Defender
“After an injury scare, all signs point to Araujo returning to the field by next month at the latest” -Cesar

14. Jonathan dos Santos
Club: LA Galaxy
Age: 27
Position: Midfielder
“An injury kept him out of the latest Mexico friendlies, but a World Cup roster place is a near certainty” -Jason

15. Marco Fabian
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder
“If Mexico is looking for a true No. 10, Fabian is easily one of the leading candidates in the roster” -Cesar

16. Javier Aquino
Club: Tigres
Age: 28
Position: Midfielder/Winger
“He got on the board this last weekend, yet, León was totally out of sorts. Hope he keeps his confidence high” -Bryan

17. Oribe Peralta
Club: America
Age: 34
Position: Striker
“Whether we like it or not, Oribe continues to be a relevant figure for club and country” -Cesar

18. Edson Alvarez
Club: America
Age: 20
Position: Defender/Midfielder
“His defensive skill and positional flexibility make him a player that will be important to El Tri for years to come” -Jason

19. Rodolfo Pizarro
Club: Chivas
Age: 24
Position: Midfielder
“It’s clear that Pizarro wants to go to the World Cup, and with each passing Chivas game, it’s becoming more difficult to argue against it” -Cesar

20. Omar Govea
Club: Royal Excel Mouscron
Age: 22
Position: Midfielder
“He isn’t going to get a lot of praise for his minutes against Croatia, but he never stopped moving. His head was in the right spot” -Bryan

21. Jose de Jesus Corona
Club: Cruz Azul
Age: 37
Position: Goalkeeper
“While other places in the roster are desperate for more depth, Mexico is at least covered with a reliable backup goalkeeper like Corona” -Cesar

22. Erick Gutierrez
Club: Pachuca
Age: 22
Position: Midfielder
“His exclusion from the latest Mexico roster likely means any hope for World Cup place will need to focus on 2022” -Jason

23. Giovani dos Santos
Club: LA Galaxy
Age: 28
Position: Striker
“Once he returns from injury, Gio has an immense amount to prove for the Galaxy” -Cesar

24. Cesar Montes
Club: Monterrey
Age: 21
Position: Defender
“Cesar deserves to be considered for Russia, especially with such a thin lineup after the Euros in defense” -Bryan

25. Hugo Ayala
Club: Tigres
Age: 31
Position: Defender
“He might not be the most exciting defending name, but if injury complications continue for El Tri, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Ayala earn some minutes this summer” -Cesar

Honorable mentions: Elias Hernandez, Jose Juan Vazquez, Jonathan Gonzalez, Henry Martin, Paul Aguilar.

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