With a substitute team, Mexico will face Suriname in CONCACAF

After a tour of three preparatory matches for the 2022 World Cup Qatar in which Mexico was left to the collective work, the team led by Argentine Gerardo Martino will return to the field on Saturday to face Suriname with an alternative squad, in a match by the CONCACAF Nations League.

In a preparatory round in the United States, the Mexicans beat Nigeria 2-1, then crushed Uruguay 3-0 and drew 0-0 against Ecuador last weekend.

After those three matches, “Tata” Martino fired 16 of the 38 players called up, most of them starting players, and he would reserve 24 for the match against Suriname and then as a visitor against Jamaica.

“In the football part there are conclusions in the system of the game, with the understanding and belief that there is a system that is more comfortable for us and that we play better,” Martino said after the three games. “A lot of new players have been able to play and some will be able to do so in the Nations League.”

Although Martino has not announced it publicly, the fact appears that the 16 players released already have a safe place in the World Cup final roster and the rest will fight for one of the other 10 players.

Among the players released are most of the players who play in the European leagues, with the exception of Diego Linez (Betis), Urbelín Pineda (Celta) and Marcelo Flores (Arsenal), who have not played in any of the previous three matches.

From the domestic league, Martino fired goalkeepers Guillermo Ochoa (America) and Alfredo Talavera (Juarez), as well as defenders Cesar Montes, Hector Moreno (Monterrey), Jorge Sanchez (America) and midfielders Roberto Alvarado and Alexis Vega. .

“The important thing today is to look for those variables in the World Cup,” Martino added. All teams are in the same search.

In addition to the players already focused on the tour, goalkeeper David Ochoa, of Real Salt Lake of the MLS, mentioned his contenders for the title in the two matches with Carlos Acevedo and Rodolfo Cota.

After the next two matches, which are official tournaments, Martino will have a little training ahead of the World Cup in Qatar. A friendly match is scheduled for August, most likely with Paraguay, after which there will be two more matches in September.

The match against Suriname is the first for Group A in the regional tournament for nations to qualify for the cup, and Jamaica is also in this field.

Only the winner from each group advances to the next round.

Mexico finished second in the previous edition, the first in history, by losing the final to the United States.