The Growing Dual National Battle Between Mexico and the US, explained
For the majority of history in North American soccer, Mexico always had the most talent. This is simply indisputable.
It’s even more interesting when one realizes that since the year 2000, the US actually has a winning record over Mexico, with the Yanks having a 17–7–9 (W — D — L) advantage over their southern rivals. However, in spite of these results, Mexico still maintained the edge in technical ability, and the margins weren’t particularly close.
After all, the American game plan against Mexico (or any team, generally) heavily relied on set pieces and speed in transition. American players generally lacked the technical ability necessary to play possessive soccer, and did relied heavily on hard work and athleticism to get past their opponents. Often, it worked, and the few players that did have some technical ability — the Clint Dempseys and Landon Donovans, for instance — were also pretty reliable when it came to pushing the team across the finish line. Not to mention, our goalkeepers were more often than not extremely busy. I’m sure many fans will remember Tim Howard’s heroics at the 2014 World Cup.
But the passing of the 2018 World Cup cycle signaled change. Although the US would fail to qualify for the tournament, there was one silver lining — the rise of Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic had the breakaway speed and explosiveness that was common with past American players, but he was also significantly more technically gifted than his predecessors. He had a soft touch, could beat defenders on the dribble, and the soccer IQ to back up his talent.
Importantly, he was proof that America could develop technical players that weren’t just hardworking, transition merchants.
Eventually, more and more talented players began showing through the ranks for the Red, White, and Blue. The 2019 U — 17 and U — 20 youth cycles both had immensely talented players, many of whom currently play for some of Europe’s best clubs. If you need any examples, just look at Giovanni Reyna, who was a member of the 2019 U — 17 World Cup squad for the USMNT and is considered to be one of the best prospects in international soccer.
Mexico was becoming increasingly aware of the advances of their Northern neighbors, and they signaled their intent in tapping into the rapidly improving American developmental market with the recruitment of Jonathan Gonzalez in 2018.
The Mexican — American, who had been a part of the American youth national system, had had a breakout season with Monterrey in Liga MX, and switched to Mexico in the hopes that he could play at the 2018 World Cup — the tournament that he wouldn’t have been able to play at had he stuck with the USA, who of course did not qualify.
At the time, he was 19.
Gonzalez debuted for Mexico’s senior squad in January, appearing in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the end, however, he was not included in Mexico’s roster for the 2018 World Cup, and he has only appeared in 3 matches for Mexico since switching allegiances.
Now, at the age of 23, his international fate is not only sealed, but finished. Because he filed a one time switch to Mexico, he can’t ever play for the USA, and the Mexican federation doesn’t seem interested in giving him another call up anytime soon. Does he regret his decision? Possibly. There’s an argument to be made that he never quite developed into the player that people thought he would become, and that he doesn’t deserve a call up right now or anytime soon.
But the Mexican federation has not lost anything by recruiting Gonzalez; on the contrary, it was able to take away a prospect from the US, and El Tri knew that poaching Mexican — American players was a way to, at worst, hinder the USA and at best, strengthen its talent pool with some genuinely good players. With the way official national allegiance works in international soccer, all the Mexican federation had to do was promise these players with senior playing time and get them to officially commit to Mexico, whether by a one time switch or an appearance in a competitive match. Once a player is committed, he can never play for another country.
Fast forward 4 years later, and Mexico has had 3 successes of noteworthiness when it comes to recruiting Mexican Americans — these players are David Ochoa, Efrain Alvarez, and Julian Araujo. As it happens, all three of them were developed in the US mainland. Araujo and Ochoa were both key components of the USA youth system before switching, and represented the USMNT at the 2019 U — 20 World Cup and the 2020 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Alvarez, on the other hand, almost exclusively represented Mexico at the youth level before officially committing to Mexico at the senior level.
Alvarez never played in an official FIFA youth tournament for the US, so he didn’t have to file a switch to Mexico. Moreover, his international fate was sealed last year when he played in the 2021 Gold Cup for Mexico. On the other hand, Araujo and Ochoa represented the US at official FIFA youth tournaments, and thus were provisionally cap tied with the US. They both had to file a one time switch to play for Mexico, and this switch alone would have sealed their international fate regardless if they ever played a match for El Tri after switching.
This is especially relevant because it means that the Mexican federation doesn’t have to give any playing time to players who are provisionally cap tied to the USMNT; they just have to promise playing time. This angle of recruitment was used to hire the services of Jonathan Gonzalez. It is highly seen as unethical, and has garnered quite a bit of criticism on behalf of the Mexican federation. As it so happens, David Ochoa hasn’t really had any playing time for Mexico since switching. Julian Araujo has been a bit luckier, appearing for Mexico a tad more often due to the fact that he’s a right back — a position of relative weakness for Mexico.
But if we solely focus on the competitive ramifications of the Mexican federation’s recruitment, it becomes increasingly evident that the talent gap between Mexico and the US has become thinner and thinner.
But importantly, it seems as if the US will have the upper hand when it comes to Mexican — American recruitment for years to come.
I purposely waited on finishing this article until today for one specific reason. This year’s edition of the CONCACAF U — 20 Championship is just about to end this Sunday, with the US facing against the Dominican Republic in the final.
However, the important events have already unfolded in this tournament. Notably, Mexico faced a shock defeat against Guatemala in the quarterfinals. The manner in which the defeat occurred is one of hilarity — Mexico missed a combined 5 penalties (one in regulation time, and 4 in the eventual penalty shoot out).
More important, however, is the fact that this thus means that Mexico does not qualify for the 2023 U — 20 World Cup or the U — 23 soccer tournament at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
The US, on the other hand, qualified for the U — 20 World Cup earlier this week with a victory over Costa Rica, and just qualified for the Olympics a few hours ago with a victory over Honduras.
The Mexican — American dual nationals that are eligible for these tournaments can only play at these international tournaments if they play for the US. Some of these players are genuinely wanted by the US, and they’re talented enough to actually get playing time with the US.
Their other option is to hope that they can get senior playing time with Mexico. Chances are, however, that they are more than knowledgeable of what happened to Jonathan Gonzalez, and they may just be hesitant to commit themselves to a program that has become increasingly known for its unfulfilled promises.
