Close on the heels of El Tri’s impressive World Cup performance, Mexico’s Under-20 men’s squad has qualified for next year’s U-20 World Cup and is on the verge of earning an invitation to the 2028 Olympics.
At the same time, El Tri’s U-23 team has reached the final of the Central America and Caribbean Games where it will face Venezuela on Friday evening in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
Coach Alex Diego’s U-20 team faces Canada on Friday night in Puebla with a spot in the final on the line. The winner will face either Costa Rica or Team USA who play earlier Friday.
Team Mexico earned its berth in the semifinals by manhandling Panama 4-0 on Wednesday, its fourth straight shut-out in the tournament, which features 12 teams from the Concacaf region competing for four tickets to the World Cup.
All four semifinalists automatically secured invites to the U-20 World Cup, so now the battle is for the lone remaining Concacaf berth in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
As the host nation, the U.S. receives one of the two Olympics spots reserved for Concacaf teams.
That means if Team USA defeats Costa Rica and Mexico gets past Canada, El Mini Tri will have clinched a trip to the Olympics regardless of the outcome in Sunday’s final. However, if Costa Rica upsets the Stars-and-Stripes, then Mexico would have to win the final to earn a spot in the Olympics.
Of course, coach Diego’s goal is to hoist the trophy on home soil, but to do so, El Tri will have to overcome a pair of key injuries and the suspension of its first-choice goalie.
Attacking midfielder Santiago Sandoval required surgery after breaking a finger during the team’s 2-0 victory over Costa Rica in the team’s second group stage match, ending his participation in the tournament.
Of equal concern is the status of winger Hugo Camberos, a rising star who has attracted attention from English Premier League clubs.
Camberos has scored in each of Mexico’s matches thus far, but limped off the pitch late in Wednesday’s match and his availability for the semifinal is in question.
The situation in goal for Mexico is of lesser concern since back-up goalie Cristo Navarrete kept a clean sheet in both starts since first-choice keeper Juan Liceaga was shown a red card in El Tri’s second match.
