Mexico Reveals Final 26-Man Squad for Copa América 2024

We previously highlighted the provisional squad used as Mexico prepared for the competition. In preparation, Lozano's side played against Bolivia, Uruguay and Brazil. A run which resulted in one win and two defeats, including a dramatic last-minute loss to 5-times World Cup champions Brazil.

The provisional squad saw 31 players selected by Lozano, giving the manager a wide range of options to choose from. The problem is that it makes it harder to then cut players at the very last hurdle, days before the very start of the Copa América. Nonetheless, the difficult decision has been made and announced.

Mexico kick their campaign off against Jamaica on Saturday 22nd June at 19:00 CST before travelling to face Venezuela on Wednesday 26th June at the same time. The final group stage fixture will see Mexico face Ecuador on Sunday 30th June at 18:00 CST.

Announced ahead of the friendly with Brazil was the blow that América goalkeeper Luis Malagón will miss the competition through injury. In his place is Santos Laguna's Carlos Acevedo who will likely play a rotational role behind Raúl Rangel and Julio González, who will both compete for the Number 1 shirt.

The five players missing out are:

1. Victor Guzmán

A real blow for the 22-year-old defender. Guzmán is a regular for Los Rayados but unfortunately struggled to control an in-form Darwin Núñez, who went on to score a hattrick when the two sides faced each other last week. Lozano believes that there is enough cover in the position with Johan Vásquez (Genoa), Jorge Orozco (Chivas), Edson Álvarez (West Ham United), Brian García (Toluca) and Cesar Montes (Almería) being selected ahead of the youngster.

2. Andrés Montaño

Another to feature in the youthful squad which beat Bolivia, Montaño was not named on the bench for the defeat to Uruguay but was unused from the bench against Brazil. Aged 22, Montaño showed signs of promise in an underwhelming Mazatlán side. Reports suggest that he has already agreed to move to Cruz Azul will help with his development. Whilst he will be disappointed to miss out on the Copa América selection, there is reason to believe that he will make a fight for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

3. Fernando Beltrán

The Chivas midfielder has also been omitted from the squad. The 26-year-old started against Uruguay, a game where he was unable to stamp any real authority, being controlled by Manuel Ugarte and Rodrigo Bentancur. A disappointing performance was matched by the decision to leave him as an unused substitute in the following friendly against Brazil.

4. Jordan Carrillo

Playing on loan at Santos Laguna from Sporting Gijon, the midfielder had a good season in an underperforming Laguna team. After Beltrán, he is the second midfielder to face the axe. Carrillo played 85' minutes against Bolivia but failed to appear against Brazil or Uruguay, making it less of a surprise that he is one of the chosen players to miss out on the tournament.

5. Alexis Peña

Peña is a 28-year-old right back from Necaxa. He was one of the few first-team players to feature in the 1-0 win over Bolivia but also played the full 90' in the 4-0 loss to Uruguay. Lozano has opted for both Israel Reyes (Club América) and Jorge Sánchez (Ajax) for the right side of defence.

Lozano will be relying on high-quality pedigree from across the squad to help carry the country through the group stages. Players such as Santiago Giménez and Julián Quiñones will be expected to cause issues for opposing defenders as newly appointed captain Álvarez will need to use his quality on and off the ball to lead his team through three difficult matches.

Now that the 26 man squad has been revealed, how far do you think this Mexico team can go?