- El Tri will debut against Jamaica on June 22 at NGR Stadium in Houston, Texas.
- Mexico played the final of the tournament twice: in 1993 and 2001.
Mexico and coach Jimmy Lozano are excited about a new generation of players and their chance to shine at CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™. Here are three of those players who could play a key role for El Tri.
Tickets are still available to watch Mexico take on Jamaica during El Tri's opening match of the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™ on June 22 at NGR Stadium in Houston, Texas. Tickets are available here.
Edson Alvarez
Edson Álvarez -26 years old- if chosen by Lozano, will enter the oldest national team tournament in the world as one of Mexico’s most experienced players.
Álvarez is at the center of the new generation of players who are entering their prime. Born in Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico, in 1997, the young midfielder began his professional career with Club América, making his debut in 2016. He would go on to play 86 Liga MX games for the Mexican giants, winning the Liga MX Apertura in 2018.
His defensive acumen was scouted by Ajax of the Dutch Eredivisie, whom he would join in 2019. Ajax, long famous for its development model, found another rising star in Álvarez. He would make over 100 appearances for the Dutch club and be nominated for the Eredivisie Player of the Year award in 2021. Then, in 2023, the defensive midfielder took his talents to the Premier League and joined West Ham United, where he currently plays.
For Mexico, Álvarez has already appeared in two World Cups (2018 and 2022) and has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup twice (2019, 2023). He has more than 75 appearances for his country and holds the record for the youngest Mexican player to score a goal in the CONCACAF Gold Cup when he did so against Curacao in 2017, at the age of 19.
Luis Malagón
Replacing a legend is never easy, but it may be time for Luis Malagón to finally occupy the Aztec goal, where Guillermo Ochoa shone for almost 20 years and more than 150 games.
Currently, Malagón is in a moment of growth. ESPN named him the best player of Clausura 2024, and his heroic saves helped Las Águilas secure their 15th Liga MX title. The 27-year-old now hopes to carry his brilliant club form to his national team if Lozano selects him for the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™.
Born in Zamora, Mexico in 1997, the goalkeeper has only made four appearances for Mexico before this tournament. He made his Liga MX debut with Moreila in 2019 before moving to Necaxa, where he stole the show. He moved to Club América in 2022, where he would eventually earn the starting job. He was in goal during the 2023 Apertura championship victory and the 2024 Clausura championship victory, both for América.
Both Mexico and Malagón hope that in this year's CONMEBOL Copa América™ the goalkeeper will continue to maintain his meteoric rise.
Santiago Giménez
Arguably Mexico's greatest young talent, Santiago Giménez hopes to carry his fantastic club form into CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2001, Giménez moved to Mexico at the age of three following his father's move from Independiente to Veracruz. Son of former Mexican international Christian Giménez, football was always in the young forward's blood.
His father spent the last part of his career at Cruz Azul in Liga MX and that is where the young Giménez would begin his professional career. With La Maquina Cementera, the scorer would win the Liga MX Guardianes in 2021, the Campeón de Campeones in 2021 and the Copa MX Apertura in 2018, among others. Like his compatriot Álvarez, Giménez's play would allow him to move up to the Eredivisie, where he would help Feyenoord win the 2022-23 league championship and the 2023-24 KNVB Cup.
In his final season with Feyenoord, he scored 23 goals, the third most in the league, and also scored in the UEFA Champions League for the first time when he scored a brace against Lazio last October. Giménez's goals during 2023 were so impressive that he broke Uruguayan legend Luis Suárez's record for most Eredivisie goals scored in a calendar year, when he scored 31 in 2023.
Internationally, the 23-year-old's finest moment for Mexico came in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, when he scored the winning goal against Panama to help his country win the tournament. Looking ahead to the CONMEBOL Copa América 2024™, part of the scoring hope lies in the feet of Giménez.
