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With just 44 days remaining before Mexico kicks off its 2026 World Cup campaign, Javier Aguirre has unveiled the first 12 players set to form part of El Tri's tournament squad.
The opening 12-man selection consists entirely of Liga MX players, who will be excused from their clubs' Clausura 2026 playoff commitments and will instead begin preparations under Aguirre when Mexico's 2026 World Cup training camp opens on May 6.
Aguirre now has more than a month to work with nearly half of the players who will carry El Tri's colors this summer, ahead of the European-based contingent joining camp once their club seasons wrap up.
As was true during Aguirre's previous two stints leading Mexico at a World Cup, his choices from the Liga MX talent pool — both inclusions and omissions — were not without their share of controversy.
Here are four key takeaways from the 12 Liga MX players Aguirre has named to Mexico's 2026 World Cup squad.
Liga MX Teams Compromise Aguirre's Roster Selection
With Mexico's World Cup camp set to begin while the Liga MX playoffs are still in progress, an arrangement was struck between El Tri and the domestic clubs. Any player named on Aguirre's list who was required to miss the Clausura 2026 playoffs would automatically be guaranteed a spot on the World Cup roster — these players cannot be dropped from the official squad to be announced in early June.
This arrangement was only finalized in mid-April, and it appears to have significantly shaped Aguirre's selections. Reports indicate El Vasco had been weighing a broader group of Liga MX players he could continue assessing during the extended camp. That approach, however, was derailed by the condition of securing World Cup roster spots for players from Liga MX clubs involved in the upcoming playoffs.
Consequently, players including Carlos Rodríguez, Marcel Ruiz, Erick Sánchez, Richard Ledezma, Everardo López and Jesus Angúlo — all regular faces in recent El Tri squads — have been left out of Aguirre's Liga MX selection.
Having more than a month to prepare for the World Cup with all available domestic talent should have been a clear advantage for Aguirre and his staff. But with Liga MX playoff clubs effectively forcing his hand, it's likely he was pushed into rushed decisions that caused him to second-guess himself — why else would Aguirre have pushed back the announcement by nearly a week?
Whether this comes back to haunt him in the summer remains to be seen.
Aguirre Gambles on Specific Profiles
Over nearly two full years since Aguirre's return to the helm of El Tri, he has largely adhered to a 4-3-3 setup where personnel may rotate but the overall philosophy and system has stayed consistent. Yet at the eleventh hour, there are indications this could shift come the World Cup.
Both Erik Lira and Luis Romo are confirmed for the World Cup, and two clear conclusions can be drawn from their inclusions. First, Aguirre harbors doubts about whether El Tri captain Edson Álvarez will be fully fit by the summer and is covering his bases. Second, it should come as little surprise if — or more likely when — Mexico deploys a back-three or back-five system during the tournament.
Like Álvarez, both Lira and Romo are midfield-center back hybrids, and Romo in particular has become an ideal piece at club level with Chivas, functioning as a third center back before transitioning into midfield in possession. Álvarez failing to make the roster regardless of fitness would be a massive shock, so with all three players sharing a profile that suits a back-three setup, it would seem odd not to utilize it at some stage in the competition.
On the subject of specific profiles, Pumas striker and World Cup first-timer Guillermo Martínez fits that description perfectly. The 31-year-old center forward hasn't found the net for Mexico since a friendly before the 2024 Copa América and has managed just 24 minutes of international action over the past year.
Nevertheless, his physical presence, aerial ability and effectiveness as a target man appear to have persuaded Aguirre that "El Memote" can serve a valuable purpose in specific tactical scenarios — scenarios that, by all indications, El Tri will lean on this summer, representing a sharp departure from Aguirre's approach over the previous year.
Santiago Gimenez at Serious Risk of Missing World Cup
Martínez's unexpected inclusion will inevitably have consequences for others, and Santiago Gimenez may find himself in serious jeopardy. There is an increasingly real possibility that the AC Milan forward misses out on the World Cup roster for the second time in his career.
Aguirre named just three natural center forwards in each of his previous two World Cup squads with El Tri in 2002 and 2010. Martínez, alongside Liga MX's leading scorer Armando González, is now guaranteed a place in 2026, and Raúl Jimenez won't merely make the squad — he'll be the first-choice starter. That already accounts for three strikers, with Gimenez nowhere in the picture.
That said, it has long been assumed that Aguirre would break from his own precedent and carry four strikers on the final roster. However, Martínez was not expected to be among them — it was Giménez and Inter Miami forward Germán Berterame who appeared set to round out the striker options.
Now, the two Argentina-born forwards are seemingly battling for that final roster spot. Berterame hasn't exactly set MLS alight since his January move to Miami, but Gimenez hasn't scored a single goal since last September and has accumulated just 67 minutes of playing time in 2026.
Gimenez was among the last players cut from Mexico's 2022 World Cup squad. Four years on, and despite several impressive seasons in between, the 25-year-old fan favorite may be heading toward an equally heartbreaking outcome.
Mexico's Youngest World Cup Player in History
Manuel Rosas holds the record as the youngest Mexican player ever to appear at a World Cup, having featured as an 18-year-old in the inaugural tournament in 1930. Nearly a century on, that record is set to fall, with 17-year-old prodigy Gilberto Mora expected to play a meaningful role for El Tri this summer.
The highly-touted prospect battled through a persistent groin problem that kept him sidelined since January and threatened to derail his World Cup aspirations. Concerns mounted over the past three months, but Mora ultimately returned to action for the final four games of the Liga MX regular season, starting the last two and even getting on the scoresheet.
Mora isn't simply along for the experience — he is expected to be a genuine contributor for a side that badly needs his match-changing quality. At his peak and fully fit, the Tijuana teenager is already among the most potent weapons at Aguirre's disposal.
Mexico hasn't unearthed a talent of Mora's caliber in a generation, making him a deserving record-breaker. A standout performance this summer could set the stage for a high-profile European move once he reaches the right age.