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Mexico national team manager Javier Aguirre has revealed his preliminary 55-man roster for the 2026 World Cup, with San Diego FC winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano arguably the most notable omission from the list.
Led by Fulham’s Raúl Jiménez, Fenerbahçe’s Edson Álvarez and veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who is trying to appear in his sixth World Cup, Mexico’s squad will be reduced to 26 players before June 1, the official FIFA deadline.
Mexico will begin the tournament at home on June 11 against South Africa at the Banorte Stadium.
Locker room problems in San Diego
Lozano’s exclusion comes after a period of inactivity and disciplinary tension with San Diego FC.
Aguirre previously stated that consistent playing time was a requirement for selection, a condition Lozano was unable to meet after falling out of favor with his club’s coaching staff earlier this year.
Lozano enjoyed a promising start to the club’s debut MLS season, but internal friction became public in October following reports of a locker room altercation with head coach Mikey Varas.
His last appearance to date for the club was as a substitute during San Diego’s 3-1 playoff loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
(Photo by Orlando Ramírez/Getty Images)
Roster depth and injury concerns
Rodrigo Huescas, a rising star in the Danish Super League, will miss the tournament as he continues to recover from a torn ACL he suffered during a Champions League match in late 2025.
Other injury-related absences from Mexico’s preliminary roster include Cruz Azul defender Jesús ‘Chiquete’ Orozco and Club América goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón.
In contrast, Aguirre has included several players who recently returned from injury layoffs, such as Luis Chávez of Dynamo Moscow, César Huerta of RSC Anderlecht and Julián Araujo of Celtic.
The coach also chose to reinforce his goalkeeper squad, calling up six goalkeepers in total, including José Antonio Rodríguez and Carlos Moreno.
Increase in naturalized and dual national players
Continuing the trend of naturalized players with dual nationality in the team, the squad has Germán Berterame from Inter Miami, Julián Quiñones from Al-Qadsiah and Álvaro Fidalgo from Real Betis.
This trio represents a core of talent that has been exported abroad after largely dominating Liga MX over the past few seasons, with Fidalgo in particular expected to take on an attacking midfield role.
They are joined by several Mexican-American prospects, including Chivas’ Brian Gutiérrez and Richard Ledezma, as well as Atlético Madrid’s Obed Vargas.
(Photo by Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images)
Problems between Liga MX and the Mexican Football Federation
While 12 Liga MX players were previously confirmed as “fixed” for the team in a deal with national clubs, players such as Tigres’ Diego Lainez, Toluca’s Marcel Ruiz and Club América’s Érick Sánchez were added to the preliminary list, likely as contingency options in case injuries occur before the final presentation in June.
Last week, the Mexican Football Federation threatened to exclude any Liga MX player from the World Cup roster if they did not show up for the national team.
This came after Aguirre revealed squad of 20 players for a pre-World Cup training camp, when Toluca stars Jesús Gallardo and Alexis Vega remained with their club ahead of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal against LAFC instead of reporting to camp.
This led to the Mexican Football Federation issuing a statement and calling a press conference on May 6 to issue an ultimatum.
“As instructed by the coaching staff, any player who does not attend training camp today will be left off the World Cup roster,” the statement read.
(Photo by Jam Media/Getty Images)
Aguirre also spoke to the media during a press conference that same day.
“Whoever doesn’t come will be out of the World Cup. That’s something we can’t be flexible about, far from it,” Aguirre said.
By nightfall on May 6, all 20 players Aguirre called to camp were present.
Final preparations
Before the start of the World Cup, Aguirre and his men will participate in exhibitions against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4.
Mexico will begin the World Cup group stage against South Africa on June 11, then face South Korea on June 18 and the Czech Republic on June 24.
