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Rafael Márquez announced Mexico’s 28-player roster for the upcoming two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals bout against Jamaica as El Tri begins its tournament title defense.
The mood surrounding El Tri went from overly positive to borderline worrisome after the Márquez era at the helm started with four winless outings.
After a strong World Cup performance, Mexico returned to its old, unconvincing ways during the September–October international window, drawing two games before suffering a calamitous defeat against the USMNT and then another setback at the hands of a weak Chile side.
Márquez can’t afford to extend the negative run during the first two official matches of his tenure. Failure to qualify to the Nations League semifinals in March could seriously turn the heat up on him just six games into his era.
Eager to avoid another pair of poor performances, Márquez shook up his roster and left out 11 players that featured for Mexico a month ago, replacing them with nine fresh talents that include debutants and eyebrow raising returns.
With Raúl Jiménez sidelined until 2027 and with Mexico once again looking toothless in attack, Márquez is searching everywhere for options that bring El Tri’s attack back to life—legitimately, everywhere.
The search took him to Croatia and 26-year-old striker Armando León. The FK Osijek center forward was a complete stranger to apparently everyone in Mexican soccer but Márquez and his staff. After almost three years playing in Andorra following his departure from Mexico’s second division, León landed in Croatia this summer. Five goals in 12 Croatian league games to start the campaign have now been rewarded with a maiden Mexico call up.
But Márquez’s experiments don’t end there. He gave Hirving “Chucky” Lozano a chance a month ago, now it was time to open the doors to another veteran forward who was once considered Mexico’s future.
Former Portuguese league MVP with Porto, Jesús ”Tecatito” Corona is back with El Tri for the first time since June 2022. The now 33-year-old attacker plays for Monterrey in Liga MX and although his best days are behind him, Márquez isn’t leaving any stone unturned it seems.
Fortunately for Mexico, World Cup star and Ballon d’Or finalist Julián Quiñones is back and should boost the team’s attack. Although Alexis Vega teased his potential international retirement after being left out of Márquez’s first roster, the Toluca forward is back following a meeting with Márquez.
In other positive news, 18-year-old Gilberto Mora was able to recover from a mysterious injury that forced him to withdraw from El Tri’s camp a month ago and is back to play what could be his final two matches for the national team before making his highly-anticipated move to European soccer during the January transfer window.
Opponent |
Date |
Location |
|---|---|---|
Jamaica (A) |
Nov. 14 |
National Stadium—Kingston, Jamaica |
Jamaica (H) |
Nov. 17 |
Estadio BBVA—Monterrey, Mexico |
A repeat of the poor results that defined the start of Márquez’s tenure won’t be acceptable as the former El Tri captain now faces the first two official games of his reign.
Mexico will face Jamaica for the first time since the 2024 Copa América as it starts its Concacaf Nations League title defense. As the top-ranked team in the region, Mexico got direct passage to the quarterfinals.
The first leg of the tie will take place at the National Stadium in Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston on Saturday, Nov. 14. El Tri has lost its last two away games in the Nations League quarterfinals, so Márquez will be keen on ending the negative run.
Three days later, Mexico hosts Jamaica for the return leg at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey. It will be the first time El Tri’s senior team plays at the 2026 World Cup host stadium since it opened its doors in 2015.
Mexico holds an overwhelming advantage against Jamaica across the history of the rivalry, winning 21 of the 29 previous meetings and losing just three games against the Caribbean nation.
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