Mexico head coach Tata Martino has named a preliminary 31-man World Cup roster, which includes the injured pair Raúl Jiménez and Jesús “Tecatito” Corona.
Martino will have to trim down his squad to 26 players before the tournament in Qatar, with a deadline of November 14 to submit his final roster.
El Tri will head to Spain next month, playing friendlies against Iraq on November 9 and Sweden on November 16 in Girona. Martino’s side will begin World Cup play on November 22 against Poland.
The statuses of Jiménez and Corona have been major talking points as Mexico hopes to utilize one, if not both of its major attacking pieces in Qatar.
Jiménez is recovering from a troublesome groin injury that has seen him sidelined since August. Corona, meanwhile, suffered a broken fibula and a rupture of his ankle ligaments in August.
Martino will aim to evaluate the pair’s fitness in Spain before making a final call on their status for the World Cup.
Missing from the squad was Mexico’s all-time top scorer Chicharito, with Martino confirming last month that the LA Galaxy forward would not be in contention for the World Cup.
Mexico preliminary World Cup roster
Goalkeepers
Guillermo Ochoa – Club America
Alfredo Talavera – FC Juarez
Rodolfo Cota – Leon
Defenders
Jorge Sánchez – Ajax
Néstor Araujo – Club America
Héctor Moreno – CF Monterrey
César Montes – CF Monterrey
Johan Vasquez – Cremonese
Gerardo Arteaga – Genk
Kevin Álvarez – Pachuca
Jesús Gallardo – CF Monterrey
Jesús Angulo – Tigres
Midfielders
Andrés Guardado – Real Betis
Edson Álvarez – Ajax
Roberto Alvarado – Chivas de Guadalajara
Héctor Herrera – Houston Dynamo
Carlos Rodriguez – Cruz Azul
Erick Gutierrez – PSV Eindhoven
Luis Chávez – Pachuca
Diego Lainez – SC Braga
Erick Sánchez – Pachuca
Orbelín Pineda – AEK Athens
Luis Romo – Cruz Azul
Uriel Antuna – Cruz Azul
Forwards
Raul Jiménez – Wolves
Henry Martin – Club America
Santiago Gimenez – Feyenoord
Rogelio Funes Mori – CF Monterrey
Hirving Lozano – Napoli
Alexis Vega – Chivas de Guadalajara
Jesús Corona – Sevilla
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