Tag: Alex Zendejas

USMNT’s Alex Zendejas conjures up Club America Liguilla winner

Zendejas came off the bench to score a huge goal

Alex Zendejas is doing big things for club and country.

Zendejas scored the game’s only goal as Club América beat Chivas Guadalajara 1-0 in the first leg of their Liga MX Liguilla semifinal.

The U.S. men’s national team winger has drawn plenty of attention after making his choice at the national team level, but has of late seen his previously sure spot in América’s lineup become less certain. A February injury kept him off the field for a month, and manager Fernando Ortiz opted for a slow build through March and early April as a result.

Zendejas started the final four matches of América’s Clausura schedule, but after a muscle injury in a late April match against FC Juárez, was an unused substitute in the first leg of their quarterfinal against Atlético San Luis, and only played 35 minutes off the bench in the second leg.

Starting on the bench again at Estadio Akron, Zendejas did the best thing he could do to push for a start in the second leg. After entering at halftime, he ran onto a pass slipped in behind the Chivas defense, cutting back against defender Jesús Orozco before firing a surprise shot past him and goalkeeper Miguel Jiménez.

The resulting 1-0 scoreline stood up, giving América a crucial advantage after playing the first leg in Guadalajara. In Liga MX’s playoff system, there is no away goals rule, and no extra time until the final; the tiebreaker favors the team with the better regular season record.

Las Águilas ended up being the No. 2 seed ahead of Chivas on goal difference, meaning that a win, a tie, or even a one-goal loss in Sunday’s second leg will send them through to the final.

Watch Zendejas give América a crucial win

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The Americans Abroad Five: Paxten Aaronson is ahead of schedule

The 19-year-old got rave reviews after his first extended Bundesliga minutes

When Paxten Aaronson signed with Eintracht Frankfurt, the club made it clear they weren’t expecting much from the teenager this season.

“We’ve got a very clear plan for how we want to gradually and carefully build him up,” said Timmo Hardung, head of first team football at Eintracht. “And part of that is he’s coming to us in January to start getting used to everything here so that ideally he’s ready to hit the ground running in the new season.”

Things had pretty much been going according to that plan in Aaronson’s debut half season, as he made just two brief cameos before this weekend’s game against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

But with Eintracht down a goal in the second half, head coach Oliver Glasner opted to hand the 19-year-old his first extended opportunity as he replaced Rafael Borré on 55 minutes.

The returns, early as they may be, were promising.

The younger Aaronson’s first real taste of Bundesliga minutes leads off this week’s Five.

Hudson: Club America turned down USMNT call-up for Zendejas

Hudson said he was disappointed but also highlighted America’s past cooperation regarding the winger

U.S. men’s national team head coach Anthony Hudson said he was “disappointed” to learn Club América would not release Alex Zendejas for next week’s game against Mexico.

The winger was not on the USMNT squad for the first-ever Continental Clásico, which will take place on April 19 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

That wasn’t for lack of trying, Hudson said, telling reporters on Wednesday that América opted to keep Zendejas back in Mexico City.

“The club politely declined and that’s well within their right to do that,” Hudson said. “And all I will say is we were disappointed because we would have loved to have had him here. I know he was desperate to come.”

Zendejas suffered a broken nose in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Monterrey, an injury he will play through before having surgery at the end of the Liga MX season. Hudson said the injury could have been a factor in América’s decision.

“Who knows if the situation would have been different if it wasn’t for his injury,” the interim coach added.

Hudson did, however, make a point to praise América for its cooperation in the past — specifically for allowing Zendejas to join the USMNT’s January camp this year while he was still deciding whether to represent the U.S. or Mexico internationally.

“The fact that we’re in this position, talking the way we are to Alejandro and have built this relationship with Alejandro, is because the club have been so good with us,” Hudson said. “They didn’t need to let him come in January and they’ve been really, really supportive. So we have no issues with that. We accept it.”

Zendejas officially committed to the USMNT over Mexico last month.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Ricardo Pepi is playing hardball

The USMNT striker is taking a risk as he aims to escape Augsburg

Ricardo Pepi could have kept his grievances behind closed doors. He could’ve quietly asked Augsburg to let him leave and hoped his wish would be granted.

But Pepi, and his agent Jaime Garcia, have decided that quiet isn’t the way they want to do this.

In an explosive interview with Voetbal International, Garcia and Pepi put all their cards on the table. They don’t just want to leave Augsburg, they want the world to know just how awful the club’s been to them.

As much as they’d like it to be, leaving Augsburg isn’t all up to Garcia and Pepi. It was only 16 months ago that Augsburg invested a club-record $20 million into Pepi, and signed him to a contract through 2026.

They have an asset on their hands, albeit a disgruntled one, and are under no real pressure to let him go unless a suitable offer arrives.

But will such an offer come? Pepi’s big gamble leads off this week’s edition of the Americans Abroad Five.

Zendejas denies Mexico ‘extortion’ claims over World Cup spot

There were some serious accusations thrown at Zendejas last fall

Alex Zendejas has denied accusations he demanded a spot at the 2022 World Cup in exchange for committing to Mexico.

Zendejas played for the U.S. at the youth international levels before switching to Mexico to play in senior national team friendlies in October 2021 and April 2022.

But as it turned out, the Club América winger had not filed the one-time switch that would have been required to represent Mexico in those two matches, which FIFA eventually ruled had to be forfeited.

After playing two games for Mexico, Zendejas was a candidate to make El Tri’s World Cup roster. But that’s when things got really strange.

Mexico’s coach at the time, Tata Martino, accused Zendejas of “extortion,” saying the winger demanded a spot in Qatar in exchange for filing a one-time switch.

On Monday, after confirming his commitment to the USMNT over Mexico, Zendejas finally had the chance to respond to those charges.

“I don’t think anyone can be in a position for someone to secure something to you, we have to work on that daily and prove to people that we deserve the opportunity,” Zendejas told reporters on a conference call.

“It was a bunch of chaos that happened over there. People saying stuff that wasn’t true, people saying that stuff that was true, but at the end of the day, I just try not to focus on that.”

The 25-year-old also spoke about his decision to select the USMNT over Mexico, saying he’d spoken to his family constantly and that his experience in January camp with the U.S. ultimately solidified his choice.

“I came in January and I felt very at ease, I saw old teammates. … For the long term my goal is to play at a World Cup and for that reason I chose the United States.”

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Alex Zendejas commits to USMNT over Mexico

The 25-year-old will give the USMNT another quality option at winger

The saga around the international future of Alex Zendejas has finally concluded — and the result is a great one for the U.S. men’s national team.

The Club América winger officially announced his commitment to the USMNT on Tuesday, turning down the chance to represent Mexico.

“I am very proud of being Mexican American,” the 25-year-old said in a post on Instagram. “Values from both cultures have made me the person I am today. I’ve had the privilege of experiencing life in two countries.

“I’m very grateful for all the opportunities the United States and Mexico have provided to me and my family. Making a decision on your international career is very difficult, and I believe in following your heart. Mine tells me that my future lies representing the USA.

“I’m excited for this next chapter and earning my place with the USMNT. Thank you to everyone for the incredible support.”

Zendejas, was born in Mexico and raised in the United States. The winger played in two friendlies with Mexico’s senior national team after representing the U.S. at the youth level.

After a FIFA investigation, Mexico was forced to forfeit both of those matches because Zendejas never filed the one-time switch he would have needed to be eligible to play for El Tri.

Zendejas then received his first senior call for the USMNT in January, and he made his debut against Serbia. Interim U.S. boss Anthony Hudson was so impressed with the winger that he declared the January window would be successful if Zendejas committed to the USMNT, regardless of what else happened.

Having just taken over Mexico, Diego Cocca said earlier this month that he was looking to bring Zendejas back into the fold. But those overtures proved unsuccessful.

Zendejas now looks likely to be called into the USMNT’s roster for CONCACAF Nations League matches against Grenada and El Salvador later this month.

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