Everything, in order to relaunch el Tricolor in the hierarchies of global football. Four years ago in Qatar, Mexico sadly exited in the first round, after having curiously “subscribed” to the round of 16 in the previous seven editions without ever going further. Today, however, the national team led by Javier Aguirre – in his third World Cup as a coach – has a much more important task: to rise to the occasion, perhaps winning the internal derby of the host countries – who will go further, among Central Americans, Canada, and the United States? Therefore, to be ready for the big event, nothing can be left to chance. Even blocking the education of young Mexicans, if necessary.
In these days, some measures decided by the government and the local football federation are causing quite a stir. First of all, for the younger ones, there is already a free-for-all: as reported by The Athletic, the Ministry has decided to anticipate the end of the 2025/26 school year by as much as six weeks. Officially due to the “extraordinary heatwave” that is looming on the horizon, according to meteorologists. However, it is all too clear that the farewell to school, set for Friday, June 5, is functional to lighten the heavy logistical pressures in view of the World Cup, which will start six days later – and given the disturbing recent events, with street violence linked to the guerrilla warfare between narcos, one cannot afford missteps of this kind under the eyes of FIFA and the world. “This change in the school calendar is mainly due to the ongoing heatwave that will continue throughout June and July,” explained Mario Delgado, Secretary of Public Education, admitting that among the reasons “there is also the organization of the World Cup in our country.”
It is not the only news. Because in the meantime, Aguirre’s Mexico has already started training in preparation for the debut at Azteca on June 11 against South Africa: it is the first of the 48 nations to have embarked on the schedule in terms of athletic preparation. And this initiative has also sparked various controversies, because the Mexican coach has had twelve players, who should appear on the final list of call-ups, taken from local clubs – with the championship still ongoing: the permission was granted months ago by the respective owners, in order to organize the first retreat of el Tricolor starting from May 6. However, not everything went smoothly: Toluca, for example, this week did not grant clearance for Jesús Gallardo and Alexis Vega, as they are engaged in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
At that point, the domino effect was unleashed, based on the principle of “either all or none.” Amaury Vergara, owner of Chivas Guadalajara, also in the running for the national title, stated that he did not want to release the five players called up from his team: Raúl Rangel, Armando González, Brian Gutiérrez, Luis Romo, and Roberto Alvarado. Aguirre’s response was swift. It sounded more like a threat: “Any player who does not report to the federal center by 8 PM on the agreed day will not participate in the World Cup. We cannot make exceptions, nor be flexible.” Only then did the Mexican clubs raise the white flag – the request clearly could not extend to players engaged abroad, like striker Raul Jiménez playing in the Premier League with Fulham – and Mexico’s early retreat could truly begin. “The World Cup starts today, we are all very happy,” Aguirre said, at the dawn of the 35 days that could change the football history of the country. And if that does not happen, prepare for more protests.