Ochoa, Lozano fail to make preliminary Mexico Copa America squad

Mexico regulars goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and forward Hirving Lozano were left out of the Copa America squad as the country seeks a generational change, according to coach Jaime Lozano on Friday.

Lozano named ten players from the national under-23 team to his preliminary 31-man squad, with the goal of developing players for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada.

"We want a dynamic and strong team. It is important to lay the foundations for 2026 and 2030," Lozano told a news conference.

"We have spoken to all those who are not here. It is the ideal tournament to see who are standing out and to have a bigger deck of players for what is to come."

"If we want the national team to be as good as possible for the World Cup at home and give the best performance, we have to make decisions according to the big challenge we are setting ourselves."

It is the first time Lozano, who was appointed manager last summer, has excluded Salernitana keeper Ochoa, who has appeared in five World Cups and 151 caps for Mexico.

Lozano, who recently won the Eredivisie with PSV Eindhoven, stated that he will return to the national squad later, while cheering on the newcomers for the tournament, which runs from June 20 to July 14.

Coach Lozano will reduce his roster to 23 players for the Copa America in the United States before Mexico's campaign begins against Jamaica on June 22, followed by Venezuela on June 26 and Ecuador four days later.

Mexico will play Bolivia on May 31, Uruguay on June 5, and Brazil three days later in warm-up games.

Mexico preliminary squad:

Goalkeepers: Angel Malagon (Club America), Raul Rangel (Guadalajara), Julio Gonzalez (Pumas UNAM)

Defenders: Israel Reyes (Club America), Jorge Sanchez (Porto), Brian Garcia (Toluca), Cesar Montes (Almeria), Victor Guzman (Monterrey) Alexis Pena (Necaxa), Johan Vasquez (Genoa), Jesus Orozco (Guadalajara), Gerardo Arteaga (Monterrey), Bryan Gonzalez (Pachuca)

Midfielders: Edson Alvarez (West Ham United), Luis Romo (Monterrey), Jordan Carrillo (Santos), Erick Sanchez (Pachuca), Orbelin Pineda (AEK Athens), Roberto Alvarado (Guadalajara), Luis Chavez (Dynamo Moscow), Andres Montano (Mazatlan), Fernando Beltran (Guadalajara), Carlos Rodriguez (Cruz Azul)

Forwards: Marcelo Flores (Tigres), Cesar Huerta (Pumas UNAM), Julian Quinones (Club America), Santiago Gimenez (Feyenoord), Alexis Vega (Toluca), Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul), Guillermo Martinez (Pumas UNAM), Diego Lainez (Tigres).

SportsLigue