Winners and Losers from Mexico’s September Friendlies

The Mexico national team completed their September camp with valuable lessons learned from two hard-fought draws against Japan and South Korea.

Javier Aguirre’s side were dominated for vast periods of a scoreless draw against Japan. Nevertheless, it’s also true that Japan didn’t really create many clear-cut scoring opportunities, as Luis Malagón was rarely tested.

In the second friendly against South Korea, Mexico looked perhaps slightly better overall, but it still needed a Santiago Giménez stoppage-time gem of a goal to rescue a 2–2 draw.

Overall, there were players that took advantage of the September friendlies to make concrete cases for their spot in the World Cup roster. Others struggled one way or another and saw their stock fall, and will need strong performances at the club level to either keep their place among the preferred starting XI—if there even is one—or to simply merit another opportunity with El Tri in the lead up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Here’s the biggest winners and losers from Mexico’s September international friendlies.

Winner: Erik Lira

Erik Lira has been one of the best players in Liga MX for the better part of a year and, in 2025, he’s translated that form to the national team. No Mexico player was better than Lira over the two games and he all but confirmed his place in next summer’s World Cup.

Deployed in the heart of midfield, Lira fits in perfectly with how Aguirre wants his team to play, especially on the ball. Mexico is built to start possessions from the back; however, against Japan, they struggled mightily to do this during the first half.

Lira entered the game and El Tri immediately looked better. The Cruz Azul man is very comfortable on the ball, a press-resistant player capable of receiving and ready to use his agility to quickly turn towards goal to link-up with teammates during build-up. It’s no coincidence that Mexico’s best spells of possession over the two games came with Lira on the pitch commanding play.

Defensively, what he lacks in height and physicality he makes up for with tenacity and great positioning. He went toe-to-toe with Daichi Kamada and Takumi Minamino on multiple occasions against Japan and more than held his own.

It was a very positive display for Lira with El Tri. Yet, it happened in large part due to negative circumstances involving the next player on the list.

Loser: Edson Álvarez

The September international action couldn’t have gone much worse for Mexico captain Edson Álvarez.

“El Machín” lasted only 32 minutes on the pitch against Japan before having to be substituted with what El Tri described as a minor hamstring injury. Álvarez remained with the team but didn’t feature against South Korea three days later.

To make things worse, Álvarez looked far from his best in his short-lived performance against Japan. Mexico’s skipper struggled in possession against Japan’s intense press—a notorious weakness in his game. He completed only nine passes and El Tri’s midfield looked completely overwhelmed. In reality, Mexico’s worst passage of play over the two games came with Álvarez on the pitch.

Barring injury, there’s no scenario where Álvarez misses the World Cup. However, it’s been a difficult start to 2025–26 for him. He had to leave West Ham on loan to Fenerbahçe, then the manager that signed him, José Mourinho, got sacked. Now, he’ll return to his new club injured after just one appearance.

For El Tri’s sake, it’s essential that Álvarez has a change in fortunes quickly.

Winner: Rodrigo Huescas

Rodrigo Huescas didn’t play a single minute against Japan, but against South Korea in his third appearance for El Tri, he looked like he belonged and then some.

The 21-year-old confirmed what many thought going into the international action: he’s Mexico’s best option at right back in attack. Huescas was a winger during his youth career and it shows, he’s fearless going forward, constantly looking to take people on thanks to his strong dribbling ability.

His passing has only improved since he made the move to Europe, evidenced by a perfectly placed cross that Raúl Jiménez turned into Mexico’s first goal of the night.

But it’s the defensive part of his game that people have sometimes questioned. However, even after Son Heung-min entered the game, Huescas wasn’t dribbled past once, he won all his ground duels and had four recoveries.

In only his second start for Mexico, the FC Copenhagen man showcased way more than others have at his position in recent games. Huescas made his case for a spot in the World Cup roster loud and clear.

Loser: Orbelin Pineda

Two more Mexico games came and went and Orbelín Pineda once again failed to make his presence felt, continuing a worrying trend.

Pineda started against Japan and was nowhere to be found. Playing as the most advanced midfielder, he struggled to get on the ball given Japan’s intense pressing and man-marking. When the ball did get to him, he was careless with it, completing just 68% of his passes. Overall, he exited the game after 61 minutes having completed just 19 passes.

The attacking midfielder has just two goal involvements in his last 21 appearances for El Tri. Over the summer, it became abundantly clear that 16-year-old phenom Gilberto Mora has overtaken him on the depth chart, and rightfully so. With Mora currently preparing to represent Mexico in the U–20 FIFA World Cup, this was the chance for Pineda to prove why he deserves to be an alternative as a creative midfielder.

The AEK Athens man didn’t deliver and, barring strong performances with his club, it’s getting hard to justify his place in El Tri.