He was a ghost on the pitch, but Gerardo Martino wants him in Qatar 2022

On Saturday night in AT&T Stadium, the Mexican national team faced their first game of the summer, against Nigeria, a match that ended in a 2-1 victory for the Aztec squad where the mistakes were the highlights, as Rodolfo Cota and William Troost-Ekong gifted away a goal for their rivals.

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But even if El Tri could have had a better performance, during the postgame press conference Gerardo “Tata” Martino said that he liked how the team has evolved from their participation in the CONCACAF Qualifiers, especially during the first 30 minutes of the game.

Although it’s true that during the first half of the game the Aztec squad showed a better level from the one that they had back in March, there were only two players that had an above-average participation: César Montes, who has proved to have the level needed to be considered as one of the starting center-backs, and Santiago Giménez, who opened the scoresheet.

None of them have ensured their ticket to Qatar, but another player did

Martino is still doubting if “Chaquito” Giménez has the level to make it into the final roster, as he said that he sees “him in the future of El Trim but they need him in the present”, something that will only happen if he earns more playing time.

For Montes, the situation is similar, as Martino hasn’t ensured that he will be on the starting XI, given that he keeps considering Héctor Moreno and Néstor Araujo as the starting duo, although they’ve showed that their level is far beyond the expected for a national team.

But for him, the player that stood out the most during the first half was Rodolfo Pizarro, as he said that the CF Monterrey offensive midfielder was the one who pulled the strings, even if he had a gray participation and was the first substituted player from El Tri.

With his observation and added to the fact that, during a press conference before the gameday he said that he felt obliged to help him recover his level, as he was one of the most important players at the start of his stint, he showed that the former Inter Miami player has ensured his ticket to Qatar.

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