News

Not so fast USMNT fans! Alejando Zendejas still deciding between playing for Mexico or the U.S.

Alejandro Zendejas’ telenovela has become the U.S. and Mexico’s mini-headache over the last year and just when we thought he had decided to play for the USMNT after his call-up this year, reports are saying otherwise. Ay, Zendejas!

Alejandro Zendejas will reportedly decide his Mexico-USMNT future in March

The 25-year-old midfielder is in the mix of perhaps the longest decision-making process in the history of Mexican-American player disputes and according to multiple reports, the player has still not decided and will choose who to play for in March. Diego Cocca — Mexico's new manager — notifying the player of their interest of him joining the national team has made the player think twice about his nationality decision.

Zendejas was called-up and played in a friendly for the U.S. in their camp last January. Because the friendly wasn't an official FIFA match, the player is still able to choose to play for Mexico if he wishes. Zendejas has played for the U.S., Mexico and the U.S. again.

Embed from Getty Images

In order to play for Mexico, though, the midfielder would have to sign and make a one-time switch to play for El Tri — a missing document that saw Mexico forfeit all games in which Zendejas had participated in with the U-23 and the senior team in 2021. 

The Concacaf Nations League, an official FIFA tournament to be played in March, will define the player’s future if he is to be called up by either national team. Making an appearance for the USMNT or Mexico in those games would lock Zendejas’ international future for good.

Is Zendejas worth the headache?

Zendejas this, Zendejas that. Is a player that is still to officially debut for a national team at age 25 worth all the drama? It depends.

Alex has been one of the best Mexican players in the Liga MX for quite some time now, becoming a vital player for Club América and arguably one of the best playmakers in the league. He’s scored 11 goals and provided three assists in 44 appearances for the azulcremas since his arrival in 2021.

He is multifunctional in every position in the final third, and a specialist in set pieces as well as long shots when cutting from the outside. He's doing his thing.

Personally, and if we were at a position of power of either federation, we would do anything possible to get Zendejas to play for us. After all, there’s quite literally nothing to lose besides some dignity and public embarrassment if he ends up rejecting to play for you. Considering both national teams' news over the last few months, you know they don’t really have much of that left.

Embed from Getty Images

Videos you might like