MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On Thursday, Mexico Under-20 Head Coach Diego Ramirez announced his list of 20 players that will represent El Tricolor at the 2018 Concacaf Under-20 Championship in Bradenton, Florida.
On the same day, Ramirez’s side defeated Pumas’s reserve side 3-0 in its final tune-up before the start of the tournament.
Following the friendly match, Ramirez spoke with reporters and outlined very clearly that the team’s goals are to reach a 16th FIFA Under-20 World Cup and take home the country’s 14th Concacaf Under-20 title.
“Our principal goal in this tournament is to have the ticket to the World Cup, and afterward win the championship,” said Ramirez.
“But the way in how we do things, is to base ourselves on the day to day, match to match. We have made clear the objectives: to win the ticket before winning the championship, which is the later objective, that is the order and that’s how we are transmitting it both on the inside and outside,” added Ramirez.
Mexico will certainly get its fair share of tests in Group B against opponents Nicaragua, Jamaica, Aruba, Grenada and Saint Martin.
With five matches on the docket in a span of just nine days, Ramirez is acutely aware that it will require a full team effort to finish atop the table and reach the Qualification Stage of the tournament.
“It’s a demanding format, above all in the physical aspect. There are five matches, we are in a group of six teams. You play a day and then rest a day in the first phase. The thing to overcome will be having players able to participate at 100% and a lot of the idea of this list is to have players apt to be able to play those matches. They all become important. There are not starters or substitutes, they all have a specific role, they change position but not quality,” concluded Ramirez.
