Mexico captain Edson Álvarez said he will miss the remainder of the Copa América after picking up a hamstring injury.
Álvarez went down clutching his hamstring in the 30th minute of Mexico’s 1-0 win over Jamaica on Saturday, leaving the pitch in tears.
“I had that dream just like my teammates but sometimes these things happen in football and I will have to learn and grow from all this,” Álvarez said in a video posted on social media by the national team. “I have made the decision to stay with the team until the end, to support and encourage them, as I always have done. Now it will be my turn off the field. It will also help my rehabilitation and return as soon as possible.”
Coach Jaime Lozano had said that losing a leader like Álvarez would be a huge blow to the side.
Lozano named a youthful squad for tournament, in the hopes of trigging a reset after years of underperformance. A generation of players that made the World Cup Round of 16 in 2014 and 2018 failed to get out of the group stage in 2022. Calls for generational change pushed Lozano into leaving 38-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa out of his squad. Hirving Lozano, Henry Martín, Jesús Gallardo and Raúl Jiménez were all also left at home, big-name veterans who had a case to be in the squad but weren’t included.
Álvarez is not only Mexico’s best player, but he also boasts 80 caps, filling some of the leadership void left by the exodus of veterans. With Álvarez out, the manager will turn the captaincy over to 27-year-old Almería defender César Montes
“Now it’s César’s turn to captain, and I think he’s going to help us a lot too,” Lozano said.
Mexico, who are making their 11th appearance in the Copa América, reached the final in 1993 and 2001.
after newsletter promotion
Mexico face Venezuela on Wednesday in their second Group B fixture in Inglewood, California. They will close out the group against Ecuador on Sunday.
