Earlier this month Mexico received a hard blow when it was confirmed that Rodrigo Huescas had torn his ACL which meant that his dream to make the 2026 World Cup was almost all but gone. With his absence
Mexico will need to replace him in the back but is there even a proper replacement that can give the same quality as Huescas? Let’s look at the options.
Rodrigo Huescas moved to FC Copenhagen in the summer of 2024 to achieve his dream of playing abroad despite the challenges Cruz Azul put up. In his first year in Europe the youngster won two trophies, the Danish Cup and Superliga. He cemented his starting spot in the backline after winning the trust of head coach Jacob Neestrup. Not only did Huescas win the clubs’ confidence but also the fans who have shown him love throughout the season. Unfortunately he was stopped in his tracks when he went down with injury in the first half of their Champions League match. Copenhagen went on to lose to Qarabag FK and their chances of making it to the next round of the competition looks slimmer and slimmer each day.
While there is still a small chance to recover before the start of the World Cup, more than likely he will miss out on the summer tournament due to the recovery time of an ACL injury. The recovery period is usually eight to nine months which would bring his return to June. Even if he would get the medical green light it would not mean he is ready since he was out of commission for eight months. His early return could potentially lead to problems down the future for a short-term tournament. With his absence that means Mexico will have to rely on another defender. The choices are Jorge Sanchez, Kevin Alvarez and Julian Araujo.
Jorge Sanchez
Jorge Sanchez made a move to Europe in 2022 leaving Club América and Liga MX behind. He made the move to the Eredivisie to play with Ajax where Edson Alvarez was also playing at. Unfortunately, the move abroad did not go well for the defender as he struggled with Ajax. He wasn’t able to adapt as well as he had hoped for which wasn’t a big surprise as other Mexican players who have played abroad have talked about the struggle to adapt to a European style of play. After one season Ajax loaned him out to Porto hoping this club would bode better for the Mexican but that was not the case. After two years in Europe Sanchez returned to Mexico to play with Cruz Azul. Since his return the player has played an integral role with the team with many assuming he did not have what it took to play in Europe. Even though Sanchez is an important figure with Cruz Azul that has not stopped him making mistakes, which he has continuously made. One of his biggest mistakes was in the Clasico against Club América where he allowed Brian Rodriguez to get past him and score a goal. This gigantic error made Mexico fans realize that maybe Sanchez is not the right person to be in the back. However, he seems to be the preference of Javier Aguirre despite his continuous errors.
Kevin Alvarez
When the youngster Kevin Alvarez made his move from Pachuca to Club América it surprised many who believed he would have made the jump to Europe. Instead he made his move to Mexico City hoping to use the club as a springboard to Europe but that has not been the case. He has faced injuries and decided that the city life was more fun than becoming a better footballer and is one of the reasons why he’s not the best option to take over for Rodrigo Huescas in the backline. However, the Mexican National Team doesn’t have many options to choose from. At first he was the player that many saw while he was at Pachuca but soon his form started to decline as he was more interested in his life off the field than his football career. He became distracted from the podcast he used to share with Miguel Layun and Igor Lichnovsky and it became an issue that eventually he and Lichnovsky had to step away from it, allegedly due to the club itself forbidding it. Even though now he has no distractions it hasn’t changed his levels. He still continues to make mistakes and one of those errors cost América the game in a Clasico against Cruz Azul. Just like Jorge Sanchez, Alvarez made a mistake in the back which allowed Cruz Azul to level the game and eventually win it all. It seems as though he has not learned from his past errors. The only reason he continues to be an important role for his club is because he assists goals and scores them too. If that wasn’t the case then maybe he would be on the bench. Instead he has made a return to the national team after a long absence since Mexico lacks depth in the right back position. With his return he will fight with Jorge Sanchez for the starting position and that doesn’t bring much comfort to Mexico fans anywhere.
Julian Araujo
The youngster made his debut in the MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy. After more than four years with them he caught the attention of FC Barcelona. It was a saga completing his transfer but ultimately he made the move to Spain. Months after his initial move, Barcelona then loaned him out for the entire 2023/2024 season to Las Palmas. He had a solid performance while on loan where he scored two goals, one in a cup game and the other in a league game. Once the season came to an end he returned to Barcelona where he had a clean slate to wow new head coach Hansi Flick. Unfortunately for the Mexican player, Flick moved on from him which forced Araujo to find a new team before a new season began. Thankfully he found a new home in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth. He had secured momentum with his new team but then he suffered a hamstring injury that had to have surgery. He came back in the second part of the season and it looked like things were going to go well in his second season. That did not happen and his sophomore season has so far been a bad one. So far in 10 games with the club he has been benched four times, not called-up for matchday five times and has only played one full game that saw him sent off after a second yellow card. The subsequent red card was during the EFL Cup game that he played 90 minutes for and it was during added time where he committed a reckless foul which resulted in a second yellow card. He did not find his way back to the bench for four weeks and since his return he has been an unused substitute. It was as if he was already on thin ice at the beginning of the season and the red card confirmed the coach’s decision to not play him. If Araujo can regain his form and make his way back to Bournemouth’s starting lineup then he could make his way back to the Mexican National Team. He was once seen as a solid back-up so hopefully he is able to regain that form.
Mexico does not have a lot of options at right back with Rodrigo Huescas’ injury. While Jorge Sanchez, Kevin Alvarez and Julian Araujo are seen as his biggest replacements Israel Reyes could also be one. The youngster has played at right back from América multiple times throughout his time in Mexico City and he was once favored in the backline for Mexico. Reyes could be just what Mexico needs. Either way, Mexico needs to find a solution to their right back problem before the start of the 2026 World Cup.
