The preliminary 40-man Mexico Copa America roster has been released, and most of the familiar names are on it. The problem now is whittling that number down to 23. Here's how we'd do it.
Here's the roster (Via MLSSoccer.com):
40-Man Mexico Copa America Roster
GK - Talavera, Alfredo (Toluca / Mexico)
GK - Corona, Jose de Jesus (Cruz Azul / Mexico)
GK - Ochoa, Guillermo (Malaga / Spain)
GK - Palacios, Miguel Alejandro (Pumas UNAM / Mexico)
GK - Orozco, Jonathan (Monterrey / Mexico)
D - Aguilar, Paul (America / Mexico)
D - Jimenez, Israel (Tigres / Mexico)
D - Lopez, Raul (Guadalajara / Mexico)
D - Araujo, Nestor (Santos / Mexico)
D - Reyes, Diego (Real Sociedad / Spain)
D - Moreno, Hector (PSV Eindhoven / Netherlands)
D - Corona, Yasser (Queretaro / Mexico)
D - Salcedo, Carlos (Guadalajara / Mexico)
D - Rivas, Jose (Tigres / Mexico)
D - Torres Nilo, Jorge (Tigres / Mexico)
D - Layun, Miguel (Porto / Portugal)
D - Marquez, Rafael (Atlas / Mexico)
D - Molina, Jesus (Santos / Mexico)
M - Vazquez, Jose Juan (Leon, Mexico)
M - Herrera, Hector (Porto / Portugal)
M - Duenas, Jesus (Tigres / Mexico)
M - Pizarro, Rodolfo (Pachuca / Mexico)
M - Guardado, Andres (PSV Eindhoven / Netherlands)
M - dos Santos, Jonathan (Villarreal / Spain)
M - Hernandez, Elias (Leon / Mexico)
M - Pena, Carlos Alberto (Guadalajara / Mexico)
M - Fabian, Marco (Eintracht Frankfurt / Germany)
M - dos Santos, Giovani (LA Galaxy)
F - Damm, Jurgen (Tigres / Mexico)
F - Lozano, Hirving (Pachuca / Mexico)
F - Vela, Carlos (Real Sociedad / Spain)
F - Pineda, Orbelin (Guadalajara / Mexico)
F - Brizuela, Isaac (Guadalajara / Mexico)
F - Corona, Jesus (Porto / Portugal)
F - Aquino, Javier (Tigres / Mexico)
F - Ramirez, Candido (Monterrey / Mexico)
F - Hernandez, Javier (Bayer Leverkusen / Germany)
F - Jimenez, Raul (Benfica / Mexico)
F - Peralta, Oribe (America / Mexico)
F - Herrera, Eduardo (Pumas UNAM / Mexico)
And here are our picks for the 23.
23-Man Mexico Copa America Roster
Goalkeepers(3): Memo Ochoa, Jose Corona, Jonathan Orozco
Memo Ochoa
He recently got his starting position back at Malaga, which for me makes him a lock for Mexico's number one keeper.
Jose Corona
As recently as January there were rumblings that Corona had surpassed Ochoa as Mexico's number one. While I don't think that will be the case this summer, Corona is a more capable backup than most teams will have available.
Jonathan Orozco
Ideally you would have a young goalkeeper as your third option, a player who can learn from the experience off the field and prepare for the future. That hasn't happened here, as Jonathan Orozco is the youngest keeper selected to the preliminary roster. He's 29. Ideally, we would have like to see Jesse Gonzalez or Raul Gudino here, but it'll have to be Orozco.
Defenders (8): Miguel Layun, Jorge Torres Nilo, Hector Moreno, Rafa Marquez, Diego Reyes, Carlos Salcedo, Israel Jimenez, Paul Aguilar
Miguel Layun
"Layundowski" is crushing it in Portugal, and it's hard for me to think of any Mexico defender in better form right now. Plus, he can play multiple positions well, which will help Osorio with tactical adjustments.
Jorge Torres Nilo
Osorio thinks very highly of Torres Nilo, who could very well start at left back this summer.
Hector Moreno
He's the best Mexican center-back in Europe and probably the best center-back in the El Tri player pool.
Rafa Marquez
No one available has been involved in bigger moments than Marquez, and including the 37-year-old could help ease the nerves of younger players.
Diego Reyes
He gets enough time in La Liga for Real Sociedad that he should be a near-lock.
Carlos Salcedo
One of the most talented young defenders in Mexico, the only way Osorio is leaving Salcedo at home is if Mexico chooses to go all-in for the Olympics.
Israel Jimenez
Would ideally back up Paul Aguilar on the right, and there's no one better suited for it.
Paul Aguilar
Here's my argument:
You're not leaving that dude at home.
Midfielders (6): Jonathan Dos Santos, Marco Fabian, Andres Guardado, Elias Hernandez, Hector Herrera, Rodolfo Pizarro
Jonathan Dos Santos
He will likely have to represent the entire Dos Santos family this summer, but Jonathan is up to it. Look for him to combine with Guardado and Herrera to form a stable, organized midfield.
Marco Fabian
We all know the knocks against Marco Fabian: he's slow, usually out of shape and probably drunk. He's also good enough to change a match with a single run, which makes him an ideal player to come off of Osorio's bench.
Andres Guardado
He's the captain. He's going.
Elias Hernandez
Elias is an ideal game-changing option off the bench, much like Marco Fabian. Also, I've never heard of anyone named "Elias" who is bad at soccer.
Hector Herrera
Although he started his season slowly, Herrera has blossomed in the last few months, and will bring skill, vision, work rate and consistency to Mexico's midfield.
Rodolfo Pizarro
Mexico isn't super deep at center-mid, and Pizarro's inclusion would give the 22-year-old some good experience and set the position up for success in the future.
Forwards: Raul Jimenez, Javier Aquino, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, Carlos Vela, Jesus "Tecatito" Corona, Oribe Peralta
Raul Jimenez
He's had a knack for clutch goals lately for Benfica. Osorio won't want to be left saying "what if?" should Jimenez be left at home and Mexico lose because they just couldn't find a goal late.
Javier Aquino
Aquino would do well in a wide forward role making space in the middle for Chicharito, Jimenez, Vela and/or Peralta.
Chicharito
Duh.
Photo: @TiempoReal_mx | Twitter
Carlos Vela
He has been up and down this season, but when he's up he can be the best player on the field for El Tri.
Tecatito
The youngster has played well this season for Porto, and should look to translate that good form to the international game.
Oribe Peralta
The best header of the ball Mexico have available, Peralta probably won't start any games, but he should be kept on the bench as a "break glass in case of emergency" option should Mexico find themselves chasing a game late.
This lineup, of course, will not be the actual Mexico Copa America roster, if only because I am bad at predicting things. We'll see what happens.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
