Mexico’s national team manager Miguel Herrera has said he wants to spend the next nine months developing two different national sides.
Mexico are scheduled to compete in both the Gold Cup and the Copa America next summer, and their manager is worried that he might not be able to get the players released for two separate competitions – despite them both being FIFA sanctioned tournaments.
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The Gold Cup is a bi-annual international tournament that is the CONCACAF region’s equivalent of the European Championships. It is important for Mexico as it offers their only route into the Confederations Cup; they cannot qualify through the Copa America because they only participate as guests rather than as a CONMEBOL member.
The 2015 winners will play the USA – winners of the 2013 event – for a place in the four-yearly World Cup warm-up event, next due to be held in Russia in 2017.
“I need to build two national teams, it will be difficult for me to get a player on loan for two tournaments in one summer” said Herrera.
“I feel that it is vital for me to work with the two squads. One group will be the players that will compete in the Copa America and as soon as we are finished we will come together for the CONCACAF competition”.
The Copa America takes place between 11th and 4th July in Chile, while the Gold Cup will be held between the 7th and 26th July in the United States.