Monterrey midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez has been included in a Mexico squad for the first time, with Juan Carlos Osorio including the California-born teenager in his squad to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in a Jan. 31 friendly.
With FIFA set to approve the player's one-time change of association, Gonzalez is set to represent El Tri for the first time in next week's match. He played for the United States at the U-17 and U-20 levels but elected earlier this month to make a push for minutes.
The match falls outside of the FIFA window, which sees Mexico using a side largely composed of players who play in Liga MX. The federation announced Tuesday that MLS trio Giovani dos Santos, Jonathan dos Santos and Carlos Vela would be involved . All three were on the 2017 Confederations Cup roster, but inconsistent form and the emergence of other talented attackers has put Gio's position in particular in question. Jona and Vela spent a portion of their offseason training at Mexico's Centro de Alto Rendimento.
"We think that after going to Los Angeles and observing them working, we think they should be in this squad to have international matches and hopefully get as close as possible to be on the final list," Osorio said at his news conference Thursday.
The most notable absences are veterans who Osorio said were not in the squad because of a decision taken between the staff and the players. Cruz Azul goalkeeper Jesus Corona and Club America forward Oribe Peralta were not included in the group.
Oswaldo Alanis, who Osorio noted Thursday is one of the few left-footed center back options he has in the player pool, is included despite not playing yet this season after a contract dispute with Chivas. Jurgen Damm also is included in the team after missing out on the first two weeks of the season with a fireworks injury and being involved in a strange incident with state police Wednesday when he was detained in a chicken restaurant but later released after it was confirmed it was a misunderstanding.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Rodolfo Cota (Chivas,) Gibran Lajud (Tijuana), Jonathan Orozco (Santos Laguna)
Defenders: Oswaldo Alanis (Chivas), Nestor Araujo (Santos Laguna), Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Cesar Montes (Monterrey), Luis "Chaka" Rodriguez (Tigres), Edson Alvarez (Club America), Jesus Gallardo (Pumas)
Midfielders: Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Jonathan Gonzalez (Monterrey), Victor Guzman (Pachuca), Jorge Hernandez (Pachuca), Orbelin Pineda (Chivas), Jurgen Damm (Tigres), Javier Aquino (Tigres), Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Elias Hernandez (Leon),
Forwards: Alan Pulido (Chivas), Henry Martin (America), Rodolfo Pizarro (Chivas), Carlos Vela (LAFC)
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