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Mexico U-20 players must play in First Division, warns Lillini
🇲🇽 Mexico /Sports

Mexico U-20 players must play in First Division, warns Lillini

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Mexico's U-20 national football team recently won the CONCACAF Championship, securing spots in the 2027 U-20 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
  • Andrés Lillini, director of men's youth national teams, stressed that these young players must gain experience in Mexico's First Division to be considered for the senior national team.
  • Lillini highlighted that players who gained First Division experience performed better in past youth tournaments, emphasizing its importance for future national team development.

Mexico's U-20 national football team has secured its place in the 2027 U-20 World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics after winning the CONCACAF Championship. This achievement marks a significant step in the development process for the next generation of Mexican footballers, with an eye on the 2030 World Cup.

Mexico could not be left out of these competitions, because of the generations it has and all that we have to work with; we are first world and then we have to prepare the World Cup with more exhaustive individual follow-up of the map that Alex [Diego] formed.

— Andrés LilliniLillini commented on Mexico securing qualification for the U-20 World Cup and the Olympics.

Andrés Lillini, the director of men's youth national teams, emphasized that while this generation is poised for major international competitions, their immediate priority must be to prove themselves in Mexico's First Division. "It's time to go to their respective clubs, raise your hand, and show your coaches that you can play," Lillini stated in an interview with EL UNIVERSAL Deportes. He believes this experience is crucial for their development and makes selection easier for the national team.

This generation after the World Cup [2027] will be the third generation for the Olympic Games and hopefully this can have an impact in 2030, but first they have to play in the First Division, it's time to go to their respective clubs, raise your hand and show your coaches that you can play and that is much easier for us when it comes to choosing.

— Andrés LilliniLillini explained the importance of players gaining experience in Mexico's top football league.

Lillini pointed to past successes, noting that players with First Division experience performed decisively in previous youth tournaments. "What you learn in the First Division cannot be learned anywhere else," he said. The goal is for this experience to ultimately benefit the senior national team in the 2030 World Cup, continuing the process that has already begun.

Last year in Chile it was that many arrived with minutes in the First Division and that is decisive for these competitions, what is learned in the First Division is not learned anywhere else and if this then has an impact on the 2030 World Cup, it would be ideal for this process that has already begun.

— Andrés LilliniLillini highlighted the impact of First Division experience on player performance in international tournaments.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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