Mexico Under-17 World Cup squad with León players Santiago Cisneros and Alan Hernández, Digi Mart USA News (León, Guanajuato): Club León’s youth system is set to return to the international spotlight. Young players Santiago Cisneros and Alan Hernández have been included in the final list of Mexico’s Under-17 national team for the FIFA World Cup, scheduled from November 19 to December 13 in Qatar.
Both players are among 21 footballers selected by head coach Jürgen Castañeda, who aims to lead the national side to the forefront of the competition. Mexico was placed in Group K, where it will face Romania, Cameroon and Venezuela during the group stage.
The call-up marks a new step in the careers of Cisneros and Hernández, who since the beginning of the year have begun attracting attention outside Mexico. Both players completed a preparation stay with Dutch club Ajax, an experience that allowed them to showcase their abilities at one of European football’s most important academies.
Their performances also opened the door to trials with AS Monaco of France and LASK of Austria, clubs that closely followed the development of players trained at the León institution.
The core of the Mexican squad is made up of players from Liga MX clubs, although the roster also includes players competing abroad. Among them are goalkeeper Marcelo Ávalos of the San Jose Earthquakes, midfielders Jonathan de la Fuente and Matthew Arana of the Colorado Rapids, and forward Da’vian Kimbrough of FC Dallas, among others.
Mexico’s Under-17 team will make its World Cup debut on Saturday, November 21, at the Aspire Zone sports complex in Doha, where it will play all of its group-stage matches. Kickoff times for the group matches are listed as 9:30, 7:30 and 10:00 a.m.
Mexico City time.
