There is hope in Central America, too
There is hope in Central America, too
They're not Pulisic or Davies, but let's look at some Europe-based players helping Central American fans dream of the 2022 World Cup and beyond.
FIFA unveiled its start times and several other details about the 2022 World Cup this week. Maybe in other countries it’s easier to be optimistic about enormous events requiring people fly in from dozens of nations happening in 2022.
Hope keeps us all going, though, whether it’s a pandemic or simply watching a bad soccer team.
That’s why United States fans are ready for World Cup qualification to begin, with players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie surely good enough to get out of qualification this time, right? Canada can put its hopes in Alphonso Davies and Co. Mexico has Raul Jimenez ripping it up with Wolves.
Having players excelling in Europe can go a long way toward building hope that this cycle will see your team go to the World Cup and maybe even overachieve.
Here are some players fueling that hope:
🇨🇷 - Manfred Ugalde
The newest member of the Europe-based club is Manfred Ugalde, the Costa Rican teenager who already stood out at Saprissa despite turning 18 in May.
Ugalde is headed to the Belgian second tier to join City Football Group’s new acquisition Lommel. The shifty scorer leaves Saprissa as a champion after earning his first senior national team cap this year as well.
Already some critics have pointed to a disappointing lack of goals in some of the biggest matches, but playing in Europe and developing in the CFC system should help him sharpen up a bit and turn into a frustration for rivals in the region for years to come.
🇵🇦 - Jose Luis Rodriguez
It doesn’t take Jose Luis Rodriguez much time to get up to speed. He made one start for Panama before starting the country’s first-ever match at the World Cup.
Last week, he earned his first appearance in La Liga, playing for Alaves after spending most of the season with the Basque club’s B team. Oh, it was against Real Madrid.
With Alaves staying in the first division, the winger could get more opportunities to test himself against some of the best clubs in the world and perhaps with Edgar Barcenas develop into the sort of attacking threat Panama really has been missing since Blas Perez, Alberto Quintero and Gaby Torres were on the right side of 30.
🇭🇳 - Anthony Lozano
One of those players who seems to be an ‘eternal prospect’ in that he kept doing well and moving up the ranks but never really broke through anywhere.
Now 27, the former Valencia B, Olimpia and Barcelona B forward could see some serious La Liga minutes after scoring 10 goals to help Cadiz secure promotion to the first divison. Or maybe not, since Girona has his rights and could bring Lozano back and take him out of the rhythm he established as the team’s second-top scorer and best in goals per 90.
Lozano’s national team contributions have been sporadic, but if Los Catrachos can get the same production he’s now showing as he enters his prime years, he could be a needed component in Fabian Coito’s attack.
🇬🇹 - A young trio in the Spanish third division
Why is a third-division club in Spain buying up Guatemalan players like TP at the start of a pandemic? It seems to be some sort of link with Club Pachuca. Maybe it’s a future newsletter?
What I do know is that Guatemala is not a country with a history of sending their players to the top leagues or even the same countries where the top leagues are taking place.
Last week Marco Rosales, a young right back who was in a Pachuca-linked school in Hidalgo, became the third Guatemalan to sign with CF Motril, joining goalkeeper Diego Navas and midfielder Javier Carrillo.
The level probably isn’t high enough for those players (or Andorra-based defender Nico Rodas) to make a huge difference in 2022, but Guatemalans will hope they’re soon seeing a movement of players who can get out of the domestic league at a young age and begin improving.
That’s the hope of all fans in the region still. While quality continues to grow in Liga MX, MLS and other leagues around Concacaf, the best hope is for players to get to Europe quickly, learn from the best, be in constant competition both for spots on their own team and against top players on other teams and return home to play for the national team as examples of what can happen if you push yourself and go abroad.
Meanwhile, for fans who are sitting at home and rooting these players on, hope springs eternal.