3 under the radar Mexicans

Data from Fotmob, Wyscout and Golstats. Photo from Fox Deportes.

Last week, the Mexico national team produced their preliminary squad list before the Nations League, containing 60 players. As “TheColorfulKit” said, it basically contains every Mexican one can name.

But this gave me a challenge, could I find any high-performing players that didn’t make the list? Who are the best under the radar Mexicans?

Iván Tona | Midfielder | Tijuana | 2000

Tona is a product of Tijuana’s academy, who first gained experience in the Liga de Expansión with Dorados, Cimarrones and Raya2. He was one of the best performers in the second division of Mexican football, and has maintained an impressive level with Xolos in Liga MX.

Tona is a rather complete midfielder, who tends to play more of a “number 8” role, making positive contributions with and without the ball. His ability to intercept passes has been a strength throughout his career, whilst his progressive passing has developed under Juan Carlos Osorio’s coaching and high possession style in 2024-25.

Tona ranks above average this season for interceptions and progressive passes, compared to Liga MX midfielders.

Iván hasn’t just shown an ability to progress the ball through passes, but also via ball carries. He’s one of the best midfielders in Liga MX at winning 1vs1 duels in the centre of the pitch, and beat an opponent’s press or break a mid/low block, with around 0.8 dribbles completed per game. This ability can massively help teams that aim to have longer possession chains and maintain control under an opposition press. Given his individual quality, Tona can resolve difficult situations and help his side break into space.

Taking into account the growing need to have Mexican players in Liga MX squads, as the number of foreign players allowed has dropped in recent years, Tona should be on the list of many sides in the division. Tigres could be an interesting option, especially if Guido Pizarro will attempt to re-create a high possession style, and their squad is currently lacking a Mexican midfielder.

Brian García | Right-back | Toluca | 1997

The national team do have a variety of right-back options, with Rodrigo Huescas and Julián Araújo playing in Europe, plus Jorge Sánchez’s experience (47 international caps) and Kevin Álvarez. However, I don’t see why Brian García hasn’t been considered. García stands-out in, more or less, every single concept that you’d look for in a full-back.

Ok, García isn’t a completely under the radar player, but I do believe it’s under-appreciated just how complete he is. The concept analysis shows his quality across the board. Retention and progression, quality with the ball at his feet, attacking runs and creativity, frequent ball recoveries, defending 1vs1…he excels in everything.

García doesn’t just have a range of qualities, but also variety in his positioning, offering coaches flexibility in their tactical plans. Like many modern full-backs, he can occupy width or play in the half-space, and is effective at both overlapping and underlapping. Many of his key passes come from the edge of the box or inside the penalty area, where there’s a higher chance of creating a goal than a traditional full-back cross from further wide. García can also find himself in dangerous shooting positions after his movements inside and underlaps, and he’s scored six times since joining Toluca. No full-back has managed more goals in the same time period.

Pavel Pérez | Attacking midfielder | Necaxa | 1998

Pavel Pérez has been a revelation at the start of his time with Necaxa. Since arriving from Chivas, Pérez has played mostly as the left-sided attacking midfielder in Nicolás Larcamón’s 3-4-3. It seemed like a sensible addition to the squad to help Necaxa’s transition into a more intense and aggressive team out of possession. Pérez has consistently been one of the most effective attacking midfielders at generating recoveries in the final third.

However, such an impact from Pérez in possession has been a surprise.

It seems that Pavel has benefitted not just from playing in Larcamón’s higher-risk, attacking style, but also from his connections with José Paradela and Agustín Palavecino. Both players are creative in central areas and can score from around the edge of the box. Most of Pérez’s key passes haven’t created particularly high quality chances, but having more passing options available has boosted his chance creation quantity. He’s averaging 1.95 key passes per game this season, an improvement on 1.31 in Clausura 2024 (his Chivas season with most minutes played).

Despite picking-up an injury, Pérez has played 461 minutes for Necaxa, and only managed more with Chivas in one of his seven seasons after debuting. We’ll have to see if he can keep up this level in a larger sample size, but it seems that Pérez should’ve left earlier in his career to have had more game time during his development process and to have gotten more out of his peak years.

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