United States winger Alex Zendejas additional fueled his rising fame with one other standout efficiency in Sunday’s Liga MX remaining second leg, serving to Membership America clinch a historic third-straight championship.
Zendejas, an intriguing possibility for the U.S. males’s nationwide staff and new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, arrange his staff’s solely purpose in a 1-1 draw that sealed a 3-2 mixture victory over Monterrey. The 26-year-old’s good header fell to teammate Richard Sanchez, who powered residence a spectacular strike from outdoors the field.
For Pochettino, there’s a lot to love about Zendejas. Going into 2025, the participant’s confidence might hardly be larger, having scored a vital purpose within the first leg of the Liga MX Apertura season’s decider midweek and once more proving to be the chief impetus of the Membership America assault on Sunday. Since Mexican soccer moved to a cut up season in 1991, no staff had beforehand gained three consecutive titles.
Regardless of controversy trailing his nationwide staff profession at nearly each flip, Zendejas’s pace and decisiveness — and most of all his kind — look prone to hold him firmly in Pochettino’s ideas going right into a important yr.
Earlier than switching allegiance a remaining time, Zendejas performed for first the U.S. after which Mexico at youth degree, the place paperwork irregularities attributable to his failure to file a one-time swap led to the Mexican federation being hit with FIFA fines and compelled to forfeit 5 video games.
Born in Mexico however raised in Texas, he got here by the ranks at FC Dallas earlier than shifting to Guadalajara to hitch Liga MX giants Chivas in 2016. As lately as October he indicated he can be open to enjoying for Mexico once more — a weird remark provided that he has lengthy since been locked into representing solely the U.S. at senior degree shifting forwards.
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He was used as a late sub by Pochettino in each USMNT current video games in opposition to Jamaica within the Nations League, however didn’t have sufficient time to impress considerably in both.
Zendejas was additionally linked with a transfer to the LA Galaxy final yr however, as some of the dynamic gamers in Liga MX over the previous season, his choices for a profitable transfer, or an enhanced contract with Membership America, may have elevated.
(High picture: Azael Rodriguez/Getty Photos)
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