Ochoa off El Tri list: Aguirre does not call him up for October

The Mexican National Team announced its squad list for the October FIFA Date and one absence stands out above all: Guillermo Ochoa was not considered by Javier Aguirre for the friendlies against Ecuador and Colombia. The goalkeeper, who complied with the coach's demand to find a club to stay active, failed to convince the “Vasco” and is left out of a process that is beginning to outline the path towards the .

The news, announced in the RÉCORD program Los Informantes, is a hard blow for the historic 39-year-old goalkeeper. His exclusion opens the question of whether Ochoa will be able to have a place in the team that will compete in the World Cup organized at home along with United States and Canada.

El Tri's goal is going through a renewal process in which Luis Ángel Malagón and Raúl “Tala” Rangel appear as the main options. However, neither of them has managed to take full authority of the position.

Memo Ochoa in his prime. 🔝🇲🇽@yosoy8a | #FIFAWorldCuppic.twitter.com/VP8wIaJ7Ym

Malagón, current goalkeeper for América, was a starter in the last Gold Cup, but left doubts about his performance. In the Apertura 2025 he has played nine of the eleven games, with three clean sheets, although without reaching the level that the fans expected.

For his part, Rangel, undisputed in the Chivas, has had ups and downs at the start of the tournament: he has conceded 17 goals in 11 games and only managed to keep a clean sheet in two. Despite this, “Tala” maintains the trust of his club and is now fighting to consolidate himself in the National Team.

The third place on the list of goalkeepers will be occupied by Carlos Acevedo, Santos Laguna goalkeeper, who returns to a call-up after overcoming physical problems and will be another alternative that Aguirre will seek to test in these friendlies.

The FIFA Date will not be a simple procedure. Mexico will face Ecuador and Colombia, two South American teams that have already secured their presence in the World Cup and arrive with consolidated squads. For Aguirre it will be a litmus test: he will have to find solutions to sensitive losses like Rodrigo Huescas and, above all, thoroughly evaluate the goalkeepers who could assume leadership in goal.

The decision to sideline Ochoa puts an inevitable question on the table: has the cycle of Tri's most emblematic goalkeeper in recent decades already ended? With five World Cups on his resume and memorable performances in venues such as Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, the veteran's absence generates debate among the fans, which divides opinions between those who ask for a definitive renewal and those who defend Memo's experience.

#Find out 🔴 Guillermo Ochoa was not called up by Javier Aguirre for the Mexican National Team's friendlies against Ecuador and Colombia. Everything indicates that the goalkeeper is moving away from the possibility of playing in the 2026 World Cup. pic.twitter.com/VTQEBs2vB4

Beyond the arc, Aguirre also opted to fill the list with players from the fittest clubs in Liga MX. From America Kevin Álvarez, Israel Reyes, Ramón Juárez, Luis Ángel Malagón and the surprise of Alexis Gutiérrez were called. Meanwhile, Cruz Azul contributes Erik Lira, Jorge Sánchez and Jesús Orozco Chiquete, while Ángel Sepúlveda was left out due to injury.

The absence of Guillermo Ochoa, in any case, marks a before and after. The Tri goal is looking for an owner and the clock is ticking: the World Cup is getting closer, and today more than ever it seems that the future of Mexico will be built without its historical guardian.