Giovani dos Santos will hope to solidify his spot on the Mexican National Team ahead of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Saturday when El Tri face New Zealand in a friendly in Nashville.
Dos Santos was called into the 23-man Mexico roster for their friendlies against New Zealand on Saturday in Nashville and Panama on Oct. 11 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. The camp is Dos Santos’ first appearance on a Mexico roster since the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Dos Santos joined up with Mexico on Monday in Mexico City before the team traveled to Tennessee for the start of their American tour. The Galaxy star is expected to return to the Galaxy next week ahead of Los Angeles’ match against the Houston Dynamo on Oct. 15.
“I feel very happy to be back with the national team after a year of not being there. I’ve been working really hard to be back there, and I’m excited to get back to the national team,” Dos Santos told LAGalaxy.com last week. “I’ve been working really hard this year, I feel like I’m in good shape right now, I go there with a lot of confidence, and I’ll try to do my best to help my national team.”
According to the El Tri boss, the matches could be vitally important for Dos Santos to get back in his plans ahead of the final round of World Cup qualifying.
“We have in the past invited him to be with the national team, but for different reasons, he wasn’t able to come,” Osorio told The Tennessean. “But now the timing was a good opportunity because he is playing very well, and the Mexican national team always welcomes not only him but all players playing abroad that are contributing to leave a good image of Mexican soccer at this time. So it will be good to have him.”
Mexico’s October friendlies will serve as preparation for Mexico’s all-important World Cup qualifier against the United States on Nov. 11 in Columbus. The match against New Zealand is of particular importance for Osorio who believes that their athletic ability mirrors what Mexico will see when they face the USMNT.
“We believe that one of the strengths of the U.S. national team is their athleticism,” Osorio said. “We also think that the New Zealand team will be a very athletic team. They will be very good in the air and in set pieces … which is certainly one of the strengths of the U.S.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
