July friendly: Napoli, Atletico Madrid, Ajax stars top list as Mexico name 45-man squad for Nigeria clash

The reigning Gold Cup champions have named a strong-looking squad for their intercontinental faceoff against the African giants

Mexico national team handler Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has named Napoli forward Hirving Lozano, Atletico Madrid midfielder Hector Herrera and Ajax defender Edson Álvarez among the 45 players to trade tackles with Nigeria next month.

Mexico’s El Tri meet with the Super Eagles on July 4 in an international friendly match in the United States four days after facing Panama.

The pair of warmup matches aims to get the reigning continental champions in the best possible condition before defending their title when the Gold Cup begins on July 10.

Nigeria, on the other hand, are looking to use the game to prepare ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, which kicks off in September.

The three-time African champions played twice against Cameroon earlier in June, losing the first before drawing the other.

But while head coach Gernot Rohr is still unsure about which of his regular stars would be available for the Mexico game, Tata Martino has released a 45-man roster for the encounter.

Victor Osimhen’s teammate at Napoli, Lozano, headlines an attack that also has Santos Laguna’s Eduardo Aguirre and Monterrey’s Rogelio Funes Mori, who only recently switched his allegiance from Argentina.

Former Manchester United striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández, who currently plays in the MLS for the LA Galaxy, is the most notable name absent from the list.

Mexico’s list to face Nigeria (as per Estadiodeportivo)

Goalkeepers: Alfredo Talavera (Pumas UNAM), Rodolfo Cota (León), Guillermo Ochoa (América), Jonathan Orozco (Tijuana), Sebastián Jurado (Cruz Azul), and Luis Malagón (Necaxa).

Defenders: Héctor Moreno, César Montes and Jesús Gallardo (Monterrey), Edson Álvarez (Ajax-NED), Jorge Sánchez (América), Jesús Angulo (Atlas), Néstor Araujo (Celta de Vigo-ESP), Gerardo Arteaga (Genk-BEL ), Carlos Salcedo and Luis Rodríguez (Tigres UANL), Johan Vásquez (Pumas UNAM), Luis Romo (Cruz Azul), Gilberto Sepúlveda (Guadalajara), Osvaldo Rodríguez (León) and Kevin Álvarez (Pachuca).

Midfielders: Andrés Guardado and Diego Lainez (Real Betis-ESP), Carlos Rodríguez (Monterrey), Héctor Herrera (Atlético de Madrid-ESP), Erick Aguirre (Pachuca), Roberto Alvarado and Orbelín Pineda (Cruz Azul), Jonathan Dos Santos ( LA Galaxy-USA), Erick Gutiérrez (PSV Eindhoven-NED), Rodolfo Pizarro (Inter Miami-USA), Sebastián Córdova (America), Jesús Angulo, Uriel Antuna and Fernando Beltrán (Guadalajara), Alan Cervantes (Santos Laguna) and José Esquivel (Juárez FC).

Forwards: Hirving Lozano (Napoli-ITA), Henry Martín (América), Jesús Corona (Oporto-POR), Alan Pulido (Sporting Kansas City-USA), Alexis Vega and José Juan Macías (Guadalajara), Rogelio Funes Mori (Monterrey) and Eduardo Aguirre (Santos Laguna).