[Official] 'Mexico, South Korea's World Cup Opponent' Makes Waves with Shocking Selection of 17-Year-Old

*This content was translated by AI.

The Mexican national football team, which is in the same group as the South Korean national team at the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup, has already shifted into World Cup mode. Excluding players based in Europe, the team first announced its initial training roster composed entirely of players from Mexico's domestic Liga MX, where the name of 2008-born Gilberto Mora (Tijuana) stands out.

The Mexican Football Federation announced on the 29th (Korean time) a final training roster of 20 players in preparation for the World Cup. All players are from Liga MX. Twelve of them are players actually preparing for the North American World Cup, while the remaining eight were additionally called up to ensure normal training progress. The training camp led by Mexico national team head coach Javier Aguirre will begin on May 6.

According to a compilation of local Mexican reports, the 12th players excluding the eight additionally called up are highly likely to make the final World Cup roster. The remaining spots are expected to be filled by European-based players, bringing the final World Cup roster to 26 players. The initial roster includes Raul Rangel (Chivas), Jesus Gallardo (Toluca), and Eric Lira (Cruz Azul).

Among them, the standout name is Mora, who is only 17 years old. Notably, he was not selected for additional training but was confidently included in the roster actually preparing for the World Cup. He is naturally the youngest player on this Mexican national team. Compared to South Korean players, he is one year younger than Yang Min-hyuk (Coventry City) and Park Seung-su (Newcastle United), both born in 2007. His position is attacking midfielder and winger. This season, he has recorded six goals and one assist in 20 league matches, and two goals in three cup matches.

Mora is also a new star who has rewritten various Mexican football youth records. He has consecutively set records including the youngest debut in club history (15 years, 305 days), the youngest goal scorer in Liga MX history (15 years, 320 days), and the youngest debut for the Mexican national team last year (16 years, 94 days). He was also included in the final roster for the CONCACAF North American Gold Cup that year, where he recorded an assist in the quarterfinals. After finishing the Gold Cup with the senior national team, he also participated in the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Thanks to this, Europe is also paying attention. The International Sports Research Institute (CIES) under FIFA has currently valued his market worth at up to 15 million euros (approximately 26 billion won). According to the transfer specialist site Transfermarkt, his market value is also 10 million euros (approximately 17.3 billion won). Among all 2008-born players worldwide, he is the third most valuable talent playing in a non-European league. Although he is young, this is a background that the Hong Myung-bo team cannot afford to lower its guard against.

Unless a major upset occurs, Mora is highly likely to make the final North American World Cup roster and play on the World Cup stage, including the match against South Korea. If he plays in this World Cup, he will break the Mexican national team's youngest World Cup appearance record (18 years, 88 days), which has stood since the inaugural World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930, for the first time in 96 years. That stage could even be the group stage's second match against South Korea. The North American edition of football specialist outlet Ole predicted, "If he stays healthy, Mora could become the youngest player to ever appear in a World Cup for Mexico."

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.