Rafael Márquez has moved to end the uncertainty surrounding Gilberto Mora, confirming that the player remains available for Mexico’s meeting with the United States in the Concacaf Clásico. Speaking at a press conference in Phoenix, the Mexico coach addressed the speculation that had built around Mora, who did not play a single minute against Peru and whose absence from recent training sessions had set off alarm bells over a supposed injury.
Márquez explained that the situation was never as serious as the rumours suggested. “Gil underwent routine tests due to some minor discomfort, but he is progressing positively,” he said, adding that the player had been handled with kid gloves for days. The outcome is a positive one for Mexico: Mora will not be out of the Concacaf Clásico, and according to his coach he is eligible for the next match against the United States. Márquez, however, did not reveal whether Mora will start.
The coach also used the press conference to respond to the criticism aimed at him after the previous match against Peru, where he opted to give opportunities to younger players. Márquez said he is calm about that reaction, but suggested he would not necessarily throw them into a game as demanding as the one against the United States. “No need, perhaps, in a match like this to have to put them in, which obviously I have no problem with. I already showed it against Peru, which is, despite it being Peru, was a very competitive team, a team with a lot of experience, and even so I fielded some different from the one that played the first match,” he emphasised.
Even so, Márquez made clear that he retains full faith in the younger members of his squad. He said they had, generally speaking, behaved up to the mark in their previous outing, and that he has no doubt they will rise to the expectations he has of them in a match of this magnitude.