Altidore destaca la madurez de Zendejas para el Mundial 2026

Jozy Altidore’s support for Alejandro Zendejas has sharpened a familiar World Cup question inside the U.S. setup: in a tournament built on pressure, does experience matter more than raw talent? Mauricio Pochettino put Zendejas on the United States’ 26-player roster for the FIFA World Cup 2026, and the winger from El Paso, Texas, brought more than promise into the camp. He arrived with 13 senior caps, two goals and one assist, plus the kind of club mileage that can steady a side that has often wobbled when the stakes rise.

That pedigree is exactly why Altidore’s endorsement carries weight. Altidore played 115 times for the United States, scored 42 goals, and went to the World Cup in 2010 and 2014. He also logged four Gold Cups, more than 40 World Cup qualifying matches, and a career that stretched beyond 195 goals and 550 games across club and country. In 2014, while out of Sunderland’s lineup, Altidore stressed the value of competitive rhythm before a World Cup, a view that now fits Zendejas, whose club season at América has become the strongest part of his case.

Zendejas has built that case in Mexico City. ESPN reported in July 2025 that he had helped Club América win three Liga MX titles and five trophies in all competitions, while also making the Best XI for the Concacaf Champions Cup 2024 and earning Liga MX player of the month honors early in 2025. U.S. Soccer also noted that he finished last season with 12 goals and seven assists in 33 matches for América, evidence of a player carrying real attacking responsibility, not just filling space on a depth chart.

The debate around him is not only about form, but about selection philosophy. Pochettino considered Zendejas, yet pointed to the risk tied to América’s June 1, 2025 playoff against LAFC for Club World Cup qualification and the injury concerns that came with it. Zendejas was left out of the Gold Cup 2025 squad, and that absence fed a broader conversation about the shrinking presence of Liga MX players around the U.S. team. ESPN recalled that the 2013 Gold Cup roster included six players from Mexico’s top division, a reminder that the pipeline used to run more freely.

For the United States, which opened its World Cup campaign against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12, the choice is less about sentiment than survival. Zendejas offers something the squad needs in a home tournament spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico: a player shaped by title races, not just potential. In a pressure-heavy opener, that kind of maturity can matter as much as talent.