Less than five months before the FIFA men’s World Cup soccer tournament kicks off in Mexico City, two American-born players have completed one-time national team switches from the United States to Mexico.
The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) announced Tuesday that FIFA — the world governing body for soccer — has cleared Brian Gutiérrez and Richard Ledezma to represent Mexico in the 48-nation tournament, set for June 11–July 19 in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.
Mexico’s January Camp has a few Mexican-Americans who made the list for their upcoming friendlies 🌎 ⚽️ 🇲🇽
In this week’s “Shooting It Straight”, @herculezg delved into Richard Ledezma, Brian Gutierrez, and a list of new players who want to represent El Tri beyond borders pic.twitter.com/NKrrekPiRF
— Vamos MIB (@VamosMIB) January 17, 2026
They are also eligible for friendlies this week against Panama (Thursday in Panama City) and Bolivia (Sunday in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia).
Though Gutiérrez and Ledezma are viewed as promising contributors rather than established stars or automatic starters, they should bolster the talent level on coach Javier Aguirre’s 26-man World Cup roster.
The squad has fallen one spot to No. 16 in the newest FIFA world rankings, one place behind the United States and one ahead of Uruguay — a far cry from when Mexico was No. 4 in the world just before the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Gutiérrez, 22, and Ledezma, 25, both were born in the United States and hold dual citizenship, having previously appeared for U.S. teams at the youth or senior level.
FIFA regulations allow a player with fewer than three senior caps before age 21 to change associations after completing the paperwork, which Mexico and FIFA have now finalized for both.
The FMF said the pair had informed officials they wanted to represent Mexico permanently.
Gutiérrez (born in Berwyn, Illinois) played in two friendlies for the U.S. men’s national team in January 2025 that did not lock in his allegiance.
Ledezma (born in Phoenix, Arizona) owns a single USMNT senior cap from 2020 and played at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup, requiring a one-time switch under FIFA rules because those games are official youth competition.
Both players recently joined the Liga MX squad Chivas of Guadalajara — Gutiérrez from the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer and Ledezma from PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands’ top pro league. Neither had played in Liga MX previously.
Gutiérrez is an attacking midfielder coming off a nine-goal, three-assist MLS season for the Fire. His 19 goals and 17 assists over the past four seasons for Chicago suggest he’ll add more scoring punch and ball-carrying ability to Mexico’s roster.
Ledezma, meanwhile, has been highlighted for his “European vision” and his ability to create high-level scoring chances since joining Chivas six months ago.
After the games this week, Mexico is scheduled for more World Cup preparation with friendlies Feb. 7 against Iceland (in Querétaro), March 21 against Portugal (in Mexico City) and March 25 against Belgium (in Chicago).
Mexico will open the 2026 World Cup in Group A against South Africa on June 11 at Estadio Azteca, renamed Estadio Banorte for marketing purposes.
The last men’s World Cup was Qatar 2022, where Mexico failed to advance to the knockout round for the first time since 1978.
