After the disaster of falling in the group stage of the last Copa América, the duo of Javier Aguirre and Rafa Márquez has brought back hope to Máximo, who will have the chance to redeem himself in this final four of the CONCACAF Nations League. To do so, they must first overcome Canada in the semifinals... while the debate over the '9' position has flared up again.

Santi fades… and Raúl is reborn

It could be called a "problem of the rich." But it’s been a long time since Mexico had two forwards of the caliber of Santi Giménez, who is starting to make his first steps in a major European club like Milan, and Raúl Jiménez, who, after several tough seasons since the head injury he suffered, has rebounded this season with Fulham at 33 years old.

The form of both forwards is completely different. On one side, Santi Giménez has gone five matches without scoring, and his last goal with Mexico was in the 2023 Gold Cup final. Moreover, he couldn’t be part of the last international break due to a muscle issue, and his spot was taken by Raúl Jiménez, who didn’t waste his chance after almost a year of absence from the national team and scored one of the goals in the comeback against Honduras in the quarterfinals of the Nations League.

This will be Javier Aguirre's choice to face Canada

That goal by Raúl Jiménez was the result of what has been his best season in Europe since 2019-2020 with Wolves. He has scored 12 goals with Fulham and is especially motivated for this international break, as he could surpass a legend like Luis Hernández and become the fourth all-time top scorer in the history of the Mexican national team.

Considering the current form of both forwards, sources from Mexico report that Javier Aguirre will stick with his decision to give Raúl Jiménez another start. This decision has sparked quite a bit of controversy and debate on social media, especially after Aguirre publicly defended Tata Martino's decision to leave Santi Giménez out of the 2022 World Cup. But, we won’t know for sure until tonight.