Carlos Rodríguez was one of the big absences from Javier Aguirre's pre-selection for the 2026 World Cup. The Cruz Azul footballer was a regular player in the squads. “Charly” acknowledged that this has affected him, but he still has the hope of being in the World Cup.

The Cruz Azul footballer was one of the usual names, from Liga MX, in the El Tri calls. But the preselection came after the regular round and the name “Charly” did not appear. Rodríguez himself acknowledged that this has affected him.

“Obviously it hurts you not to be on a list where you wanted to see yourself, as you say I think I did practically the entire process, but in the end they are decisions and they are respected, now I am in a stage where I am enjoying myself and I think that if I had been on another one it would have been difficult for me to leave,” said the Mexican in a statement published by Récord.

Despite not being in the concentration modules, Carlos Rodríguez still hopes to convince Javier Aguirre. “Charly” has a great goal ahead of him: the Clausura 2026 final with Cruz Azul. In a way, this is the consolation prize for the Mexican midfielder.

“As long as the final list does not come out, there are always possibilities, but I am completely happy, I told my teammates, I may miss a World Cup, but I am competing in a final with the team,” he added.

Carlos Rodríguez in the Mexican team

Everything seems to indicate that Carlos Rodríguez did not convince the coaching staff of the Mexican team. “Charly” would not have entered the plans of Javier Aguirre and his team. The Mexican midfielder saw many minutes in El Tri's last games.

Carlos Rodríguez saw minutes with the Mexican team in four of the last five friendly matches. “Charly” played in almost all of Mexico's games in 2026. “Charly” saw minutes against Panama, Bolivia, Iceland, and Portugal. In the last match against Belgium he stayed on the substitute bench.