Oribe Peralta prioritizes Mexican players over naturalized players
The directors of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) have made moves....
The directors of the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) have made moves in recent years to provide good players for the Mexican national team. Among them are several naturalized footballers. Oribe Peralta is aware that they can bring a leap in quality, but he prefers to trust Mexican players. In recent years, El Tri has naturalized players of the caliber of Rogelio Funes Mori, Julian Quinones, German Berterame, among others. The next one on their radar would be Alvaro Fidalgo. Fidalgo's contribution, but acknowledged that it's a position with a lot of talent and competition within the Mexican squad. "I'm very clear on this, I think it's a position where you have more than enough players, and if he's playing at a high level, of course I don't see any problem with him being called up (...) I also think that there are Mexican players who, at the level Fidalgo is at today, are far superior to those who aren't naturalized," Peralta said in statements published by Record. Alvaro Fidalgo will have another challenge in the months leading up to the World Cup. "El Maguito" will play with Real Betis in Spain. Manuel Pellegrini seems fully prepared to offer opportunities to the Club America midfielder. Fidalgo has already made his debut with the club. He could arrive at the World Cup in good competitive form.
Mexican Goals for El Tri
Another case of a naturalized player is that of German Berterame. The Argentine-born striker has been a regular call-up under Javier Aguirre. Oribe Peralta prefers Armando Gonzalez to the Inter Miami striker. “La Hormiga” (The Ant) maintains a good scoring rate with Chivas de Guadalajara, but has received few opportunities with El Tri.
“I would really like it to be 'La Hormiga,' I think he's someone who has shown promise, who is improving (…) While I think he doesn't have a leading role right now, so to speak, he's someone with a lot of hunger, he's an important game-changer,”He stated.
Armando Gonzalez has played 3 matches with the Mexican national team. The 22-year-old forward has only started one match. Since his debut with El Tri on November 19, 2025, “La Hormiga” has accumulated 103 minutes on the field.

