FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — You could make the case that, given where he stands alphabetically in the U.S. player pool, Alex Zendejas was almost certain to receive the No. 26 uniform on a 26-man World Cup squad.
You could also reasonably conclude the number reflected his very much uncertain status in the weeks leading to Mauricio Pochettino’s roster announcement Tuesday in New York.
As teammate Cristian Roldan said, “We joked around about his number because we were probably one of the later guys on the roster.”
Truth is, there wasn’t much rhyme or reason to Zendejas’ 26. (Or Roldan’s 15.) And the 28-year-old winger — and only U.S. World Cup player employed by a Mexican club — was by no means someone chosen just to sit on the end of the bench.
Coming off another standout season for Liga MX’s Club América, Zendejas brandished strong credentials as Pochettino and his staff weighed roster decisions ahead of this summer’s soccer festival across North America.
There were doubts, however, about Zendejas making the cut. Since scoring a terrific goal against Japan in September, he withdrew from October camp with a knee injury, missed the November assembly and wasn’t summoned for the last camp, in March.
It felt increasingly unlikely he’d make the cut.
“I’ve always said it depends what you do at club level,” Zendejas said Friday. “I tried to do my best, and thankfully the call came in.”
He was in San Antonio with his girlfriend and family when the message to all 26 chosen players arrived last Friday.
“It’s hard to make my dad cry,” he said of his father, Alfredo. “My mom, she’s very sensitive, like me, but whenever my dad cries, that’s how you know it’s serious. When he hugged me, I could feel shaking in his voice. He started tearing up, and that makes me tear up.”
Until that moment, Zendejas had done a lot of waiting and wondering. Since América’s season had ended 12 days earlier with a quarterfinal defeat, he had bided his time by training on his own and attempting to remain match fit in case the call came.
When it did, he celebrated with family before packing his bags for the roster celebration in lower Manhattan.
“Super exciting week for me and my family — all these sacrifices ever since I was little, finally paying off,” he said. “They’ve always paid off [as a player], but it’s just like another cherry on top, man. Super grateful to be here.”
Zendejas is an X factor in Pochettino’s plans — a small, elusive and technical winger with the ability to keep opponents off-balance.
Pochettino called him a “very interesting player tactically” because “he can play on the wings or in the midfield pockets [and] offers a number of possibilities.”
Zendejas also brings productivity: 48 goals and 29 assists in 162 Liga MX matches since joining América five years ago. He is regarded as one of the league’s most impactful players.
“He has something that’s different, that’s unique — his technical ability, his final product,” Roldan said. “We see that out in training every time we’re with him — and he was killing it.”
Problem was, he was also battling injuries. He missed all four club matches in January and four more between Feb. 12 and March 1. As he worked his way back, Pochettino left him off the March roster for the friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.
“Credit to him for probably having a little bit of doubt in his mind but playing well and continuing to play well,” Roldan said.
From Cuidad Juárez to the USMNT World Cup squad
Zendejas’ story began on both sides of the Rio Grande. Born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the family moved across the border to El Paso before he turned 1.
“At home, I always spoke Spanish,” he said in English. “I love the Mexican culture, their food, their history, especially me living down there [now]. … I love both sides and the way it shaped me. I love it because I grew up doing both things at the same time. So I don’t prefer one or the other. I’m just grateful to have both citizenship.”
In soccer, he also straddled both countries. He came through the FC Dallas academy system and, at age 15, joined the U.S. Soccer residency program in Bradenton, Florida.
Richie Williams, the U.S. under-17 national team coach at the time, admired not just Zendejas’ skill set but his off-field work ethic.
“He was always around, helping move equipment and picking up balls,” Williams said. “Great kid on top of being a great player.”
Like the 5-foot-6 Zendejas, Williams, a former MLS defensive midfielder, is small. So the 5-5 ex-MLS defensive midfielder could relate to the teenager using his strength to ward off challenges from bigger players.
“Small guys still need to have agility and strength,” Williams said. “That’s what I remember: He wasn’t getting knocked off the ball.”
Zendejas made the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup squad in Chile, playing alongside current teammates Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Haji Wright and Auston Trusty.
Despite Zendejas’ U.S. experiences, Mexico remained part of his soccer life. After launching his career with an FC Dallas homegrown contract, he moved to Chivas, the famed Mexican club in Guadalajara, then to Necaxa.
Soon, the Mexican national team program took notice. (As a dual national, he was eligible for both countries.) In 2021-22, he made two appearances for Mexico’s senior squad.
However, he was tied to the U.S. program because he had played in official competition. Without requesting a one-time switch, he was ineligible to play in those Mexican friendlies. FIFA declared them forfeits and fined the Mexican federation.
Mexico’s pursuit continued, but Zendejas had made up his mind to remain with the U.S. program. He became the second Mexican-born player to play for the U.S. national team after Martín Vázquez in the 1990s. He’s also the first Liga MX player on a U.S. World Cup squad since Herculez Gomez and José Francisco Torres in 2010.
In Mexico, Zendejas has dealt with the fallout of staying with the U.S.
“It’s just how you manage it,” he said.
He made seven of his 13 U.S. appearances in 2023 alone, scoring against Grenada in a Concacaf Nations League match. The following year, in Pochettino’s second game in charge, he played the second half of a friendly against Mexico in Guadalajara.
Zendejas’ goal against Japan last fall in Columbus, Ohio, was a beauty: a 12-yard side volley in the first half of a 2-0 victory. Pochettino invited him back a month later, but a knee injury forced him to leave camp.
“When you’re injured, you’re going through hard times … having my family, those friends, for sure helped me,” he said.
The March camp came and went without him. His América campaign, though, got back on track with four goals and three assists the final month, including two goals and an assist in the playoff finale against Pumas.
Pochettino took note. Zendejas’ eight-month absence from the U.S. scene ended Tuesday in New York with his introduction onto an outdoor stage — as that last player, No. 26.
“I’m here,” he said, “and I’m happy.”
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