MIAMI, Florida – There is a sense of excitement and anticipation building within the Mexican Women’s National Team at present, with a group of young players ready to lift El Tricolor to the elite levels of women’s international football.
That effort got a big boost earlier this month with Concacaf’s announcement of new international competitions for women’s national teams, the Concacaf W Championship in 2022 and the first W Gold Cup in 2024,
One of the key members of Mexico’s burgeoning squad is GK Emily Alvarado, who finished her college soccer career at Texas Christian University and now plays professional in Europe at French club Stade de Reims.
Needless to say, Alvarado could not have been more excited to hear the news that a Gold Cup for women is now a reality.
“Just getting the opportunity to play more international games is always an amazing thing and I think this is a really great way to expand women’s soccer in our region. It’s exciting for the players and the fans as well. They get more access to women’s soccer and as we know, visibility is everything when it comes to growing this game. So yes, I’m very excited,” said Alvarado in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.
The prospect of putting on a Mexico jersey and playing in the tournament, and maybe potentially winning it, would be hugely significant for the 23-year-old.
“It would mean everything. Playing for Mexico is always a huge honor and so to be able to play in a tournament for the national team and potentially come home with hardware is exciting. I’m glad we have an extra opportunity on top of World Cup qualifying to do that,” said Alvarado.
In addition to the W Gold Cup, Alvarado can expect to be in the mix come November when Mexico begin their 2022 Concacaf W Championship Qualifying campaign. Alvarado welcomes the expanded format and feels like it will drive growth across the region.
Mexico headline Group A in which they will face Puerto Rico, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla.
“I think it’s great it’s being expanded and more inclusive of other teams. More national teams are getting the opportunity to play more games to fight for a spot to go to the World Cup and represent Concacaf. I think it’s an amazing thing, being able to play more games is ideal and getting double the number of games is huge,” said Alvarado.
Mexico headline Group A in which they will face Puerto Rico, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla. They may not be too familiar with those Caribbean opponents, but Alvarado expects Mexico to be ready thanks to the work of Head Coach Monica Vergara.
“I personally haven’t played against any of those countries, so I’m excited to be able to face them. I think Mexico’s strategy will be to continue working on what Monica has been teaching us and continue to build on top of that. I think we’ll do well in that group, but that also adds pressure on us to perform. It will be a good first step for us to see how we are developing as a team and to prepare for World Cup qualifying,” said Alvarado.
After missing out on France 2019, there is a hunger within the Mexico team to return El Tricolor to the biggest stage in women’s football at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. There is no doubt that Alvarado and her teammates won’t rest until that ticket is punched for Australia/New Zealand 2023.
“We’re more motivated than ever, especially with Monica leading us. She’s an amazing coach and an amazing person. I’ve had the honor of knowing her for a couple years now and I think we’re an extremely motivated group. It feels like the group has been refreshed, we’re ready to go again. Every camp that we have has a lot of energy, a lot of competitiveness, that extra push that we have been missing in the past. We are motivated, we have a lot to prove and I think we have a good enough group to get us back to where we belong, which is in the World Cup,” concluded Alvarado.
