MIAMI, Florida – The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar kicks off on Sunday with 32 teams in pursuit of lifting the trophy and proclaiming themselves world champions.
Each of the four Concacaf teams in the tournament boast a special kind of player who is capable of making a play that can change the course of a game and swing things in their team’s favor.
For Mexico, that player is Hirving Lozano.
The 27-year-old Napoli forward has become one of the most important players for the Mexico squad in recent years.
Overall, he has 59 Mexico caps to his name, including four games at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and has scored 16 goals. One of those scores came in memorable fashion, as it was Lozano who struck for the winning goal in Mexico’s dramatic 1-0 win versus Germany in their opening match at Russia 2018.
His accomplishments with El Tricolor don’t stop there. Lozano was a member of the Mexico teams that finished as runners-up of the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League and the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup.
In Concacaf World Cup Qualifying, Lozano has been a venerable force, scoring four goals in nine games in WCQ for Russia 2018, followed by a goal in 10 games on the road to Qatar 2022.
Lozano has also been a star in Concacaf club competition, winning Best Young Player and Golden Boot honors during the 2016-17 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League in which he scored eight goals to help Mexican side Pachuca win their fifth Concacaf crown.
Mexico have a long tradition of excelling in Olympic qualifying competition and Lozano has been a part of that, winning the Golden Ball and earning Best XI honors for scoring a goal in five games as Mexico won the 2015 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship to qualify for Rio 2016.
Lozano has been showcasing his talent from an early age, too, appearing in nine matches with Mexico’s Under-20 National Team and scoring five goals in the 2015 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship. Lozano then added another goal at that year’s FIFA Under-20 Men’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Having already achieved great success for Mexico in big tournaments, fans of El Tricolor can expect a game-changing performance from Lozano at Qatar 2022.
