Former Manchester United player Javier Hernandez will miss the 2022 World Cup final.
The popular Mexican will not be included in his country’s squad for this year’s final in Qatar, despite representing them in each of the last 3 tournaments.
And according to The Mirror, the news of the striker’s exclusion comes directly from his Mexico national team coach, Tata Martino.
Despite playing 109 games and scoring 54 goals in a 13-year international career for “El Tri”, Hernández has not played for his country since leaving Europe for MLS in 2019.
And Martino has explained that the former United player will not be selected because of the abundance of strikers he has at his disposal.
“In the case of Chicharito, we just go with other strikers,” Martino told the media ahead of Mexico’s upcoming matches against Peru and Colombia. “We will try to choose the 26 players that are closest to our game.
“We have two [forwards] who can play and two who can’t”, added the former Barcelona coach. “What I like is that we don’t have enough players.
“Four forwards are not going to leave [to Qatar], but as long as they make it difficult for me to choose, I’m very happy about it. Surely there will be talk of who is left out, but the problem will be abundance and not scarcity.”
Hernández had been selected for each of the previous three competitions, in 2010, 2014 and 2018, maintaining his reputation as a dangerous goalscorer by scoring goals in each of the finals.
And while goals had become a bit more difficult for Chicharito to come by while at Seville in Spain, his move to the US to join the LA Galaxy in 2020 has paid off.
The former United dangerous man has maintained his prolific record by helping himself to more than a goal every two games, registering 34 goals in just 62 games.
And his goal-scoring ability shows no signs of slowing down, as the 34-year-old has already scored 15 goals for the Galaxy this season.
Asked if he would represent United again over the summer, should he be called up, Hernandez spoke fondly of his time at Old Trafford.
“If United came for me, I would say ‘yes, I will play for free’. Of course, you know, I would do that.”
“But I also want to be very respectful towards my club. I am playing very consistently and in my mind my conviction is to win a championship with the LA Galaxy. In the future, if things happen, they will happen, but in my mind I am 100 percent with Los Angeles.
Despite being a fan favorite of both club and country, the man affectionately known as “The Little Pea”, will no doubt be heartbroken to be denied a fourth appearance in a World Cup Finals tournament.
