Should Mexico fire Jaime Lozano following Copa América group stage exit?
After a disappointing group stage exit at the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup, Mexico fired then-coach Tata Martino. After a short, unsuccessful stint from Diego Cocca, the team eventually was turned over Mexico City native and former national team player Jaime Lozano, who had impressed while leading the federation's under-23 men's team and secured the main job by leading Mexico to a 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup win as its interim coach.
But the result in Mexico's first major cross-federation tournament under Lozano was the same as under Martino — a group stage exit at Copa América after a hard-fought scoreless draw against Ecuador in Sunday's Group B finale. Adding insult to injury, Sunday's draw and last Wednesday's loss to Venezuela came in Phoenix and Los Angeles, respectively, where Mexico has long enjoyed friendly crowds even when playing away games against the United States.
Even though Mexico's talent pool has seemingly dwindled in recent years, Lozano still failed to maximize that talent in his biggest test yet ahead of a 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup that Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
Should that failure cost Lozano his job as the buildup to that crucial World Cup begins in earnest? Jimmy Conrad, Melissa Ortiz and Wes Morgan debated that subject on "FOX Soccer Now."
"[Mexico has] actually had tremendous success in [Copa América] over the years," Conrad said. "It's been to the final twice, in 1993 and in 2001. But like we've talked about, this isn't the Mexico of old. Where do they go from here? You fire the coach at this point, or you keep Lozano in charge saying, ‘Okay, he made some changes. He took some risks.’"
To Conrad's point, Lozano seemed to prioritize Mexico's younger talent in his Copa América squad, leaving established veterans like Hirving "Chuky" Lozano, Raul Jímenez and Henry Martín off Mexico's tournament roster entirely.
"I guess he could say, ‘Well, now we gave [the young guys] some experience that should help us in 2026,’" Conrad said. "But … this is the moment, if you're gonna fire someone and give the next coach some time to work with this group, it should be now."
Ortiz praised Lozano's aggressiveness in featuring younger players in Mexico's Copa América squad, calling it "an important step forward" since those players will like be the ones relied upon in 2026 regardless. But she stopped short of endorsing Lozano to retain the job — or lose it.
"The only reason I'm not so adamant of a ‘Yes’ or 'No' is because if they had done incredibly bad in all three [group stage games], I would have said, ‘OK, something needs to happen, he’s just not coaching that [well],'" Ortiz explained. "Today's game actually raised questions — they put on a decent performance. Is it the coach or is it the players? You can always point fingers at the coach. But is it more the system, the federation? Is it limiting these players that they mostly just play domestically [for club teams in Liga MX], and they're not getting good playing experience and not growing?"
Ortiz said similar questions can be asked about star striker Santí Giménez, who is coming off a standout season in Europe at Dutch club Feyenoord but struggled for Mexico in this Copa América.
"Is it [Giménez], or is it the players surrounding him, that they're just not able to connect?" Ortiz said. "That's where I lead. I don't just point fingers at the coach, I point fingers at the whole system. You need to press the freaking reset button."
Mexico vs. Ecuador Reaction: El Tri is eliminated in Group Stage | Copa América 2024
Morgan brought an interesting perspective to the debate as part of a Leicester City squad that sacked manager Claudio Ranieri in 2017 just nine months after their stunning English Premier League title run and one month after he was named FIFA men's coach of the Year.
"We reached high heights, and [our owners] wanted to stay there on the highest top," Morgan explained "How long do you leave it before you make a change, do something to kind of work out and redefine that winning formula, that winning feeling because we feel like it's been lost?"
Mexico now faces that dilemma. El Tri may soon be joined in that boat by the archrival United States, who need a win against powerhouse Uruguay in their group stage finale to meet the pre-tournament expectation of advancing to the Copa América quarterfinals. The USA-Uruguay game kicks off at 9 p.m. ET Monday on FOX and the FOX Sports App.
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