Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, a three-time World Cup participant, and Mexican teen phenom Gilberto Mora headline the Liga MX squad set to face MLS stars in the All-Star Game on July 29 in Chicago.
Liga MX announced 26 players on Wednesday; two additional players will be selected in the coming days by Mexican Football Federation Commissioner Mikel Arriola.
The match will be played at Charlotte, North Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium.
Standouts on the team, managed by Argentine Antonio Mohamed, of Toluca, include Colombian defender Willer Ditta and Mexicans Israel Reyes, Jesús Gallardo, Érik Lira, Brian Gutiérrez, Mora and Armando González.
A total of 14 of the initial 26 were selected through Liga MX’s Balon de Oro awards, which are held every summer to celebrate the top-performing players from the Apertura and Clausura seasons.
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The rest of the players were picked by Mohamed, alongside two yet-to-be-named players that will be selected by Mexican Football Federation commissioner Mikel Arriola.
From the 26-man roster, six represented Mexico this summer at the World Cup: Mora, Lira, Reyes, Gallardo, Gutierrez and Gonzalez.
July’s encounter with MLS will mark the fifth time that the two leagues have met in the All-Star Game.
MLS will head into the match with three wins from the previous four.
Earlier in July, MLS announced its squad, which will be headlined by global superstar Lionel Messi.
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: Keylor Navas (Pumas) and Nahuel Guzmán (Tigres).
: Bruno Méndez (Toluca), Willer Ditta (Cruz Azul), Federico Pereira (Toluca), Nathan Silva (Pumas), Israel Reyes (América), Jesús Garza (Tigres), Richard Ledezma (Guadalajara), Jesús Gallardo (Toluca), Bryan González (Guadalajara), and Érik Lira (Cruz Azul).
: Franco Romero (Toluca), Carlos Rodríguez (Cruz Azul), Iker Fimbres (Monterrey), Nicolás Castro (Toluca), Brian Gutiérrez (Guadalajara), Fernando Gorriarán (Tigres), Gilberto Mora (Tijuana), José Paradela (Cruz Azul), Juan Brunetta (Tigres), and Kevin Castañeda (Tijuana).
: Santiago Sandoval (Guadalajara), Armando González (Guadalajara), and Robert Morales (Pumas).
