Provisional squad announced

The 27-man squad that will be whittled down to 23 before the World Cup has been announced by Mexico boss Javier Aguirre.

The Europe based players called up are as follows: Rafael Márzquez (Barcelona), Ricardo Osorio ( Stuttgart), Francisco Javier Rodríguez (PSV Eindhoven), Carlos Salcido (PSV Eindhoven), Héctor Moreno (AZ Alkmaar), Jonathan dos Santos (Barcelona), Andrés Guardado (Deportivo La Coruña), Guillermo Franco (West Ham United),Carlos Vela (Arsenal), Giovani dos Santos (Galatasaray).

The major absence is Nery Castillo who was working with a personal trainer in a bid to get the nod (see past post below). The Euro-Mexicans will have a week's break after domestic seasons finish before joining the rest of the squad in time for the May 16 game against Chile in the Azteca stadium in Mexico City.

They join the Mexico-based players who have been training together since April 12, leaving many club sides without key players as the domestic season reaches its climax:
Guillermo Ochoa (América) , Luis Ernesto Michel (Guadalajara Chivas), Paul Aguilar (Pachuca) , Efraín Juárez (UNAM), Jonny Magallón ( Guadalajara Chivas), Juan Carlos Valenzuela (América) , Jorge Torres Nilo (Atlas), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul) , Israel Castro (UNAM Pumas), Adrián Aldrete (Morelia) , Pablo Barrera (UNAM Pumas), Adolfo Bautista (Guadalajara Chivas), Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Veracruz), Alberto Medina and Javier Hernández (Guadalajara Chivas).

The squad will be cut to 23 players before the team travels to South Africa.