Wolves striker Raul Jimenez reportedly took Tata Martino’s decision to bench him against Poland yesterday very well.
The 31-year-old has been working hard to be fit for the World Cup in Qatar.
He has barely played this season, but returned to action last week for Mexico’s friendly against Sweden. He played 45 minutes in that game.
That led people to wonder if Jimenez would start in the opening game against Poland.
But that was not the case, with Martino naming the Wolves ace on the bench.
According to Record, Jimenez had a conversation with Martino, and accepted the head coach’s decision with good grace.
It is suggested that Jimenez’s time in the tournament will come.
Jimenez’s selection in the squad by Martino didn’t go down all that well with some sections of the Mexican media.
But Martino ignored all the talk and went with his gut.
And according to Record, the whole Mexico squad is behind the decision. The players are apparently totally united behind Jimenez and against the media and its reporting of the situation in recent weeks.
The Mexico coaches have called for everyone to ignore what is being reported and just focus on the job at hand.
Raul Jimenez will hopefully benefit from supportive Mexico environment
It was good to see Jimenez representing his country yesterday. And he appeared to be moving freely and seemingly came through unscathed.
These are nervous times for Wolves fans, with Jimenez having played so little football over the past few months.
It is good to hear the Mexico squad are all united behind the Wolves star.
It seems to be a tight-knit group. Earlier this week goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa – who was the hero against Poland with his penalty save – publicly supported Jimenez in a press conference.
It’s clear the Wolves number nine is a big part of things. But hopefully he is managed cautiously. The last thing Wolves need is him suffering a setback.