Mexican national team players demand Jaime Lozano remain permanent head coach | OneFootball

Mexican national team players insist interim manager Jaime Lozano should continue leading El Tri as head coach.

Lozano stepped in as the temporary replacement to Diego Cocca on June 19, after the former manager was fired for the shocking 3-0 defeat to the United States in the Nations League semi final. Mexican Football Federation president Juan Carlos Rodriguez later explained his decision to part ways with Cocca, insisting games can be lost but "what cannot be accepted is the way in which it happened."

With the Gold Cup looming, Rodriguez quickly appointed Lozano due to his familiarity with the group and organization. The young manager previously led Mexico to the Bronze medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, creating bonds with a lot of the players on the current Gold Cup roster.

Now, after just two games at the helm, the players demand he remain the permanent successor of the Mexican national team.

"We already have him, so why think about the next one [coach]. We already have Jimmy, he is Mexican, he knows us perfectly and we know him perfectly, so he’s welcome. It only took a few days, but it's a plus because I know most of them because it took a few days of work, that connection was seen that we already knew each other," said Feyenoord forward Santiago Gimenez.

"The arrival of Jimmy Lozano makes us very happy, as far as I remember I have never had a Mexican coach in the senior team, therefore the environment, internally, the surroundings have changed a lot. Just having a Mexican coach makes you feels more represented, more comfortable," added Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez.

El Tri triumphed in their first two matches under Lozano, defeating Honduras 4-0 and Haiti 3-1 to qualify for the Gold Cup’s quarterfinals before the last group stage match. Though the players and coach insist there’s a lot of work still left to be done, the team has seen a drastic improvement from their Nations League campaign.

"We know him well, I know him, I know that the coaching staff are very hard-working people and we see that. He is injecting us with the intensity and the aggressiveness needed. People are going to continue seeing a different Mexico, let us hope in God to lift the Cup, which is the main goal," said Orbelin Pineda.

Mexico hosts Qatar on Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California to close out the group stage and shift focus on the Gold Cup’s quarterfinal.