USMNT’s Alex Zendejas, yet to play at World Cup, readies for his moment: ‘I’m sure it’ll come’

As his US teammates finished off group-clinching wins over Paraguay and Australia, all Alex Zendejas could do to help was watch. It isn’t the role Zendejas aspired to have at this World Cup . The 28-year-old was a coveted dual-national who chose to represent the nation he grew up in over Mexico, where he was born and has played most of his professional career. At the USMNT’s open training before the Paraguay match, Club América jerseys were the best represented of the club shirts held by fans for signing. Those América fans are surprised their star playmaker hasn’t earned a minute yet at this tournament. He’s among the most talented players in Liga MX and arrived in good form, with 24 goals and 21 assists in 5,462 league minutes since the start of 2023-24. So at a time when minutes are in shorter supply than he’s used to, frequent words of support from his backers are giving him a boost. “I guess you can see how diehard fans are in Mexico,” Zendejas said before training on Monday. “I just appreciate them so much. I’ve been seeing their messages, all that they’ve been doing, and I just really appreciate it. It gives me that confidence to be ready when I don’t get to play.” Despite his steady form at club level, Zendejas was one of the more surprising picks on Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. He wasn’t selected for the USMNT’s friendly rosters in November and March, seemingly projecting outsider status for this summer’s tournament squad. …