HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, April 21, 2022) – Real Salt Lake Homegrown goalkeeper David Ochoa has been named to the Mexico National Team for their upcoming friendly against Guatemala on Wednesday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. MT. The match is set to be played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
This is the first call up to the senior Mexico National Team since he elected to request a one-time switch to represent the “El Tri.” As a dual national, Ochoa had previously earned call ups to the United States Men’s National Team, but did not make an appearance at the senior level. In October of 2021 Ochoa made his debut with the U-21 Mexico Youth National Team in a friendly match against Romania.
Ochoa, 21, signed with Real Salt Lake as a Homegrown Player in 2018, making his professional debut with Real Monarchs on April 18, 2018 against Tampa Bay Rowdies, at the time becoming the second-youngest goalkeeper to appear in the United Soccer League. During the 2019 season he led the Real Monarchs to its first-ever USL Championship trophy, winning the league by defeating Louisville City FC. His performances in 2019 earned him a spot in Major League Soccer’s 2019 MLS Homegrown Game.
In the 2020 season finale, Ochoa made his Real Salt Lake debut against Sporting Kansas City. During the 2021 season Ochoa appeared in 25 matches, making 83 saves while recording five clean sheets. While RSL was in the midst of its historic 2021 Audi MLS Cup Playoff run Ochoa was instrumental in helping the team earn a berth to the Western Conference Final.
The Mexico National Team recently qualified for their seventh-consecutive FIFA World Cup, finishing second in CONCACAF World Cup qualification. Their appearance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be their 17th FIFA World Cup appearance. Mexico is currently ranked ninth in the FIFA World Rankings up three places from their previous ranking at 12th.
Real Salt Lake is set to travel to Portland, Oregon on Saturday, April 23 to face Portland Timbers at Providence Park with kickoff set for 8:00 p.m. MT. The team will then return to Rio Tinto Stadium to host LA Galaxy on Saturday, April 30 at 1:30 p.m. MT for Star Wars night.
