Alejandro Zendejas wears his emotions on his sleeve, including the joy of going to the World Cup

Union fans might remember when Alejandro Zendejas played at Subaru Park in March.

A first mention of him typically would read: U.S. men’s national team player Alejandro Zendejas. But at the time, it was unclear whether he was.

The 28-year-old hadn’t been called up since the previous September. And when he was passed over again at the end of March, many people wondered if he was out of the World Cup picture, even though U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said he still was in the race.

On that night in Chester, Zendejas did not hold back in saying how badly he wanted to make the team. And he knew how many other people wanted it for him, from fans to colleagues at Mexican powerhouse Club América.

When the call finally came, there were a lot of emotions, from fans to Zendejas’ family in San Antonio, Texas, with whom he was at the big moment.

“It’s hard to make my dad cry,” the son of Alfredo Zendejas and Mónica Saavedra said. “My mom, she’s very sensitive — like me, I think … but whenever my dad cries, that’s how you know it’s serious.”

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Alfredo wasn’t in the room right then, but Alejandro went to him a moment later.

“We met up, and then when he hugged me and stuff, I could feel him, like, shaking in his voice,” Alejandro said. “He started tearing up, and that makes me tear up.”

A moment like that shows the power of soccer’s biggest stage. And if some players might choose to keep their family celebrations private, Zendejas is fine sharing his with the world.

“Yeah, you can let those emotions out, man,” he said. “I think it’s natural. It’s natural for a human to be happy when you get good news, and if they were [after] bad news it’s another way. You have to let them out, because I feel like it’s bad if you leave everything in.”

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Zendejas likely won’t be a starter, but he could be an ideal sub off the bench. His game is a mix of scoring, creating, and hustle plays, fitting the eternal soccer cliche of bringing something different. Even Cristian Roldan, a World Cup veteran, couldn’t help saying it.

“I think the world of him as a person, as a player.” he said. “He has something that’s different, that’s unique: his technical ability, his final product. We see that out in training every time we’re with him. … “Credit to him for probably having a little bit of doubt in his mind, but playing well and continuing to play well.”

He also represents the pride of so many Mexican American families that have roots south of the Rio Grande and lives north of it. Zendejas was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and grew up right over the border in El Paso, Texas, speaking Spanish at home. He played for FC Dallas’ youth academy and turned pro there in 2015.

Asked if he embraces being a role model, he gave an easy yes.

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“Yeah, for sure,” he said. “I don’t use that as pressure to [make] me nervous or to, I guess, do bad — I embrace it. … And the way it shaped me, I love it man, because I grew up doing both things at the same time. So I don’t prefer one or the other, I’m just grateful to have both citizenships, for sure.”

He added that it isn’t on his mind all the time, but he appreciates how many people are cheering him on.

“It’s more like, right now, people are motivating me, telling me, ‘Congratulations, it’s nice to see you there, you deserve it,’” Zendejas said. “So I just embrace it, use that as good energy, and use it to have good trainings and good games.”

From Dallas, he moved to another Mexican power, Chivas, of Guadalajara, which is renowned for having only Mexican players on its roster. This forced Zendejas to renounce his U.S. national team ties, and for a time he was in Mexico’s program. He even played in two friendlies for El Tri, one in October 2021 and one in April 2022.

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But because those games were friendlies, his allegiance was not locked in. And because he’d left Chivas in 2020, he didn’t have to deal with the club’s rules anymore. So in early 2023, Anthony Hudson opened the door while standing in for Gregg Berhalter. After Hudson left, B.J. Callaghan kept the door open, and Pochettino did too.

“I think he’s a very interesting player from a tactical standpoint, for the tactical flexibility we want to establish, and for the specific qualities he brings to the field,” Pochettino said. “But we also know this is a tournament where we hope to live together as a group for nearly two months. So I think it’s important not just to have the quality on the field that we want to see, but also quality as a human.”

Zendejas will wear the No. 26 jersey at the World Cup. Not because it’s famous, but because FIFA rules mandate that the 26 players on a tournament team must wear jerseys 1 through 26.

It might feel to some people like Zendejas was one of the last guys to make it, so that makes the No. 26 a little symbolic. In fact, it’s just a coincidence of how other numbers went to more experienced players. For example, backup left back Max Arfsten got No. 18, a number that usually goes to a goalkeeper.

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All that really matters is that Zendejas is on the plane.

“A super exciting week for me and my family,” he said. “All these sacrifices that we did ever since I was little were finally paying off — they’ve always paid off, but it’s just like another cherry on top. So, yeah, I’m super grateful to be here.”

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