Country: Mexico
Club: MX Club of America
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 37
Francisco Guillermo Ochoa is a goalkeeper for the Mexico national team and Liga MX club América, which he also captains.
In 2004, Ochoa made his senior-level professional debut for Club América versus Monterrey in a Mexican league game. He made more than 200 games for América and earned his first league championship in 2005. From that year until 2011, he was the club’s first-choice keeper. Ochoa was moved that summer to Ajaccio in France, where he stayed for three seasons before the team was demoted from Ligue 1. Ochoa joined Málaga in 2014 but struggled to make an impact on the club. He made a loan move to Granada in July 2016. He joined Standard Liège in July 2017.
Ochoa has played for Mexico since 2005, and at the age of 20, he faced Hungary in a friendly. He was a member of the teams for the 2004 Summer Olympics, the 2020 Summer Olympics, the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2007 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario, the 2007, 2009, 2015, and 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cups, and the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup before he was disqualified from the event due to false doping allegations.
Ochoa was named to Mexico’s 23-man World Cup roster on May 9, 2014. On June 13, Mexico played Cameroon in its opening game, which Mexico won 1-0. He started the game. Ochoa made his World Cup debut in this game after being called up for the previous two tournaments but failing to play.
Ochoa was on the roster for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Ochoa made several significant saves in Mexico’s third-place match against Portugal, as well as blocking Andre Silva’s attempt at a penalty kick in the 17th minute. He received the man of the match honor despite Mexico losing 1-2 in overtime.
Ochoa was a part of Tata Martino’s CONCACAF Gold Cup preliminary roster in 2019 and later made the cut for the final list. Ochoa was pivotal in the quarterfinal encounter against Costa Rica since he helped make several saves that helped square the score at one and force a penalty shootout, where he also made the crucial save that advanced Mexico to the semifinal. He received the man of the match award thanks to his contributions. He was named to the tournament’s Best XI in addition to taking home the Golden Glove Award as Mexico defeated the United States in the championship. The tournament marked his fifth Gold Cup appearance, making him the Mexican with the most Gold Cup appearances.
Ochoa, who last competed in the Olympics in 2004, was selected by Jaime Lozano as one of three overage reinforcements for the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2020. With the Olympic team, he received the bronze medal.
Goalkeeping Advantages:
He has a wide range of experience, which is why he can handle pressure. Paco Memo has participated in some of the Confederations Cup, Gold Cup, and Copa America, three of the most significant football competitions in the world. Ochoa has a great aerial game. He has the ability to catch crosses and shots, but he can also block them with punches and high dives with the top hand. However, those are not his sole advantages.
Even after rejecting a shot, his reflexes are so quick that he can easily do a collapse dive with just one hand. Ochoa knows how to work within the box to cover his goal as much as possible when the opposition gets past the defense by narrowing the angle.
Ochoa has credited Peter Schmeichel as having influenced his game.
