Football
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Mexico Olympic team selection will be down to wire - Raul Gutierrez

Mexico Olympic team coach Raul Gutierrez has looked at more than three times the number of players he can eventually select when El Tri defend their gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, but he considers it a necessary part of picking a winning team.

"It is a this number of players [41 called to try out in 2016 alone] that has kept us calm during this time and this process will give us results, so we are not worried about it," Gutierrez said. "We still need another left-back. Rodolfo Pizarro has been great but we are trying to strengthen that position."

Gutierrez will need to pare down the team to 15 players, to which the three over 23 players will be added. Last week the federation ruled out using Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez as one of those 23 players, but has yet to make a determination. 

The coach just finished another training camp with 26 candidates for the tournament, which gets underway on Aug. 3 in Brazil. He expects to have a final team by the end of May.

He told reporters this week that he prefers to wait until the European leagues finish play to negotiate with the clubs -- in the case that negotiation is necessary. He said it will also be necessary to work with senior team coach Juan Carlos Osorio as he puts together the team headed to Copa America this June.

"The timing is going to be tight. This call-up now will give us a chance to observe the players but there are only 18 or 15 spots," he said. "Our philosophy has always been that all the players have to earn their place. When they come here they have to bring their best. We have time. We have to look at all the players we have, we have always done that for all of our national teams and we have no plans to change."

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