Hector Herrera called up to Mexico squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup

The Houston Dynamo are getting exactly what they paid for when they signed Hector Herrera back in March — as he's now officially, once again, a World Cup-quality player. 

Hector Herrera has been named to Gerardo Martino's 26-man Mexico men's national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This will make "HH" the first Mexican player to represent the MLS side from H-Town in the marquee event for international soccer.

El Zorro (The Fox) is the fifth Dynamo player to be called up to a World Cup as an active member of the club. Mexico will kick off its campaign in Group C against Poland on November 22.

One of Martino's pillars for Qatar 2022

Mexico head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino stated that Hector Herrera was the national team's best soccer player back in February. At the time, Herrera was plying his trade in La Liga with Atletico de Madrid before signing a pre-contract to join Houston Dynamo in the summer.

Herrera's move to MLS didn't deter Martino from continuing to call the player for national team fixtures. Herrera has worn the captain's armband and recently reached 100 matches with the national team in June.

A right leg injury in August was enough to sideline Herrera in MLS play but, with a cautious approach, did little to put the player's World Cup participation in doubt. Herrera was back on the field with Houston for the final two matches of the year before continuing his recovery with the national team.

As long as HH was healthy, he was expected to be on Mexico's 26-man squad. That was confirmed with the player's selection on Monday.

World Cup No. 3 for Herrera

A call-up to Qatar 2022 signifies a third FIFA World Cup participation for Herrera. Given the midfielder's age of 32, it could also be his last appearance at the tournament.

After making his professional debut with Pachuca in July 2010, over a week after the conclusion of the South Africa World Cup, Herrera quickly rose to be among the best young talents in Liga MX and formed part of the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal team. He emigrated to Porto in 2013 and his play in the Portuguese first division made way for the player to represent the club at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.

Herrera made his World Cup debut in Brazil 2014 when then-manager Miguel Herrera selected him to the starting lineup in Mexico's four matches in the tournament. Herrera was subbed off in the first two group stage encounters with Cameroon and Brazil, respectively, but went full-time against Croatia and in the Round of 16 match against the Netherlands.

Juan Carlos Osorio had Herrera in his squad for Russia 2018 and also gave him a start in the group stage and knockout round. Herrera went full-time in all four encounters as Mexico once again was eliminated in the Round of 16, this time by Brazil. 

One more Dynamo player at soccer's biggest event

Herrera joins the likes of Brian Ching (USA / Germany 2006), Brad Davis (USA / Brazil 2014), Oscar Boniek Garcia (Honduras / Brazil 2014) and Adolfo Machado (Panama / Russia 2018) as Houston Dynamo players called up to represent their respective countries at a FIFA World Cup. Ching did not play while the other three are the only players to play in the tournament as active members of the club.

Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark, members of the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup winning teams, represented the USA at South Africa 2010 after leaving MLS to play in Europe. The same was the case for Geoff Cameron while Carlo Costly returned to Honduras, both going on to represent their nations in Brazil 2014.

DaMarcus Beasley (USA), Maynor Figueroa (Honduras), Luis Garrido (Honduras) and Philippe Senderos (Switzerland) all arrived in Houston after representing their countries in a FIFA World Cup. Herrera is already the 13th player to pass through the Dynamo ranks that also played in a World Cup during his career.