Mexico youngsters against Ochoa making ceremonial appearance

The younger members of the Mexico national team are opposing the possibility of iconic goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa making a ceremonial appearance in the final group stage match at the World Cup, according to reports. The reports said that the group believes that decisions should be made solely on the basis of current performance and sporting strategy - especially at a World Cup, where every detail can influence a team's path to the knock-out stage. World Cup co-hosts Mexico were the first nation to qualify for the knock-outs. They play their final group stage match against the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Ochoa is considered a Mexican football great. He played in 153 matches for the national team over a span of more than 20 years. He hasn't played yet at this World Cup as coach Javier Aguirre opted to have Raul Rangel as a starter for matches against South Africa and South Korea. Ochoa could join Argentina's Lionel Messi and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to have appeared in six World Cups. — dpa