Mexico’s teams have struggled with issues on and off the pitch. Can it correct the ship ahead of the World Cup?

A dark period of time has enveloped Mexican fútbol.

Within a span of 13 months, we’ve seen: The Mexico men’s senior national team fail to win the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup, four consecutive games without a victory against their U.S. rivals, the men’s U20 squad unable to earn invitations for the 2023 U20 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics, and the women’s senior national team failing to qualify for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.

Off the pitch, troubling news then emerged on Thursday when the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) announced that it had temporarily suspended the coaching staff for the women’s U20 team, due to an internal investigation. ESPN Mexico reported on Wednesday that coach Maribel Dominguez was being reviewed for a “serious” matter.

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Amid the mess, firings — and plenty of questions — have surfaced.

Following a disappointing run without a single goal or point for manager Monica Vergara and El Tri Femenil in this month’s CONCACAF W Championship, FMF president Yon de Luisa announced sweeping changes last Wednesday. Gerardo Torrado and Ignacio Hierro were respectively fired as general sporting director and sporting director of national teams. In addition, Luis Perez was let go as the men’s U20 coach.

“The results obtained in recent weeks by the men’s U20 team and the senior women’s national team, which signified a heavy blow to Mexican soccer, and above all, for our fans, forces us to act,” said De Luisa, two days after Mexico’s elimination from CONCACAF W.

In a subsequent news conference on Thursday, De Luisa announced the hiring of Jaime Ordiales in a new role as the sporting director for the men’s national teams. Through a restructuring of the FMF, a sporting director for the women’s national teams, who will be tasked with evaluating whether Vergara should stay or be fired,…