“I understand it may seem strange…”

Born in Oviedo, Alvaro Fidalgo was seen as a promising midfielder for Spain, so Real Madrid signed him in 2012 when he was 15 years old.

After a few years in the blanco academy and subsequent adventures at Rayo Majadahonda and Castellon, in 2021 he chose to go to Mexico, accepting the offer from Club America.

Born in Spain, Alvaro Fidalgo applied for nationals and now represents Mexico

He spent 5 years in Mexico and came to feel like a local, so he applied for citizenship. He got it, and in February 2026 he also received the green light from FIFA to be able to represent “El Tri” at the senior level. It mattered that he had only played for Spain in two of the junior national teams.

Four months later, the Real Betis midfielder, transferred by the Andalusians from Club America at the beginning of the year, already has 5 caps for the Mexican national team. The last of them was the very opening of the World Championship, Fidalgo playing 66 minutes against South Africa.

The choice to represent Mexico was one of the main topics of the interview he gave to DAZN following Thursday night's win.

Alvaro Fidalgo: “I understand it may seem strange…”

“I understand that many people may not understand or that it may seem strange, but it is an honor to defend the shirt of Mexico, this emblem and all these people who have given me so much in my career and immense affection.

I grew up here, I became a footballer here… What could be nicer than trying to repay their trust by bringing them joy and giving everything on the field? It is an extremely great honor to defend the emblem of Mexico”, said Fidalgo on this topic.

Regarding his involvement in the North American World Cup opener, Fidalgo said “what I experienced today will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

And he revealed how he lived the day and the hours leading up to the game: “In the evening, rather than anxiety, you feel that impatience that the moment will come once, you think about what it will be like to wake up in the morning and what will be the first thing you will think about. Often you suggest certain things or start imagining a lot of things, and then nothing is as you imagined.”

• Legitimate at Real Madrid between 2012 and 2020, Fidalgo played once for the Blanco first team, in a Cup match held in December 2018. He then replaced Vinicius and was on the field alongside names such as Federico Valverde, Isco, Marco Asensio and Keylor Navas.

• He also teams up with Isco now, at Real Betis, which he helped to qualify for the next season of the Champions League. After the transfer in February, he played 13 times for los verdiblancos.