TThe battle between the U.S. and Mexico to secure the best players of the future continues with a heated battle for 16-year-old Davian Kimbrough, a native of Woodland, Calif., who is eligible for El Tri because he is the son of a Mexican-American mother and an African-American father.
The Sacramento Republic forward, who made history in 2023 as the youngest player to debut in the USL Championship at just 13 years, 7 months and 13 days, is still contemplating his international future. In April, he first played for the Mexico U16 national team and then for the USMNT just two weeks apart. It is a strange situation that both federations are in a state of tension. He has played in 20 games and scored 13 points for Mexico, but has only played in two games and scored one goal for the United States.
For now, everything indicates that his preference is closer to the Mexican national team, but it will be up to his discoverer Andres Lilini to secure the promising striker, who is also rumored to join Real Madrid’s youth ranks. “We did something very aggressive to get to MLS. We had three scouts and we created a pattern, because in 2009 we have a center forward whose last name is Kimbrough. If you didn’t know that his mother was from Guadalajara, you’d never know. This kid is a great talent from Sacramento,” he reflected in an interview with TUDN in late 2024.
“We selected 10 cities on the California coast and 10 cities in Texas. We scouted in the first half of 2024, traveled as a team, and made 13 selections, 15 years of recruiting players, both men and women from Texas,” he explained.
Once again, this was the case with Obed Vargas, a battle between the USMNT and Mexico before the player ultimately chose to join El Tri. Coach Javier Aguirre is expected to take him to the next World Cup.
Thanks to Vargas’ great talent, he joined Atletico Madrid at just 20 years old. All eyes are now on the evolution of Kimbrough, the Rojiblancos’ eternal rival, a striker with great size, power, ability to get into space and goal-scoring instincts. If he ultimately decides not to represent the United States, he could be Mexico’s striker for the next 10 years.
