Mexico’s Obed Vargas (18) battles for the ball with Ecuador’s Pedro Vite (15) during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between Mexico and Ecuador in Mexico City.
Anchorage’s Obed Vargas earned another cap with Mexico’s national team on Tuesday, coming on to the field in the 73rd minute of his team’s 2-0 victory over Ecuador at the World Cup.
Playing at famed Azteca Stadium in front of 80,000 fans in Mexico City, Vargas logged the final 17 minutes plus another eight minutes of extra time to help El Tri reach the Round of 16.
Vargas, 20, has appeared in each of the last three World Cup games for Mexico after he played the final 19 minutes in a 1-0 win over South Korea and the final 27 minutes in a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic.
The 5-foot-9 midfielder wears No. 18 jersey. In three appearances, he has racked up 30 touches, won two duels and taken one shot on goal.
Former Cook Inlet Soccer Club standout Obed Vargas played in his third straight World Cup game on Tuesday.
Vargas is a dual citizen who grew up playing for Anchorage’s Cook Inlet Soccer Club, often playing a couple years above his age level. He left his hometown at age 14 in 2020 to join the Seattle Sounders Academy, and he’s been on a rapid rise ever since.
He made his MLS debut at 15 and played four full seasons for the Sounders before leaving for the world-famous La Liga in Spain, where he plays for Atlético Madrid.
A year ago, Vargas represented Mexico at the U20 World Cup. Now he’s in the real deal, rubbing elbows with the greatest players on the planet.
He’ll face the biggest test of his life on Sunday, when Mexico faces England for a trip to the quarterfinals. The Alaskan has not wilted under the bright lights of the World Cup. In fact, he’s looked bold, strong and decisive in his limited playing time.
Mexico’s El Tri hasn’t faced England’s Three Lions squad at the World Cup since 1966, losing 2-0.
That was then, this is now, and right now Vargas is part of a streaking Mexico team playing its finest soccer in 18 all-time appearances since the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
This is Mexico’s first-ever 4-0 start in the tournament, bettering the previous record of three set in 1986, when El Tri lost to (West) Germany on in a PK shootout.
