MEXICO CITY -- Last December, Benfica striker Raul Jimenez seemed wistful about the stardom he'd left behind at home. "I want to come back, some day," Jimenez said, seemingly catching himself mid-sentence. Jimenez was referring to his old team, Club America. Amid a stretch in which he was barely getting playing time and waited on the bench behind 33-year-old Jonas, Jimenez seemed to be plotting his escape from the Portuguese giant.
Similarly, Javier Hernandez expressed his desire to move on from West Ham that same month, mere months after signing for the Premier League squad following a successful stint in Germany.
Six months out from the 2018 World Cup, this was the most common scenario facing Mexicans in Europe: an absolute nightmare for head coach Juan Carlos Osorio, who was handed a "Group of Death" spot in Russia alongside Germany, Sweden and South Korea.
Though Jimenez and Hernandez eventually stayed at their current clubs, their playing situations also stayed the same. Elsewhere, Osorio could be happy about Miguel Layun exiting Porto for Sevilla and Hector Moreno finding solace at Real Sociedad after an unproductive spell at Roma.
Mercifully, a little over two months before the World Cup, the story is finally appearing to veer toward a sunnier conclusion.
Last weekend, Hernandez scored his first goal in nearly two months, victimizing Chelsea yet again and rescuing a point for West Ham. In Portugal, Jimenez followed up a spectacular rabona assist two matches ago with a pair of goals, and Hirving Lozano returned to the fold with PSV Eindhoven, scoring a sliding goal in his team's victory in Holland.
Other positive performances from the Old Continent were sure to please Osorio. The Colombian manager is still weighing his options about whether to stay on with Mexico after the World Cup, a tournament where El Tri is looking to get to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986.
In the past, experts confidently pointed out Mexico's biggest hurdle toward international relevance: placing its best talent in Europe. Beyond Hugo Sanchez and Rafa Marquez, there was little to crow about in regard to El Tri stalwarts making a splash abroad.
Marquez's extended run in Europe opened doors, and Mexico's best and brightest followed him, creating precedence and a sustainable market. By the time the 2010 and 2014 World Cups rolled around, the country could already point to a presence in the world's top leagues. Results at the international level, however, frustratingly, stayed the same as before.
Now, the CONCACAF giant has another problem, equally easy to diagnose, but perhaps more difficult to cure.
Jimenez has 1,081 minutes with Benfica this season, with eight goals and six assists over all competitions. The former Club America marksman affects the score once every 54 minutes in the league, an impressive display of efficiency.
Similarly, Hernandez has come off the bench nine times this Premier League season, with five of those appearance coming since January. Despite the recent freeze, his eight goals rank second on West Ham behind only Marko Arnautovic's nine.
Layun had accumulated all of 259 minutes with Porto from August to January. He's tripled that amount since joining Sevilla at the end of the winter transfer window. With almost a full month left in the current season, he's already eclipsed his entire playing time from the 2016-17 season. For the entire campaign, Moreno -- counted on this summer to anchor Mexico's defensive line -- has played in all of 10 league games.
For others, the problem hasn't been playing time but rather effectiveness on the pitch regardless of the opportunities.
Jesus Manuel Corona, Layun's former teammate at Porto, has registered only two goals this season, less than his total from either of his first two seasons in Portugal. Carlos Salcedo, at Eintracht Frankfurt, has been told his loan will not be renewed at the end of the season. The defender is rumored to be looking at a return to Chivas over the summer.
Finally, the sole consistent bright spot all season has been PSV's Lozano, who has scored 15 league goals for the Eredivisie club and is likely on the move to a bigger club after the World Cup following his electrifying first season abroad. In addition, it's likely occasional Porto captain Hector Herrera will join a bigger club after the summer following five solid campaigns with the Dragoes.
If Mexico once again fails to move beyond its usual station at the World Cup this summer, a tough draw will be the most common blame. That being said, the lack of depth at certain positions and injuries also represent situations that cannot be overlooked.
Nevertheless, if Mexico's top players in Europe continue the momentum shown of late and click at just the right time, the effect could be massive for El Tri's quest to reach el quinto partido and beyond.