Ernesto Alexis Vega Rojas (born 25 November 1997) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Liga MX club Toluca and the Mexico national team.
.jpg) Vega with Mexico at the 2022 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ernesto Alexis Vega Rojas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 25 November 1997[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Mexico City, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Toluca | ||
| Number | 25 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Toluca | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Toluca | 58 | (12) |
| 2019–2023 | Guadalajara | 140 | (26) |
| 2024– | Toluca | 12 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021 | Mexico U23 | 14 | (4) |
| 2019–2023 | Mexico | 27 | (6) |
Medal record | |||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 March 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 April 2023 | |||
Club career
Toluca
Vega made his senior team debut on 27 February 2016 coming on as a substitute in a home league match against Pachuca.[2] On April 5 he scored his first professional goal for Toluca in the Copa Libertadores against Ecuadorian club L.D.U. Quito, the game ended 2–1 and Toluca qualified to the tournament's Round of 16.[3] On 16 April, Vega scored his first two goals in the league against Veracruz.
Guadalajara
On 8 December 2018 it was announced that Vega was joining Guadalajara for a reported $9 million, making his transfer one of the most expensive in the history of the club.[4]
After playing six games without any goals and going three straight games without any wins on 16 February 2019 Vega managed to score 3 goals in the 3–0 victory against town rivals Atlas, his first career hat-trick.[5]
Prior to the start of the 2021–22 season, Vega was given the number 10 jersey.[6] In May, he renewed with Chivas until 2024, becoming the highest paid player in the club's history.[7]
Return to Toluca
On 17 January 2024, Toluca reached an agreement with Guadalajara to sign Vega.[8]
International career
Youth
Vega was called up by Jaime Lozano to participate at the 2020 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, scoring one goal in five appearances, where Mexico won the competition. He was awarded the Golden Ball for best player[9] and included in the tournament's Best XI.[10] He was subsequently called up to participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics.[11] Vega won the bronze medal with the Olympic team.[12]
Senior
Vega made his senior national team debut on 26 March 2019, under Gerardo Martino in a friendly against Paraguay, as a 78th-minute substitute for Javier Hernández.[13]
In May 2019, Vega was included in the provisional 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster[14] and was subsequently included in the final list.[15] In the first group stage match against Cuba, he would score his first goal with the national team in a 7–0 thrashing.[16] Mexico would go on to win the tournament.[17]
In October 2022, Vega was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.[18]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 17 March 2024[19]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Toluca | 2015–16 | Liga MX | 10 | 2 | — | 5[a] | 1 | — | 15 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 24 | 5 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | 75 | 15 | |||
| Guadalajara | 2018–19 | Liga MX | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 28 | 7 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 32 | 4 | – | – | — | 32 | 4 | |||||
| 2021–22 | 26 | 6 | – | – | — | 26 | 6 | |||||
| 2022–23 | 32 | 6 | – | – | — | 32 | 6 | |||||
| 2023–24 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 2[b] | 0 | 12 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 140 | 26 | 5 | 2 | – | 2 | 0 | 147 | 28 | |||
| Toluca | 2023–24 | Liga MX | 9 | 3 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 207 | 41 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 233 | 46 | ||
International
- As of match played 19 April 2023[20]
| Mexico | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2019 | 5[a] | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 1 |
| 2022 | 14 | 4 |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 27 | 6 |
- Scores and results list Mexico Olympic team goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Vega goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 2021 | Estadio Akron, Zapopan, Mexico |  Costa Rica | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship |
| 2 | 22 July 2021 | Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu, Japan |  France | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2020 Summer Olympics |
| 3 | 28 July 2021 | Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan |  South Africa | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2020 Summer Olympics |
| 4 | 6 August 2021 | Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan |  Japan | 3–0 | 3–1 | 2020 Summer Olympics |
International goals
- Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.[19]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 15 June 2019 | Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States |  Cuba | 6–0 | 7–0 | 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 2. | 2 September 2021 | Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 27 January 2022 | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica | 2–1 | |||
| 4. | 27 September 2022 | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, United States |  Colombia | 1–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 5. | 9 November 2022 | Estadi Montilivi, Girona, Spain |  Iraq | 1–0 | 4–0 | |
| 6. | 16 November 2022 |  Sweden | 1–1 | 1–2 |
Honours
Mexico U23
Mexico
Individual
- CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship Golden Ball: 2020
- CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship Best XI: 2020
- Liga MX All-Star: 2021,[22] 2022[23]
References
External links
- Alexis Vega at Soccerway
- Alexis Vega at National-Football-Teams.com
