María Sánchez (Mexico) Confesses Which Artist She Listens To at The W Gold Cup
The player of the Mexican national soccer team reveals to LOS40 the music that motivates her to give her all on the field
If something is clear, it’s that the Mexican Women’s National Soccer Team is making waves in the CONCACAF W Gold Cup 2024, one of the most significant football championships globally, bringing together the top women’s national teams from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Both football and music share the ability to unite millions of people in the face of an exciting and highly anticipated event, whether it’s the semifinals of the W Gold Cup or the triumph of corridos tumbados. This is the genre that the undefeated Mexican team trains to, as revealed by star forward María Sánchez to our hosts Pame Voguel and Iñaki Álvarez at the LOS40 USA special show ‘Songs for the Golden Cup’: «My favorite music at the moment is ‘corridos tumbados,’ Mexican music,» shared the Mexican-American player.
It’s not surprising that corridos tumbados are chosen to motivate the Women’s Mexican National Soccer Team (and with great success, it seems). This subgenre, combining traditional Mexican music rhythms with urban hip-hop and trap lyrics and styles, has experienced a real boom in the last year. With the expansion of this style, the consumption of Mexican music has increased by more than 40% in 2023, surpassing all genres except K-Pop, according to Billboard.
The credit for this success goes to the genre’s big stars, who have elevated the country’s young music to another level. The standout? None other than the Jalisco-born star Peso Pluma, one of the most listened-to Latin artists worldwide in 2023, revolutionizing the industry with his GRAMMY-winning studio album Génesis (2023).
However, the figure who first popularized corridos tumbados was none other than Natanael Cano, the young artist from Hermosillo, Sonora. Cano has become a reference in the genre since he started uploading covers to his YouTube channel, later signed by Rancho Humilde, a leading label in corridos. Natanael, the author of hit collaborations like «PRC» or «AMG» with Peso Pluma, is the favorite artist of María Sánchez.
The forward confesses that the song she’ll have on repeat during the celebration of the W Gold Cup will be Natanael’s nostalgic hit «Mi Bello Angel,» part of his latest album Nata Montada (2023), with over 260 million streams. Here, Natanael showcases his emotional side with a beautiful ballad: “Solo tú eres la persona / La que me ilusiona / La que me emociona / Por ti pierdo el rumbo / Y en cada segundo me voy de este mundo con sentirte a ti” (Only you are the person / who excites me / who moves me / for you, I lose my way / and every second, I leave this world feeling you), he sings.
The Mexican Women’s National Team, Unbeaten in the CONCACAF W Golden Cup 2024
The CONCACAF W Gold Cup began in its inaugural edition on February 20, 2024, featuring 12 teams, including four divisions from the South American Football Confederation. The competition has been dominated by the United States, currently leading the rankings with 5,457 points, followed by Canada with 4,039. The North American rivals will face off this week, on Wednesday, March 6, at 7:15 PM (PST) at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California.
Similarly, the Mexican Women’s National Team, led by María Sánchez and top scorer Jaquelina Ovalle, will face Brazil, one of the top teams in the competition. Under the guidance of Spanish coach Pedro López and captained by Kenti Robles, they’ve had a historic debut in the first edition of the W Gold Cup, reaching the semifinals undefeated after a dramatic 3-2 victory against Paraguay and defeating the favorite, Alex Morgan’s United States, by 2-0.
