Robles: We’ll go all-out to get Mexico shining again

Mexico defender spoke to FIFA about the upcoming Concacaf W Championship clash with Haiti and desire to return to Women's World Cup for first time since 2015.

As soon as training ends, the unseen recovery work begins. It is a routine that Kenti Robles has repeated thousands of times over the course of a professional career that began at 18, yet there is nothing monotonous about it. Putting in the work day in, day out is her formula for reinventing herself and keeping her ambition intact. That approach has paid dividends, with the latest example coming at Pachuca, the Mexican club that she has represented for the past two years and with whom she has already held the Liga MX Femenil trophy aloft.

Ahead of the back-to-back home friendlies against Jamaica that will serve as warm-up matches for the Concacaf W Championship quarter-finals, where Mexico will face Haiti with a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027™ at stake, Robles welcomed FIFA to her club’s training ground to discuss her career, the national team’s development and the value of her experience.

“I’ve had that desire to compete since I was very young,” said the 35-year-old, reflecting on her early years in football. “When I was little, I always wanted to win at everything and if I didn’t, I felt like I wasn’t successful. Now I’ve realised that success isn’t about all the trophies I’ve managed to win but the people and moments I carry with me.”

Should Mexico qualify in November, Robles could feature at her third Women’s World Cup, having previously appeared at Germany 2011, where the right-back made her tournament debut aged 20, and Canada 2015, where she played in all three group matches. Mexico have not returned to the tournament since.

In our recent conversation with her, Robles reflected on Spanish coach Pedro Lopez’s impact, the secrets to her longevity and much more.

**FIFA: With the game against Haiti fast approaching, how do you prepare mentally for such an important match when you’re away from the national team?** FIFA: With the game against Haiti fast approaching, how do you prepare mentally for such an important match when you’re away from the national team?

Kenti Robles : I think Pedro has given us all the tools we need so that we’re able to solve any problems that might arise on the pitch against Haiti ourselves, which is invaluable. We’ve all known each other for a very long time and we’re familiar with our respective strengths and weaknesses. We’re such a close-knit team. Things have improved so much within the camp. We can sit at the dinner table for hours and hours and that togetherness has grown over the years.

**You’ve faced some very tough opponents under Pedro Lopez, beating Australia and Brazil in friendlies and the USA in a competitive fixture. How has that helped you?** You’ve faced some very tough opponents under Pedro Lopez, beating Australia and Brazil in friendlies and the USA in a competitive fixture. How has that helped you?

I remember talking to Pedro once because when he came in, we’d just played some top sides, but we didn’t immediately continue to face opponents of that calibre. He said to me, 'You know what, Kenti? First, we need to rediscover that winning feeling.' Winning, winning, winning. Once you get that 'I’m winning' mindset into your head, you move up a level. You can then head into a game against a team like Brazil determined to go toe to toe with them.

I recall arriving in Australia after many hours of travelling and then training at 100 per cent. That’s your mind telling you you’re fine and you’re not tired. You take to the pitch and say, 'I’m going to win this game.' A whole range of factors will then come into play, but when your mind says, 'I’m going for it,' and when you have that mentality, even if you feel like your body can’t keep going, you give absolutely everything out there.

**You’re now playing alongside a new generation, with the likes of Fatima Servin, Montserrat Saldivar and Alice Soto. How do you pass your experience on to them?** You’re now playing alongside a new generation, with the likes of Fatima Servin, Montserrat Saldivar and Alice Soto. How do you pass your experience on to them?

I talk a lot to the younger players, like Fatu [Servin], who has incredible quality. The new generations are enormously talented because they have tools available to them that didn’t exist before. Still, I always tell them many people have talent, but what’ll set them apart is putting the hard work in every day. I might not have been the most talented player, but I’ve always put in the work and had that desire to improve day-in, day-out. That’s what has kept me at the highest level. I tell them that even when they think they’ve played at their best, there’s always room to improve. The fact that my coaches demanded more from me every day meant that I never rested on my laurels.

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**How have the dressing-room dynamics between younger and more experienced players evolved over the years?** How have the dressing-room dynamics between younger and more experienced players evolved over the years?

It’s changed enormously. There used to be distance and a kind of respect where you could barely go in hard on the older players on the pitch. There was only one way of looking at things, which was the senior players’ way. We didn’t like being treated like that, so we came to understand that there isn’t just one way of experiencing football. Younger players have their own perspective, too. In the past, if someone came dancing into the dressing room, they’d be told to sit down and focus. Now you realise that the new generation might need that dance to go out and perform better on the pitch. Everyone contributes these days regardless of age, while those of us with more experience are there to support the others with things they haven’t lived through yet.

**With so many trophies in your collection, what’s been the most valuable or special experience of your career?** With so many trophies in your collection, what’s been the most valuable or special experience of your career?

What I remember most are the team dinners, especially after winning a trophy. With the national team, the ones that come to mind were after the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games. There’s also the time we knocked out the USA [at the 2011 Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament]. It’s those moments afterwards when you look your team-mates in the eye and see them jumping for joy or shedding happy tears. Those moments mean so much to me and I always tell the girls, 'I want to win because of what comes afterwards.' It’s like a sigh of relief after getting through a particularly arduous day.

**Do you feel that atmosphere exists within the squad nowadays?** Do you feel that atmosphere exists within the squad nowadays?

Yes, I think it does and it’s something Pedro has worked incredibly hard on. The key is for every player to know what her role is. Obviously, some aren’t going to play much and others will play more, but if all 23 or 24 of us aren’t pulling in the same direction, it becomes very difficult to manage a dressing room, especially for the coach. That’s why I understand why he always tries to select players who contribute. That’s the key to this national team. Everyone is contributing right now, giving the best version of themselves and understanding their role.

**Looking ahead to the Haiti game, what goes through your mind as such a decisive day draws closer?** Looking ahead to the Haiti game, what goes through your mind as such a decisive day draws closer?

Sometimes we work and work and work, and we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve. I always say that instead of wondering why you’re not being given what you deserve, you have to pick yourself up, go out and get it yourself. If I have to run however many kilometres it takes to get Mexico to the next World Cup, I’ll do it. We’re all clear about that. We’ll do whatever it takes to get back where we deserve and get Mexico shining again.

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