Birthdate: September 24, 2006 (17)

Foot: Right

Height: 5’9

Nationality: US / Mexico

It has been nothing short of a meteoric rise for Cruz Ivan Medina. Born in San Francisco, Medina racked up 31 goals and 28 assists at the U-13 level for the San Francisco Glens from 2017 to 2019 before joining the San Jose Earthquakes’ academy. In 2021, he won the U-15 Golden Ball at the 2021 MLS Next Cup and earned a trial with Bayern Munich. Desperate to fend off interest, the Earthquakes tied him down to a homegrown contract through 2027.

Whilst Medina made his unofficial first-team debut at 15 years of age in a friendly vs. Celta de Vigo, he’s honed his trade in the second team thus far, racking up two goals and two assists to help them qualify for the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs for the first time. Shortly after, The Guardian listed Cruz Medina as 1 of the 60 most promising young talents in world football.

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The Bay Area native is of Mexican descent through his grandparents, and it seems that he could be set to trigger a tug-of-war between the US and El Tri. He started multiple matches for the U.S. in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup as they reached the Round of 16, joining the Mexico U-20 training camp in March 2024 before reporting back to the U.S. U-19 training camp two weeks later.

It seems only a matter of time before the Californian teenager makes a name for himself in MLS — but just what makes Medina such a talented prospect? Let’s dive deep.

Off the Ball

In Possession

Medina’s intelligence and game recognition when his team is in possession is arguably his biggest skill. He is always allowing himself to be available for his teammates, whether it be by dropping back to provide a safe option or drifting into half-spaces. Even when he is far away from the ball he is moving around open space, always available for a switch of play.

Cruz’s amazing off-the-ball movement brings great dynamism to his team. Usually being deployed as a 10, he is clearly given the right to freely roam around the pitch. This causes a lot of problems for his opponents. They are not able to just send one person to man-mark him, because that would cause the defender to be frequently out of position. Owing to that, Medina is often in a lot of space which allows his on-the-ball prowess to shine.

The first image shows Medina picking the ball up in the first phase of play, and the second clip is him receiving the ball in the second phase of play. In both examples, he is in complete space, unmarked. This is certainly no coincidence, as this happens in most plays for Cruz.

Medina also uses his superior positional knowledge to create overloads on the attack. This is an integral skill for his position, and it’s a part of his biggest strengths. He knows that adding an attacker can bring additional support to progress the ball. He has a great sense of where to position himself to create one-two opportunities.

Cruz makes countless runs for the one-two in every game, and even though he doesn’t receive a pass for all of them, it keeps the defenders thinking.

This clip shows Medina checking in for the ball, and then quickly adapting to the pass being played to his winger. As soon as the ball is heading for his teammate, he turns to give a flick-on option. This is a great example of Cruz creating an overload for his team while also showing his alertness, which allows his defense to play out from the back and progress the ball under pressure.

Above is another example of him creating an overload and eventually having a chance at goal. When on the counter, Medina likes to lag behind the player running with the ball. This gives his teammate a cutback option, which gives extra threat to the attack. He is commonly found at the edge of the box in the last phase of the counter, prepared for the ball to come back to him so he can shoot.

Out of Possession

Although not the hardest working, Medina is very calculated with his defending. It’s not rare to see him walking around when his team is without the ball, but when the right moment strikes he will turn up. A lot of his defensive duties revolve around pressuring the ball and cutting off passing lanes. He will put pressure on the opposition’s midfield in an attempt to force them to make a rushed pass. Being a midfielder himself, you can see that Medina knows the passing lanes that opposition midfielders look for.

With his press, Cruz forces a pass back due to his pressure and then cleverly blocks the passing lane, which leads to his team pressuring the ball successfully.

This clip is a great example of Cruz’s understanding of passing lanes. Instead of getting on the back of the other team’s 6, he steps to his left which prevents the player on the ball from finding the penetrating pass.

When trying to win the ball, Medina rarely comes off his feet. He also is not one to use his body to shoulder off an opponent. This is definitely a flaw of the Californian, however, it does also supplement his role in the team at times. When you pair together his press, him always staying on his feet is not such a bad trait to have.

What frequently happens is he presses the ball, and instead of him going to ground to win it, the opponent attempts a pass. The pass, which was forced by Cruz’s press, is sometimes a bad one. This allows Medina’s teammates to quickly counter with him still on his feet and providing extra threat.

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On the Ball

After looking at his off-the-ball tendencies, it’s easier to explain why Medina is so threatening on the ball. His ability to find space around the pitch lets him progress the ball efficiently.

Receiving

A really notable strength of Medina is his ability to immediately open his body and angle himself forwards upon receiving the ball. He does this by only receiving on his back foot. This allows him two things:

• Extra time 
• Power of choice

These are three examples in different areas of the pitch where this important attribute is displayed. Being able to instantly face forwards prevents the opposition’s press trigger, and can change the picture of the game in one touch.

Although this is a powerful skill in his games for The Town, it’s yet to be seen if he will be able to pull this off in first-division play, where the pace of the game is a lot more suffocating.

Take-ons / Dribbling

Medina has great acceleration, and he uses it very well to beat defenders. When a defender is approaching, he lures them in before taking a sharp touch into the space available. As mentioned before, he doesn’t like to use his body to be physical; this is reflected when he’s attempting to beat defenders.

He doesn’t let the defender get any contact on him, and if they do it usually results in a foul. Cruz is also talented at isolating defenders and timing his burst well. This gives him control of the ball after the take-on, meaning he can find a pass or carry into the space.

He attempts many 1v1s in every game and is highly successful. This is also a skill that might be hard to translate to the first division. Despite that, even if he were to win half as many duels, he still would be winning more duels than lost.

Carrying

Combining his spatial awareness, 1v1 expertise, and turning ability, it’s easy to imagine Medina running with the ball. He certainly holds the acceleration necessary to exploit the space ahead of him. Key for midfielders when carrying the ball, he keeps the ball close to his feet. This means he can find and quickly provide dangerous passing opportunities, while also being ready for any incoming defenders.

As shown in the last clip, Cruz has no issue with holding the ball, at times even slowing down the play, and waiting for the right moment. This shows his confidence on the ball and can distract or confuse defenders.

Medina doesn’t necessarily have the greatest long-distance speed, but the rest of his skillset makes this unnoticeable. I believe his carrying ability would translate fairly well to the first division, but he will have to keep his confidence on the ball. He will also greatly benefit from his attackers being more athletic and sharp.

Passing

Medina keeps his passing fairly simple. However, this is no fault of his. He is very effective with his one-twos and quick passes that create overloads (already talked about in the off-the-ball section). He also often provides timed balls in behind for his teammates to run onto (two examples in the carrying section). Besides those, his most common pass is a ball wide. He puts thoughtful weight onto his passes, although it’s nothing far superior to other midfielders.

When playing deeper, he is good at finding line-breaking passes to bring the build-up into the second phase.

Considering the positional freedom he usually has, it’s not surprising to see him making crosses from wide positions. When he does, they’re usually low and driven, hoping his forward can beat the defender to the ball. They look threatening, and it’s a skill that he could use more.

Cruz’s simple but effective playmaking would translate well to high-level play, and better teammates will supplement that.

Shooting

A valuable skill for an attacking midfielder is their finishing. Not only for the goals it provides but for the extra factor that defenders have to consider. When playing higher on the pitch, Medina can be very clinical. With that, he does not shy away from shooting in many areas around the field. For the US U17 team he has scored 6 goals in 19 appearances (several of which came off the bench).

As mentioned previously, he occasionally will provide late crashes into the box which he has taken many chances from. He definitely has a bit of flair and spectacle to him. Not only did he attempt and score a panenka for the U17s, but he also scored this goal against Barbados (one of his 3 in that game).

I believe he has sufficient shooting for the top division. His finishing can be inconsistent, but it’s important that he takes many shots in a game, which he does.

Tactical Responsibility and His Future

Medina’s game intelligence is vital to his ability as a player. This, and his clever off-the-ball movement, means he fits the midfield best. Nevertheless, his defensive ability and running pace leave some things to be desired. I would recommend playing him as a 10, as he is most often deployed for The Town. He also has had a few spells as a ball-playing 8, picking up the ball in the build-up.

He is capable of playing in a pressing system; he doesn’t lack the endurance and timing to fit. He can also play in a possession-based team, finding openings in the middle and final third. However, I think the system that would fit Medina best is counter-attacking.

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His acceleration, ball carrying, and 1v1 ability mean he can change the pace of the game instantaneously. With this, mostly staying on his feet means he’s always prepared to quickly snap at an attacking turnover. Also, his press is useful to help win the ball when the opposition is in a vulnerable position.

He holds countless transferable skills that surpass divisions of soccer, his most powerful being: creating overloads, finding and creating space, carrying technique, acceleration, calculated pressing, cutting off passing lanes. Cruz Medina’s future is undoubtedly in the first division of a soccer league. I believe he already possesses the ability to be a sub-option for an MLS team, and in 2-3 years, I project he will be a consistent performer and starter in the league.

By: Ollie Enock / @ollieswriting

Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Aitor Alcalde / USSF / Getty Images