Seattle Sounders and Mexico national team midfielder Obed Vargas was voted as the best young player in MLS in the league’s annual 22 Under 22 list.
It’s a historic accomplishment for Vargas, who becomes the first Mexican player ever to top the list.
The 20-year-old has become irreplaceable in Brian Schmetzer’s side. With fellow standout midfielder Cristian Roldán next to him, Seattle Sounders boast one of the best midfields in all of MLS.
Vargas is an all-around, modern day midfielder. Composed in possession, capable of dictating games and picking out passes while also being an excellent ball carrier. He’s also a tenacious, tireless defender that covers ground and is rarely caught out of position.
In a league of his own 👑
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) October 8, 2025
Obed Vargas has been ranked No. 1 in @MLS's 22 Under 22! pic.twitter.com/mKWv2TPBAz
Vargas made his debut with Seattle as a 16-year-old and has accumulated 127 appearances for the club since he first featured in 2021. During his first year as a professional, he helped the Sounders win their first ever Concacaf Champions Cup in the Spring of 2022.
He’s only gotten better since and in 2025 he was one of the team’s best players in the Club World Cup. Vargas was sensational as well in Seattle’s 2025 Leagues Cup triumph, when they became the first MLS team to win every trophy available.
With such an impressive resumé and a laundry-list of superb performances, it’s not hard to understand why he was voted as the best young talent in MLS this year.
Vargas was a regular at USMNT youth camps in the past, but everything changed in 2024. He continues to shine on the international stage, but he does it for another country.
Obed Vargas is a Big Part of Mexico’s Promising Future
Born in Alaska, Vargas eventually moved to Seattle to play for the Sounders' academy and eventually the senior team. He represented USMNT youth teams and even played the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup with the U.S.
Then, in the summer of 2024, FIFA approved Vargas’s one-time switch to represent El Tri at international level. Vargas’s father was born in Michoacan, Mexico, and that was a key reason for the player's decision.
“I’m very excited to announce that I’ve decided to play for Mexico,” Vargas said last year. ”The thought process was simple for me, it’s the team I grew up watching. It’s a way for me to honor my family, my culture. My whole family is Mexican, so it’s just the team I grew up watching. The team I feel the most love towards.”
On Oct. 2024, Javier Aguirre gave Vargas his first call-up to El Tri’s senior team. He made his debut days later in Mexico’s 2–0 victory against Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT.
Playing alongside Vargas in midfield is Tijuana’s 16-year-old phenom Gilberto Mora. Both players have started all four games so far and Mora has been the best player of the tournament. Elías Montiel and Iker Fimbres complete a stacked midfield at Mexico’s disposal in the World Cup.
Mexico went unbeaten in the tournament’s group of death that saw South American champion Brazil get eliminated from the World Cup. El Tri then faced hosts Chile in the round of 16 and dismantled them 4–1, setting-up a mouthwatering quarterfinals clash against Argentina on Saturday.
El Tri’s U-20 team has plenty of talent all over the pitch. It’s a generation of players that has fans optimistic about the future. And some, including Vargas, have a real chance of making Mexico’s 2026 FIFA World Cup roster.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Mexico National Team Wonderkid Achieves Record MLS Feat.
