Chivas Brings Back Four Homegrown U-20 Champions Looking to Crack the First Team

Eight academy products left with the Mexican U-20 national team and came back with championship medals around their necks. Chivas already has its players back, and more importantly for Gabriel Milito, four of them arrive ready to fight for a spot in the first team.

The title won at the Concacaf U-20 Pre-World Cup, played at Estadio Banorte under coach Alex Diego, brought immediate rewards for the Rebano. The ticket to the World Cup in that category and to the Olympic Games was secured with eight Chivas academy players in the squad: Cristo Navarrete, Sebastian Liceaga, Carlos Hernandez, Yohan Orozco, Diego Covarrubias, Samir Inda, Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos. Of that group, only four are currently on the first team's radar, the rest will continue developing between Guadalajara's U-21 squad and Tapatio in the Liga de Expansion.

Liceaga Waits His Turn

Goalkeeper Sebastian Liceaga is, of the four, the one furthest from a Liga MX debut. During the last liguilla, when Chivas was missing several starters due to national team call-ups, Liceaga served as backup in all four matches without ever getting on the field. With Raul Rangel as the undisputed starter and Oscar Whalley as the backup option, his minutes will depend almost entirely on an injury or suspension in goal.

Inda Looks for His Chance in Midfield

Samir Inda has already tasted Liga MX action: he debuted last season and even scored in his first match with the first team, though since then he has barely logged six official minutes, coming in Matchday 10 of the Apertura 2025. Registered with Tapatio for this Apertura 2026, he can move up and down between squads without issue given his age. His big challenge is adapting as a defensive midfielder, a position where he would have to compete with Ruben Gonzalez and Omar Govea, the only specialists in that role on the roster.

Sandoval, Backed by Milito's Trust

Santiago Sandoval is the one who grew the most over the past year. He debuted nearly twelve months ago and was a key figure in the Apertura 2025 with nine matches and two goals. In the Clausura 2026 he showed up exactly when he was needed most: he scored a brace in the Quarterfinals against Tigres to help fuel the comeback and added another goal in the first leg of the Semifinals against Cruz Azul. He returns with the coach's confidence and is competing for a spot among the right-sided attacking midfielders, a battle that pits him against Roberto Alvarado and new signings Jordan Carrillo and Kevin Castaneda.

Camberos, the Big Offensive Question Mark

Hugo Camberos arrives as the tournament's top scorer and MVP of the Pre-World Cup, but that form has yet to translate to the first team. He debuted in the Clausura 2025 with 15 matches and two goals, though since Milito took over the bench his minutes have shrunk: just 319 minutes across two tournaments, with no goals, one assist and no starts. The Argentine coach's system, which does without pure wingers, has made things harder for him. With Chivas having scored just four goals so far this half of the season, his strong showing with the U-20s could be the spark he needs to earn a spot in the attack.

The schedule will determine how much of that U-20 title translates into real minutes in Liga MX, but Milito already has four names on the table who arrive with renewed confidence and something that cannot always be bought: having been champions.