Eight of Nine Matchday 10 Games in the Apertura 2026 Will Be Missing Players Due to FIFA Date

FIFA Date usually means a pause, but not in Mexico. While most leagues around the world shut down to make room for national teams, Liga MX will go ahead with Matchday 10 of the Apertura 2026 with the house half empty: eight of the weekend's nine matches will be missing players due to international call ups.

The numbers tell the story: eleven of the 18 clubs in the tournament sent players to their national teams during a window that stretches over two weeks, even though the Mexican league will only pause for one. Monterrey, Tijuana, Atlas, Cruz Azul, Toluca, Chivas, Tigres, Pumas, Leon, Juarez and America will each be missing at least one player. On the other side, Atlante, Queretaro, Santos, Pachuca, Puebla, Atletico de San Luis and Necaxa had no players called up, which is why the only match to be played with both squads at full strength will be Santos vs. Pachuca.

Cruz Azul vs. Toluca, the hardest hit

If you're looking for the match where the FIFA Date will be felt most, this is it. Cruz Azul and Toluca face off at Estadio Banorte with seven call ups between the two squads, no small number for a matchup of this magnitude.

La Maquina will be without Kevin Mier (Colombia), Jeremy Marquez (Mexico) and Erik Lira (Mexico). On the Toluca side, the Red Devils won't be able to count on Federico Vinas (Uruguay), Santiago Simon (Argentina), Everardo Lopez (Mexico) and Jesus Gallardo (Mexico). Seven fewer pieces split between the two clubs, in a matchup that usually carries plenty of weight in the standings on its own.

Behind that game, the second most affected is Leon vs. Juarez, which will be played at the Nou Camp with five absences in total. La Fiera will be without Daniel Arcila (Colombia), Rodrigo Echeverria (Chile) and Oscar Garcia (Mexico), while Juarez loses Denzell Garcia (Mexico) and Jose Luis Rodriguez (Panama).

There are two other curious cases: Necaxa vs. America and Pumas vs. Atletico de San Luis will each have four absences, but all of them concentrated on a single team. America will be missing Oscar Perea, Brian Rodriguez, Israel Reyes and Isaias Violante, while Necaxa didn't send a single player to any call up. Something similar happens to Pumas against the San Luis Potosi side: they lose Alvaro Angulo, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Pedro Vite and Robert Morales, while Atletico de San Luis arrives at full strength.

At Chivas things are a bit less dramatic: although the club had five players called up by Rafael Marquez, only Raul Rangel and Roberto Alvarado will miss the match against Queretaro, since Diego Campillo, Santiago Sandoval and Hugo Camberos will join the national team after playing. Tijuana vs. Atlas will have three absences, with Gilberto Mora and Jackson Porozo out for Xolos and Jorge Sanchez out for Atlas. Monterrey, meanwhile, will feel the loss of Victor Guzman and Orbelin Pineda against an Atlante side with no absences, and in Tigres vs. Puebla the only missing player will be Rodrigo Aguirre, called up by Uruguay.