Guillermo Martínez will be allowed to attend the Clausura 2026 final de vuelta between Pumas de la UNAM and Cruz Azul on Sunday, May 24, 2025 at 19:00 hours at the Estadio Olímpico de Ciudad Universitaria, coach Javier Aguirre confirmed on the day of the national-team conference.
Aguirre said both Martínez and Érik Lira, who remain concentrated with the Selección Mexicana as part of preparations for the 2026 World Cup, have permission to go to the stadium to greet teammates and be present for the match before returning to national-team duties. Two players are involved in the arrangement; both had already missed the Liguilla earlier as stipulated in their World Cup preparation.
Numbers make the point: the fixture is the Clausura 2026 title match, set for Sunday, May 24, 2025 at 19:00 hours at the Estadio Olímpico de Ciudad Universitaria, and the two squad members will briefly leave the Selección Mexicana concentration to attend. Aguirre framed the permission as reasonable and healthy, saying it was fair for them to salute teammates and even stand shoulder to shoulder with the defeated — he did not see a problem with them celebrating or offering support after the game.
Context matters here. Before the Liguilla both players were withheld from their clubs' postseason play under the national team's preparation protocol for the 2026 World Cup. They have remained under national-team concentration even while being allowed this exception, and Aguirre made clear no Liga MX player participating in the final is automatically excluded from World Cup consideration.
The decision is narrowly drawn: the permission allows Martínez and Lira to attend the match, support teammates and then promptly report back to the Selección Mexicana camp. Aguirre said the move was both fair to the clubs and consistent with the national team's plans, framing the brief leave as part of an orderly preparation rather than a break from duties.
That alignment exposes the tension at the heart of modern international preparation — club glory on one side, national-team cohesion on the other. Allowing players to cross between the two on a day as charged as a domestic final risks optics and logistics. Still, Aguirre insisted he saw no conflict: the players competed with their clubs this season and deserve the chance to acknowledge teammates in person.
For Guillermo Martínez, the scene will be simple and pointed: a player under the national spotlight stepping into a packed Estadio Olímpico de Ciudad Universitaria to stand with the club he helped through the season, then walking back into the national fold with the World Cup months away. The single most consequential question now is whether those few hours in the stands will change anything in his preparation for the 2026 World Cup.
