Javier Aguirre Sets 8 p.m. Toluca Ultimatum Before World Cup
Javier Aguirre drew a hard line on toluca players and every other Mexico call-up: show up for dinner at 8 p.m., or lose the World Cup. The warning landed during a playoff period already shaped by an early-release deal between Liga MX clubs and the national team setup.
8 p.m. at Mexico camp
“Están citados todos los convocados para estar cenando todos juntos a las 8 de la noche,” Aguirre said in a press conference. He followed that with an even starker message: “El que no venga estará fuera del Mundial. Es algo que no podemos ser flexibles ni mucho menos.”
The deadline gave the national team coach a clear test of discipline before the World Cup, scheduled to start on June 11. Clubs had already accepted in January that summoned players could be released early, before the Clausura playoff round, and that agreement now sat at the center of how Mexico balanced club competition against national-team preparation.
Toluca and Chivas shifts
Toluca had Jesús Gallardo and Alexis Vega training with the club the day before its match against Los Angeles FC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals. Toluca said the players reported to training and that it considered using them against LAFC because doing so did not violate the original agreement.
The club also said specific authorization had been requested in advance for the selected players to appear in the second leg, and that validation was granted by the top authority of Liga MX and the FMF. Antonio Mohamed’s team was therefore working inside a special arrangement, not outside it.
Chivas took a different path after Amaury Vergara said on social media that his players would return to the club on Wednesday. Chivas later said its players would report on time and that the club would not block their chance to represent Mexico in the World Cup. The club had already lost its first quarterfinal match 3-1 to Tigres without its selected players, with the return leg set for the following Saturday in western Mexico.
Mexico’s club agreement
That early-release framework now carries a sharper edge. Aguirre thanked the clubs after the dispute, calling it “un pacto, un proyecto que no se ha roto,” and said, “De momento estamos en lo que firmamos y no es la primera vez que se juega sin seleccionados una liguilla.”
He also framed the work as part of the larger build toward June 11: “Realmente creo que estamos preparando algo importante, hemos tenido partidos y el apoyo total de la liga y de los clubes. Me ilusiona estar aquí, eso no nos la puede quitar nadie, el estar preparándonos para el gran evento y hacer un gran Mundial no tiene precio.” For Mexico players, the immediate instruction is simple: make the 8 p.m. dinner, or stay out of the squad’s World Cup plans.
