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FIFA break heightens drama of Liga MX stretch run

By Thomas Buckley

Team Mexico plays three games in seven days so some players will surely face fatigue issues upon returning to their respective Liga MX clubs. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)
Team Mexico plays three games in seven days so some players will surely face fatigue issues upon returning to their respective Liga MX clubs. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images) /
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Liga MX Oct FIFA break
We’ll have to wait and see if Monterrey striker Rogelio Funes Mori (left) and León defender William Tesillo (right) are available for their clubs’ big Liga MX Matchday 13 showdown on Oct. 16. (Photo by Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

Liga MX teams (and fans) will be holding their collective breath the next 8-10 days as 44 players from across the league take part in World Cup qualifying tournaments. Coaches (and fans) will be worried about injuries and fatigue affecting star players as teams head down the Apertura 2021 home stretch.

The pandemic induced regional confederations to condense their qualifying calendars and that is a valid concern for Liga MX Nation. Whereas in the past, two games were scheduled during a FIFA break, national teams are now squeezing three games into the two-week window. For instance, Concacaf has games scheduled on Oct. 7, 10 and 13 while Conmebol’s calendar is Oct. 7, 10 and 14.

Liga MX resumes play on Oct. 14, so several teams (five, in particular) will not be at full strength for Matchday 13 and perhaps beyond, particularly if injuries crop up. To complicate matters, the Liga MX calendar features three matchdays between Oct. 14-25.

Top Matchday 13 contest might lack featured players

There are nine teams within 6 points of fourth place (and the first-round playoff bye that goes with it), so there will be a mad scramble over the course of the five-game race to season’s end.

Teams forced to juggle their line-up until returning international players are fit and/or rested enough to contribute will be at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, those with few international players should have their strongest line-ups available.

Monterrey – currently in 4th place with 20 points – has eight players away on international duty: Héctor Moreno, César Montes, Jesús Gallardo, Carlos Rodríguez and Rogelio Funes Mori with Mexico; plus Sebastián Vegas (Chile), Stefan Medina (Colombia) and Joel Campbell (Costa Rica). Campbell is the only non-starter among those eight, but he is a regular second-half sub for coach Javier Aguirre.

The Rayados’ Liga MX schedule has them hosting 8th-place León on Oct. 16 followed quickly by a visit to Querétaro on Oct. 19. The Matchday 13 contest at the Estadio BBVA Bancomer in Monterrey on Oct. 16 pits two genuine title contenders in a late-season showdown. Liga MX fans might be short-changed, however, since neither team can be expected to be at full strength.

León is just 4 points back of Monterrey, and will be short-handed as well since six Esmeraldas are on international duty: Rodolfo Cota and Osvaldo Rodríguez with Mexico; plus William Tesillo (Colombia), Jean Meneses (Chile), Santiago Ormeño (Peru) and Ángel Mena (Ecuador). Netminder Cota should be available since he is unlikely to see action with El Tri (unless Guillermo Ochoa gets injured), but “La Fiera” coach Ariel Holan might be without the playmaking pair of Meneses and Mena.

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