First blow for Rafa Márquez: Alan Cervantes out, América replace him

In partnership with

Superlider

·21 September 2026

First blow for Rafa Márquez: Alan Cervantes out, América replace him

Rafael Márquez’s new stint in charge of the Mexican National Team will suffer its first setback before it even begins. Alan Cervantes has been ruled out of the squad due to a muscle issue and will not take part in El Tri’s upcoming friendlies.

Mexico’s National Teams Sporting Directorate confirmed the roster change this Monday. Cervantes, an América midfielder, was one of the players included in Márquez’s first squad list for the new World Cup cycle.

OneFootball Videos

Isaías Violante takes his place

The coaching staff decided not to call up an additional player and will instead turn to someone who was already included in the original list: Isaías Violante.

The América forward was expected to join the national team after Matchday 10 of the Liga MX season, but the change of plans means he will report this Monday to the High Performance Center (CAR) to begin training with the rest of the group.

In this way, América loses Cervantes for the training camp, but still maintains a presence in the group of players who will work under Rafael Márquez.

Cervantes misses Márquez’s first matches

The injury comes just before the start of Márquez’s first training camp as head coach of the Mexican National Team.

The manager will officially begin his road to the 2030 World Cup with a series of warm-up matches in the United States. The Federation had announced a squad made up of players from different generations to begin this new chapter.

For now, the national team has not publicly announced Cervantes’ estimated recovery timeline, so his progress will have to be monitored.

El Tri’s schedule

Mexico will play four matches during this September and October FIFA window. The tour will begin against Colombia and continue against Peru, the United States, and Chile.