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Mexican Federation Threatens to Drop Players from World Cup Squad Amid Club Row

Players of Mexico's Toluca celebrate after beating the United States' Los Angeles FC during a CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg semifinal soccer match in Toluca, Mexico, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Players of Mexico's Toluca celebrate after beating the United States' Los Angeles FC during a CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg semifinal soccer match in Toluca, Mexico, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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Mexican Federation Threatens to Drop Players from World Cup Squad Amid Club Row

Players of Mexico's Toluca celebrate after beating the United States' Los Angeles FC during a CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg semifinal soccer match in Toluca, Mexico, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Players of Mexico's Toluca celebrate after beating the United States' Los Angeles FC during a CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg semifinal soccer match in Toluca, Mexico, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Liga MX players who fail to attend Mexico's World Cup training camp starting on Wednesday will be dropped from the tournament squad, the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) said, essentially cancelling an exemption granted to players from Toluca.

Clubs had initially agreed with FMF that they would release all called-up players from May 6.

FMF later granted special permission to Toluca players to remain with their club for Wednesday's second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final against Los Angeles FC, in which they trail 2-1 on aggregate.

That exemption drew criticism from Amaury Vergara, owner of ⁠Guadalajara, which fields ⁠only Mexican players. Vergara later urged his club's five selected players to return for the Liga MX Clausura quarter-finals, with the team seeking to overturn a 3-1 deficit against Tigres UANL in Saturday's second leg.

"All players must report to the High Performance Centre in Mexico City," Reuters quoted the FMF as saying in a statement on ⁠Wednesday. "On the coaching staff’s instructions, any player who fails to attend the training camp today will be excluded from the World Cup."

The dispute highlighted growing tension between clubs and the national team over player availability ahead of the World Cup, with domestic and continental fixtures clashing with preparations for the tournament.

Toluca, the reigning Liga MX champions, had requested permission since the start of the season to keep players available. After the FMF statement, Toluca said they would release Jesus Gallardo and Alexis Vega to join ⁠the national team.

"Toluca ⁠acted at all times in compliance with FMF regulations," the club said in a statement. "A specific authorization was requested in advance ... and validation was granted by Liga MX and the FMF.

"The club will release their players and do without them for tonight’s crucial match in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semi-final."

Mexico, co-hosts of the World Cup alongside the US and Canada, will complete their preparations with friendlies against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4, before opening the tournament against South Africa in Group A on June 11.

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Sports

What to Know About the 2026 Champions League Final

Fans of Arsenal cheer during the UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg match Arsenal FC against Atletico de Madrid, in London, Britain, 05 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Fans of Arsenal cheer during the UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg match Arsenal FC against Atletico de Madrid, in London, Britain, 05 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
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What to Know About the 2026 Champions League Final

Fans of Arsenal cheer during the UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg match Arsenal FC against Atletico de Madrid, in London, Britain, 05 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL
Fans of Arsenal cheer during the UEFA Champions League semi-finals 2nd leg match Arsenal FC against Atletico de Madrid, in London, Britain, 05 May 2026. EPA/NEIL HALL

Arsenal became the first team to book its place in the 2026 Champions League final by beating Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.

Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich will join the Premier League club in the showpiece at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary this month.

Defending champion PSG leads Bayern 5-4 after a thrilling first leg in Paris.

The second leg is on Wednesday in Munich.

Here's what to know about the Champions League final.

When is the Champions League final and what time is the kick off? This year's final will be staged in Budapest on May 30. Kick off time has been brought forward to 1800 CET, having traditionally been played 2100 CET. Governing body UEFA said the decision for an earlier kick off was to enhance the matchday experience for fans and to optimize logistics such as public transport.

Who is headlining the pre-match show? Rock band the Killers will be performing on the night. In recent years Linkin Park and Lenny Kravitz have headlined.

Arsenal is in the final for the first time since 2006. It is only its second time in the final and it has never won European club soccer's top competition, having lost to Barcelona in 2006.

Mikel Arteta's team was beaten in last year's semifinals by eventual champion PSG.

PSG is aiming to become only the second team to win back-to-back Champions League titles, having lifted the trophy for the first time last year.

Since the tournament was rebranded as the Champions League in the 1992-93 campaign only Real Madrid has retained the title, winning three times in succession from 2016-18.

Bayern has won the Champions League or European Cup on six occasions — most recently in 2020. Victory this year would see it equal AC Milan's total of seven titles to make the German giant the joint second most successful team in the competition's history behind Madrid, which is a 15-time winner.

About the Puskas Arena The 67,000-seater stadium was opened in 2019 and built on the same site as the previous Ferenc Puskas Stadion — named after the Hungarian and Real Madrid icon, who won three European Cups as a player.

Recent winners 2025 PSG
2024 Real Madrid
2023 Manchester City
2022 Real Madrid
2021 Chelsea
Most Champions League/European Cup wins 15 Real Madrid
7 AC Milan
6 Bayern Munich, Liverpool
5 Barcelona
4 Ajax
3 Manchester United, Inter Milan

Where is the 2026-27 Champions League final? The 2027 final will be staged at Atletico Madrid's stadium the Estadio Metropolitano. It is the second time it has held the final, having staged the 2019 showdown between Liverpool and Tottenham.

The city of Madrid has hosted the final on five previous occasions.

Sports

Kostyuk Withdraws from Italian Open with Physical Issues after Titles in Madrid, Rouen

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine poses with the trophy after winning her women's singles finals match against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 02 May 2026. EPA/CHEMA MOYA
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine poses with the trophy after winning her women's singles finals match against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 02 May 2026. EPA/CHEMA MOYA
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Kostyuk Withdraws from Italian Open with Physical Issues after Titles in Madrid, Rouen

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine poses with the trophy after winning her women's singles finals match against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 02 May 2026. EPA/CHEMA MOYA
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine poses with the trophy after winning her women's singles finals match against Mirra Andreeva of Russia at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, 02 May 2026. EPA/CHEMA MOYA

Fresh off the biggest title of her career, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine withdrew from the Italian Open due to hip and ankle issues, The Associated Press reported.

Kostyuk won the Madrid Open on Saturday and is up to a career-best No. 15 in the rankings this week. Having also won another clay-court title in Rouen, France, the week before Madrid, Kostyuk is on an 11-match winning streak.

“After the best stretch of my career, I was looking forward to Rome. But sometimes your body has other plans, and over the past few days I’ve been dealing with a hip issue. With my ankle still not fully at 100%, it’s just not smart to keep pushing right now, so I won’t be competing there this year,” Kostyuk posted on Instagram on Tuesday as the tournament in Rome began.

“Now it’s time to recover and get ready for Paris,” Kostyuk said, referring to the French Open, which starts May 24.

Sports

Infantino Defends World Cup Ticket Prices

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Infantino Defends World Cup Ticket Prices

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 29th annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday defended World Cup ticket prices, insisting that football's global governing body was obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value.

FIFA has faced searing criticism over the cost of World Cup tickets, with fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) branding the pricing structure "extortionate" and a "monumental betrayal".

FSE filed a lawsuit with the European Commission in March targeting FIFA over "excessive ticket prices" for the tournament.

FIFA's own World Cup resale website, FIFA Marketplace, last week advertised four tickets to the July 19 final in New York at a cost of more than $2 million each.

Speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Infantino said the eye-watering prices reflected demand to watch the World Cup.

"If some people put on the resale market, some tickets for the final at $2 million, number one it doesn't mean that the tickets cost $2 million," AFP quoted Infantino as saying.

"And number two it doesn't mean that somebody will buy these tickets," Infantino said. "And if somebody buys a ticket for the final for $2 million I will personally bring him a hot dog and a Coke to make sure that he has a great experience."

Fan groups have contrasted the difference in price of tickets for this summer with the Qatar World Cup in 2022.

The most expensive ticket for the final in 2022 was around $1,600 at face value, while in 2026 the most expensive ticket for the final is about $11,000 at its original price.

Infantino was adamant that the steep increase in face-value prices were justified.

"We have to look at the market -- we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates," Infantino said.

"In the US it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price.

"And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price."

Infantino said that FIFA received in excess of 500 million ticket requests for 2026, compared with fewer than 50 million combined for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The FIFA leader added that 25 percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at under $300.

"You cannot go to watch in the US a college game, not even speaking about a top professional game of a certain level, for less than $300," Infantino said. "And this is the World Cup."