Pumas prepare for Clausura 2026 with new leaders

The Pumas are coached by Efraín Juárez, a 37-year-old coach who had a successful debut on the Atlético Nacional bench in Colombia, leading the team to win the cup and league in 2024. Navas, who experienced the disappointment of missing the World Cup with Costa Rica, will be the leader of the Pumas who will seek to have an outstanding tournament that qualifies them for the league phase of the competition, after they were eliminated in the playoff in the previous tournament. Among their national stars is forward Guillermo Martínez, who has received some call-ups to the national team. Costa Rican Keylor Navas and Panamanian Adalberto "Coco" Carrasquilla lead the concentration, which began this Tuesday, of the UNAM Pumas of Mexican football heading towards the 2026 Clausura tournament. The 26-player squad will be in Acapulco until next Saturday. Carrasquilla will seek to maintain the consistency shown in the Apertura, in which he was a starter in 14 of 17 matches, to continue being a regular for his country's national team, which will participate in next year's World Cup. Juárez, who as a player emerged from the felines' youth academy, has been in charge of the team since March 2025. In addition to Navas and Carrasquilla, Pumas also counts in their ranks with Colombian Álvaro Angulo, Brazilian Nathan Silva, and Ecuadorian Pedro Vite. In that tournament, they were also eliminated in the playoff, so in this Clausura their mission will be to guide their team to the Liguilla for the first time. The Pumas will debut in the Clausura on January 11 at home against Querétaro. They will receive the champion Toluca on March 3, within the ninth matchday and will play their city derby, also at home, against América on the 21st of the same month, in the twelfth matchday. The experience of Spanish defender Rubén Duarte also stands out.