La Liga MX dio a conocer este lunes las fechas y los horarios de las semifinales del Torneo Clausura 2026, con Chivas, Cruz Azul, Pachuca y Pumas a la caza de los dos boletos a la final. Los partidos de ida se jugarán el miércoles 13 y el jueves 14 de mayo, while the return legs are set for Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 May.
That schedule puts the race for the league’s biggest prize into a tight four-day stretch that will define the last stage before the liga mx final. For the clubs still alive, the announcement does more than set kickoff times: it locks in travel, recovery and match preparation with no margin for error.
The headline venue change is in the Chivas-Cruz Azul series. The first leg of that tie will be the last match played at Estadio Banorte before it is handed over to FIFA ahead of the June 11, 2026 World Cup opening. The return match will not be played at Estadio Akron. Instead, Chivas will host Cruz Azul at Estadio Jalisco, which will be the team’s home for the rest of the Liguilla.
That detail matters because it changes the setting for one of the semifinal series most likely to shape the Final. Chivas had been expected to rely on its usual home, but the move to Estadio Jalisco gives the club a different backdrop for the decisive leg and adds another layer to a playoff run already crowded by logistics.
There is also a larger calendar pressure behind the announcement. With the World Cup set to open on June 11, the final weeks of the Mexican season are being squeezed around a venue handoff at Estadio Banorte, making the Cruz Azul-Chivas first leg a symbolic end to one era and a practical start to another. For fans, the dates now turn a four-team chase into a countdown: one side of the bracket will survive May 17, and the rest will be done.
What comes next is straightforward. Chivas, Cruz Azul, Pachuca and Pumas will now prepare for the semifinal first legs on May 13 and 14, then reset for the decisive return matches on May 16 and 17. By the end of that weekend, the Clausura 2026 final will be set.
