Road to World Cup 2026: Mexico’s Four Best Players of the Week—Ranked

A number of fringe El Tri players are making strong cases to earn a World Cup roster spot.

Julián Araujo is thriving since joining Celtic. | Rob Casey/SNS Group/Getty Images

Less than 120 days separate the Mexico national team from its World Cup debut, and midway through February, a collection of El Tri summer hopefuls continued their strong start of 2026 with standout performances over the past week.

The Liga MX Clausura 2026 season is hotting up and some of the best Mexican players in the division are leading the way for some of the league’s leading lights. It was a relatively quiet week for Mexican talents playing overseas, but one particular fringe El Tri player had a performance to remember over the weekend.

With a number of key Mexican talents currently injured, the players skirting around the edges of the roster have been trying to raise their level in an effort to impress manager Javier Aguirre, potentially forcing him into difficult decisions in the next few months.

Here, Sports Illustrated ranks the top four performing Mexican players over the past week.

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4. Carlos Rodríguez (Cruz Azul)

Carlos Rodríguez showcased why he’s blossomed into one of the best midfielders in Liga MX. | Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

Cruz Azul faced Tigres on Sunday in a repeat of last December’s Apertura semifinal. In a midfield with Argentine stars Jose Paradela and Agustín Palavecino, it was Carlos Rodríguez who stepped up and led Cruz Azul to avenge their past elimination with a 2–1 victory.

Although he finished the game without a goal contribution, Rodríguez was crucial for both of La Máquina’s goals. He played what’s become a trademarked chipped pass into the penalty area that—as a last ditch effort to deny the ball from reaching Paradela—Tigres defender Joaquim headed backwards into his own goal.

Minutes later, “Charly” slipped a perfectly weighted pass between defenders for Willer Ditta, leaving him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Nahuel Guzmán saved Ditta’s shot, but the rebound fell perfectly into the path of Nico Ibañez to tuck in Cruz Azul’s second.

It’s hard to pick a Liga MX midfielder that’s been better than Rodríguez over the past year. In recent months he’s found a new level and is playing the best soccer of his career. Translating that form to El Tri has always been Rodríguez’s Achilles heel, prompting many to call for him not to be part of the national team anymore.

But if the 29-year-old keeps up his recent level, it’s going to be hard for Aguirre not to consider him in his final World Cup roster.

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3. Marcel Ruiz (Toluca)

Marcel Ruiz had a dominant performance for Toluca. | Manuel Velasquez/Getty Images

Liga MX is starting to look easy for Marcel Ruiz, who’s got European soccer written all over him if he has a strong World Cup. In Toluca’s weekend victory, it was the all-around midfielder who stole the show.

Ruiz assisted the only goal of the match, making a run in between the lines, controlling a long ball with a sensational first touch, and whipping in a powerful and accurate weak-foot cross for the lethal Paulinho to convert.

But aside from that specific action, Ruiz’s performance against Tijuana encapsulated the complete midfielder he’s become. No player completed more passes than the 25-year-old, who also created the most chances on the night. Defensively, he was everywhere, collecting seven recoveries and four clearances without registering a single foul.

Ruiz has become the heart and brain of the back-to-back Liga MX champion, a prototypical modern day midfielder with no glaring weaknesses to his game. His ascension over the past three seasons is notable, and Ruiz is expected to be one of the first names in Aguirre’s lineup for the opening game of the World Cup.

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2. Julián Araujo (Celtic)

Julián Araujo’s first goal for Celtic went viral. | Rob Casey/SNS Group/Getty Images

Things couldn’t be going much better for Julián Araujo ever since he joined Celtic during the January window. The right back has rediscovered his mojo and on Sunday he scored a stoppage-time match winner to complete his side’s thrilling 3–2 comeback win.

Araujo perfectly timed his movement and positioning to be ready to pounce when a ball was cut back inside the penalty area. Without hesitation, the Mexican lashed a powerful shot into the roof of the net to clinch the result for Celtic, before running into the stands to celebrate with the fans that have begun to make calls to make his stint in Glasgow permanent.

The goal was a deserved reward for Araujo, who tirelessly covered ground down the right flank, defending with poise, intervening when needed and also creating four chances in attack apart from his winning strike.

After featuring in just one game for Bournemouth in the first half of the season, Araujo has become an undisputed starter and is thriving at Celtic. A month ago he was all but erased from World Cup consideration, now, he has every chance to fight for a place as El Tri’s right back, one of the thinnest positions on the team going into the summer.

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1. Armando González (Chivas)

Armando González was the difference-makes in El Clásico Nacional. | Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images

The fairytale of Armando González and Chivas added another memorable chapter on Saturday night, as “La Hormiga” scored the only goal in the latest edition of El Clásico Nacional against bitter rivals América. It’s the second straight derby where González scored the winner for Chivas.

The energetic striker turned around one of the best center backs in all of Liga MX, Uruguay international Sebastián Cáceres, with two quick movements inside the penalty area to get free at a corner kick. La Hormiga found space at the back post and, after a small flick, the ball fell to him and he volleyed in Chivas’s winner in El Clásico. Gonzalez now has five of the 11 goals Chivas have scored this season on their way to a perfect record through six games.

He might not be a gifted technician and his finishing could also use some improvement. However, his movement and knack for goal is elite, as he constantly finds himself perfectly positioned to pounce. Comparisons are always futile, but with González, it’s hard not to be reminded of another Chivas striker that shared eerily similar traits and broke out in the months leading up to a World Cup: Javier “Chicharito” Hernández in 2010.

Raúl Jiménez will be Mexico’s undisputed starter come the World Cup. But with Santiago Gimenez injured, Germán Berterame adapting to MLS and Julián Quiñones seemingly outside of Aguirre’s good graces in Saudi Arabia, González has a very realistic chance of making his World Cup debut this summer.

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