With the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup draw coming up on December 9th, we have a look at all six Liga MX teams that will be taking part in the competition. The list of teams includes every Mexico City team (America,
Cruz Azul, Pumas) and every Monterrey team (Rayados, Tigres) as well as the current Liga MX champions, Toluca. Mexico will have the teams that hope to continue the three straight year streak of a Mexican team winning the CONCACAF title.
Toluca
The Liga MX Champions Toluca are the only Liga MX team that will start playing from the Round of 16 instead of the First round. Toluca is the favorite team to make a dent as they not only won the Liga MX champions but qualified at first place. Still it will be a tough match for them as unlike other teams, they have a history of not doing well in this tournament as well as most International tournaments. Their last participation in 2024, notoriously ended when they were eliminated after losing at home against Herediano by a 3-2 score (they had won 2-1 in Costa Rica but lost out on away goals). Toluca will need to do well to not only live up to their expectation but to improve their international reputation.
Cruz Azul
The current CONCACAF champions Cup champions will hope to make it back to back in this tournament. Cruz Azul will hopefully expect to come into the tournament with a positive performance from the International Cups they will be playing in December (Derbi de las Americas against the Brazilian team that wins Libertadores and the Challenger Cup if they win that competition). Cruz Azul has shown good performances in CONCACAF but will have to do so under challenging conditions with the very active 2026.
Club America
If one team has the pressure of winning the tournament is Club America and especially Coach Andre Jardine. Jardine became the first coach and America the first team to three peat in Liga MX during the short season. Yet that didn’t translate to continental success as America fell to eventual champions Pachuca and Cruz Azul under Jardine. The coach will need to concentrate because CONCACAF has been the Achilles heel to their recent success. Yet their recent level and the fact that they lost the last Liga MX final to Toluca, will not have them as favored as they were in the last two editions.
Monterrey
The CONCACAF powerhouse, Monterrey, returns to the tournament after a great performance in the Club World Cup. They will hope to repeat their performance as they look for their sixth CONCACAF tournament. With a solid squad on paper and with an experienced coach, they could be a solid candidate for the win but will have to maintain themselves as there are rumors that a couple of players could be playing their final season with the club.
Tigres
Another solid squad is Tigres, but they might be less of a candidate than the other teams. While Tigres has some solid players, they also have less of a squad, especially on the bench, for a two tournament season. With the team going all in for the league, it might not be enough for a good CONCACAF run. If they fail to win the the 2025 Apertura title (which looks very likely after the results of their Quarterfinal 1st leg match against Tijuana) they will have even more pressure to get a domestic result and not so a CONCACAF one.
UNAM Pumas
If there is an ugly duckling in the tournament for Liga MX, it’s Pumas. Pumas not only had a very disappointing 2025 Apertura season, where they ended 10th and eliminated in the first Play In match, but they are seriously suffering squad wise. Pumas’ had a number of injuries where they literally ended without a single center forward. They also have struggled badly in the youth development, which meant that their bench was terrible. Pumas doesn’t have a squad to challenge title wise in Liga MX, less so in CONCACAF. They are by far the weakest side form Mexico and just making it to the Round of 16 or Quarterfinals, would be huge victory for this struggling side.
Liga MX is the “king” of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. While it’s true that their success in the National team has gone down, club wise it’s the opposite. Mexico has won 19 of the last 20 CONCACAF tournament. Still, it has been at times tougher, with MLS squads being a tougher opponent. More so, because of the Leagues Cup tournament, they will have 8 teams in the tournament. Mexico still should be favored to have another club win the title but it will be tough to see which one of them will be the main candidate to win. On December 9th, after the draw, it should be clearer.
