Latin America Sports Daily for Friday, April 24, 2026

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Boca Demolish Defensa y Justicia 4-0 to Go Joint-Top of Zona A and Clinch Playoffs

Football

Boca’s extraordinary 2026 continued with a statement 4-0 victory at Defensa y Justicia’s Tomaghello that clinched their Apertura playoff qualification and propelled them to 27 points — level with Estudiantes at the top of Zona A, with a game in hand (vs Central Córdoba) still to play. Claudio Úbeda rotated heavily with the Libertadores trip to Cruzeiro on Monday looming, yet the depth squad produced one of the most comprehensive performances of the Apertura.

Milton Giménez opened the scoring in the first half, firing high over goalkeeper Fiermarin after an incisive Alan Velasco assist. Velasco himself doubled the lead after the break with a clinical finish on the counter, exploiting Defensa’s high line. Two further goals — including Merentiel’s late strike from the bench — completed the rout before 3,000 travelling Boca fans in Florencio Varela. The match was notable for the presence of both sets of supporters, a rarity in Argentine football that produced an atmosphere described by SportsCenter as “an image that should inspire Argentine football.”

Ander Herrera pulled out during the warm-up with a muscular complaint — a precautionary measure ahead of the Cruzeiro match — but the depth of Úbeda’s squad made the absence irrelevant. The result drops Defensa to 19 points and ninth in Zona A — outside the playoff places. Boca’s 14-match unbeaten run (W9 D5) is the longest active streak in Argentine first-division football, spanning the Superclásico victory, the 3-0 Libertadores demolition of Barcelona SC, and now this emphatic domestic display.

02

Liga MX Announces Apertura 2026 Format: No Play-In, Eight-Team Liguilla, July 16 Start

Football

Mexican football’s governing assembly approved sweeping changes for the upcoming Apertura 2026 on Thursday. The tournament will begin on July 16 — just three days before the World Cup final on July 19 — in a bold scheduling decision that places Liga MX’s opening fixtures alongside the climax of the world’s biggest sporting event. The Play-In round, introduced in 2023, has been eliminated. The Apertura will return to a direct eight-team Liguilla format, meaning only the top eight regular-season finishers will qualify for the knockout rounds.

The reform addresses widespread criticism that the Play-In diluted the regular season’s stakes and rewarded mediocrity. Under the new structure, every regular-season match carries greater weight — ninth place is elimination, not a second chance. The assembly also approved new governance structures aimed at transparency and competitive balance.

For those tracking Latin American financial news, the Liga MX’s format shift has commercial implications: fewer knockout matches means higher per-game broadcast premiums, and the July start date — designed to capitalise on World Cup attention — positions the Apertura as the first major domestic league to resume after the tournament. The Clausura 2026 Liguilla cuartos de final begin May 2-3, with the current season’s champion crowned before the World Cup kicks off on June 11.