America already has Malagon's replacement for the World Cup.
Max Serrano, a young goalkeeper from Toluca's U-19 team, was signed by America to reinforce their goalkeeping position, given Luis Malagon's absence before the World Cup
Max Serrano, a young goalkeeper from Toluca's U-19 squad, was signed by America to compete with Rodolfo Cota for the starting position with the Eagles, given the almost certain absence of Luis Malagon from the America squad in the final stages of the World Cup.
40 days before the 2026 World Cup.
The Eagles' idea seems like a decision for the future, since Serrano is a young prospect and apparently not yet ready to be thrown into the fray while Malagon is absent from America's starting position for the final phase of the tournament and the entire playoffs for the Clausura 2026 title.
Under this scenario, Serrano seems like a risky bet to leave him alone with Cota to shoulder the responsibility of the Eagles' goal, so it could be expected that the Americanista squad will opt for another goalkeeper with more experience in Liga MX.
Max Serrano is a player with some experience, both with Cimarrones de Sonora and in the youth ranks of the Red Devils, although he has not yet debuted in the top flight, a factor for which they will have to carefully analyze how they reinforce this position in the Coapa squad.
Luis Malagon He will be absent for almost 40 days before the World Cup, during which he will be training with the Mexican national team for the extended preparation period approved by the First Division clubs to fully support El Tri. So far, Rodolfo Cota, former goalkeeper for Pachuca and Leon, is the likely replacement for Malagon, who will first miss the preparation matches against Panama and Bolivia in January. Then, in February, there will be training camps, followed by the FIFA international window against Portugal and Belgium in March, and finally the 40-day training camp before the World Cup, which will begin around the end of April. The goal is for Mexico to aim for a better result in its history at the FIFA World Cup.Mexico will face South Africa on June 11 at the Azteca Stadium, then South Korea at the Guadalajara Stadium in Guadalajara on June 18, and finally a team from the intercontinental play-offs,which could be Denmark, Norway, North Macedonia, Ireland, or the Czech Republic.