Liga MX Femenil viewing guide: 2024 Clausura, Finals

While the quarterfinals all saw the higher seeded teams go through, the semifinals were both upsets - as much of an upset as Rayadas and América winning a series could be. But before we talk about the winners and finalists, let’s talk about the teams that didn’t go through.

I don’t believe in superstitions, but it might be possible that Pachuca is cursed. Every year they have a wealth of talent and play outside of the glare of CDMX and Monterrey, which should be a recipe for success. And every year they go cold at the worst possible time and don’t get over that final hump. What’s even more worrying is that Mónica Ocampo, quite possibly the greatest Mexican women’s player of all time and one of the players whose shoulders Liga MX Femenil stands upon, is 37 years old and her window to win a title in the league that she helped build is closing.

Tigres meanwhile fell short of their goal of becoming repeat champions for a myriad of reasons. A lot of the fans’ ire is directed squarely at Mila Martínez, and while she certainly shares some of the responsibility, I think it’s fair to point out that the squad was plagued with injuries at the worst possible time. Ceci Santiago missed the quarterfinals with a sprained knee and didn’t look 100% against América. Anika Rodríguez was injured, coming in late in games in the semis. Greta Espinoza missed time in the quarterfinals. Nayeli Rangel was out… The list goes on and on, and the players left looked gassed and simply couldn’t come up with enough to get past an América team that was out for revenge.

Series of the Week

There’s only one to pick from, but it should be a good one from two teams who are peaking at just the right time. América has been tactically brilliant, their series against Tigres a masterclass of knowing your opponent and applying just the right amounts of pressure at just the right moments. América looked calm and composed against the team that downed them in the Final last year, going up early and never looking back.

Rayadas meanwhile look like the team they promised to be all season but only showed faint glimpses of periodically. A healthy Christina Burkenroad is very dangerous, and in case everyone forgot who she was she dropped a hat-trick against Pachuca in their building to send her team through.

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Liga MX Femenil Liguilla Finals (all times as listed):

Friday, April 24:

#4 América vs. #3 Rayadas - 8:00 PM - TUDN (México), ViX (United States), Club América’s YouTube Page

Monday, April 20:

#3 Rayadas vs. #4 América - 8:00 PM - TUDN (México), ViX (United States)