Xelajú MC took the lead in the 2026 Clausura Tournament in the most dramatic way possible. Roberto Hernández’s Superchivos needed to win against Cobán Imperial at the Mario Camposeco Stadium and they achieved it in stoppage time, when Steven Cárdenas scored the final 2-1 in the 92nd minute to crown the Quetzaltecos as leaders of the qualifying phase with 39 points. A goal that changed the table in the last moments and that took the lead from Municipal, which had also achieved a 3-0 win over Mixco in El Trébol.
Xelajú’s match against Cobán was one of the most intense of the day. The Superchivos opened the scoring in the second half with a goal from Ricardo Márquez in the 51st minute, but Cobán equalized in the 67th through Janderson Pereira to complicate the local situation. With Cobán finishing with ten men after the expulsion of Thales Moreira in the 61st minute, Xelajú desperately searched for the second goal that came in the 92nd minute with Cárdenas’ shot to spark the celebration at the Mario Camposeco and confirm the lead in the regular phase.
Municipal, for its part, also did its job with a resounding 3-0 win over Mixco in El Trébol. José Carlos Martínez opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a filtered pass from Pedro Altán, Yasnier Matos extended the lead at 49 and Martínez himself closed the score at 64, taking advantage of a serious error by visiting goalkeeper Kevin Moscoso. A victory that confirms the consistency of Mario Acevedo’s Reds throughout the entire season and that consolidates them as the most solid team in Guatemalan soccer in the accumulated season.
Municipal dominates the accumulated table
In the accumulated table, Municipal closed the qualifying phase in first place with 86 points, the highest number of all the teams in the recent history of the tournament and a reflection of the consistency that the Reds have shown throughout the two tournaments of the cycle. Mixco is second with 80 points and Antigua GFC third with 75 points, completing the podium of the most consistent teams of the season in Guatemalan soccer.
With the Clausura leadership in the hands of Xelajú and the accumulated dominance of the table for Municipal, the Clausura 2026 reaches its quarterfinals with two teams leading the way towards what promises to be a league of a very high competitive level. The Superchivos arrive as leaders of the tournament and with the motivation of a group that knew how to react at the most important moment, while the Rojos arrive with the solidity that has given them the best accumulated record of the season.