Six Mexicans in Europe this week: Obed Vargas faces Bayern on Tuesday, Santiago Giménez's Porto host Napoli on Wednesday

Six Mexican players are in European competition this week, and the biggest game comes first. Obed Vargas and Atlético Madrid host Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday 3 November at 14:00 CDMX (21:00 CET). On Wednesday, at the same hour, Santiago Giménez’s Porto host Napoli and Álvaro Fidalgo’s Real Betis go to Borussia Dortmund. The Europa League and Conference League games follow on Wednesday and Thursday.

Excélsior listed the six on Sunday: Vargas at Atlético, Fidalgo at Betis, Giménez at Porto, Armando “Hormiga” González at Olympiacos, Mateo Chávez at AZ Alkmaar and Rodrigo Huescas at Copenhagen. This article takes the kick-off times from the fixture feed used on this site and from UEFA, with one correction to the Excélsior list explained below.

Tuesday: Vargas against Bayern

Atlético v Bayern is the match of the night. Bayern are 14th in the 36-team table with five points, Atlético 16th with four, and both want the win that lifts them towards the top eight, which go straight to the last 16. Bayern are without four attacking players (Musiala, Luis Díaz, Gnabry and Saibari) and their head coach Vincent Kompany is off sick, with assistant Aaron Danks in charge, according to the club’s website. Atlético are without Johnny Cardoso and the suspended Morten Hjulmand, and the captain Koke is doubtful, per UEFA’s team-news page.

Vargas is not in UEFA’s predicted Atlético line-up, which is a prediction and not a confirmed team; it has Giuliano Simeone, Barrios, Llorente and Álex Baena in midfield. Excélsior noted that Vargas has already had minutes in the Champions League this season, so a place in the squad is the realistic hope. The official teams are published at 12:45 CDMX (19:45 CET). Our full preview of the game is linked below.

Wednesday: Giménez’s Porto host Napoli, Fidalgo’s Betis go to Dortmund

Porto v Napoli kicks off at 14:00 CDMX (21:00 CET) on Wednesday 4 November. Porto have lost all three of their Champions League games and are 34th of 36; Napoli have three points and are 22nd. Napoli have a long injury list, with seven players out and Kevin De Bruyne among three doubts, according to UEFA. UEFA’s predicted Porto side does not include Giménez, who Excélsior says is looking for playing time. The game is important for both clubs: a fourth defeat would leave Porto needing to win most of their last four games to reach the play-off round, which takes places nine to 24.

Dortmund v Real Betis is also at 14:00 CDMX (21:00 CET) on Wednesday. Betis have won all three of their games and are fifth; Dortmund have six points and are 13th. Excélsior’s photo caption said Fidalgo could make his debut in the competition this week.

Wednesday and Thursday: the Europa League and the Conference League

Here is the correction. Excélsior’s list had Olympiacos playing at Rennes on Thursday. UEFA moved the match to Wednesday 4 November at 09:30 CDMX (16:30 CET), because French authorities told UEFA they could not ensure adequate security on the Thursday during planned strikes and protests. González is looking for minutes at Olympiacos, according to Excélsior.

On Thursday 5 November, AZ Alkmaar host Juventus in the Europa League at 14:00 CDMX (21:00 CET), with Mateo Chávez in the AZ squad. Copenhagen play Saburtalo Tbilisi in the Conference League the same afternoon at 14:00 CDMX, per Excélsior, with Rodrigo Huescas at the Danish club.

El Tri’s November dates

The week in Europe comes two weeks before Mexico’s first competitive matches under Rafael Márquez. Concacaf confirmed the Nations League quarter-final dates on 9 October: Jamaica v Mexico at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday 14 November at 19:00 CDMX (02:00 CET on Sunday), and Mexico v Jamaica at the Estadio Monterrey on Tuesday 17 November at 20:30 CDMX (03:30 CET on Wednesday). The winner over the two legs goes to the Nations League finals in March 2027. As of Tuesday morning we found no squad announcement from the federation; when it comes, the Europe-based players above are the ones to look for.

Kick-off times for the club games are converted from the UTC times in the fixture feed and UEFA’s notices, and can still change.

Sources

1. Mexicanos tendrán actividad en Champions, Europa League y Conference League del 3 al 5 de noviembre, Excélsior. Read 07:30 WAT, 3 Nov 2026.
2. Champions League predicted line-ups: Matchday 4 team news, injuries, suspensions, UEFA. Read 06:50 WAT, 3 Nov 2026.
3. Change of date and kick-off time for Rennes vs Olympiacos, UEFA. Read 07:35 WAT, 3 Nov 2026.
4. 2026/27 Concacaf Nations League November Schedule Confirmed, Concacaf. Read 08:30 WAT, 3 Nov 2026.
5. Champions League standings and fixtures (licensed feed, generated 2026-11-03T05:22Z, in data/latest.json), football-data.org via Match News. Read 06:40 WAT, 3 Nov 2026.

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