Henry Martín was asked the question directly, minutes after scoring his 11th goal of the Apertura 2026. Did he consider his exclusion from the Mexico squad an injustice? The Club América captain shut the controversy down in one answer.
“Injustice? No,” he said in the mixed zone after the 2-2 draw at Pumas UNAM. “Every coach, and above all the national team coach, has the authority and the decision to choose his players.”
The Club Comes First
Martín ordered his priorities out loud, and the club sits at the top of them.
“You do not work to be in the national team. You work for your club, and the cherry on top is going to the national team,” he said. “We are focused one hundred percent on the team. The results come on their own. If it is my turn at some point, I will be happy.”
The door to Mexico, though, stays wide open. “It is impossible to say no to the national team. It is the pride, the passion. For those of us who are athletes, it is the greatest thing you can have, representing your country.”
He also backed the forwards who were picked ahead of him. “The players they are taking have done things well, they have worked, they are the future of the national team, and we are one hundred percent behind them, wishing them the best.”
A Week of Speculation, Ended by the Player
The comments close a storyline that had been building since the squad list came out on November 5. Martín and Luis Ángel Malagón were the two senior América names left out, and the captain’s silence through the week left room for talk of an angry player and a problem for Rafael Márquez.
His form made the omission louder. The penalty he scored against Pumas UNAM was his 11th goal of the tournament, to go with three assists in 14 matches, and it arrived in a Clásico his team twice led.
But there is no feud to report. The player at the center of the story has now answered it himself, on the record, and his answer points everything back to Coapa.
What It Means for América
Four of Martín’s teammates are in the Mexico camp this week and play in Kingston on Saturday. Their captain stays behind, and América keep their top scorer for the full preparation before the final-day visit to Tigres UANL on November 21.
That match decides whether América finish first. Martín’s message to his own supporters could hardly be plainer: the argument about Mexico is over, and the only table that matters now is the Liga MX one.
The same mixed-zone appearance carried one sharper note. Asked about the refereeing in the Clásico, Martín said the squad is tired of the decisions going against them, a frustration his coach and Kevin Álvarez voiced the same night.
For the kickoff time and U.S. viewing options for América’s upcoming matches, see where to watch Club América in the United States.
