Pachuca secured a 1-0 victory over Pumas in the first leg of the Clausura 2026 semifinals on Thursday night at Estadio Hidalgo, according to ABC Color. The win puts the Tuzos in a strong position ahead of Sunday's return match at Estadio Olímpico Universitario.
The only goal came in the 37th minute when Dutch midfielder Oussama Idrissi fired a shot from outside the box that deflected off Brazilian defender Nathan Silva and past Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Navas, who entered the match as the tournament's leader in saves with 79, had made several key stops earlier, including denying Enner Valencia, Robert Kenedy, and Idrissi himself.
Pumas, coached by Mexican Efraín Juárez, started with a five-man defense to contain Pachuca's attack but struggled to create clear chances. Paraguayan forward Robert Osmar Morales played until the 84th minute before being replaced by Brazilian Juninho. Juárez acknowledged the challenge: “It was a tough, scrappy match with few scoring opportunities for either side. We had one chance at the end that their goalkeeper saved. We understand we need to go home and win.”
Pachuca's Argentine coach Esteban Solari praised his team's performance: “It's not easy to get an advantage against a great team like Pumas. We like to control the game and create chances, and today we had six or seven. The feeling is we could have scored more.”
The return leg is scheduled for Sunday at 22:00 Paraguay time. A draw on aggregate would send Pumas through due to their better regular-season record as league leaders. Pachuca finished the regular phase in fourth place.
In the other semifinal, Cruz Azul drew 2-2 at home with Guadalajara on Wednesday.