Mexican soccer clubs León, Atlas to meet for Fresno friendly

Downtown Fresno will be taken over by thousands of soccer fans Thursday night for the latest Liga MX exhibition at Chukchansi Park.

Mexican clubs León and Atlas will play at 7 p.m. to cap a doubleheader that opens with the Fresno Fuego of the Premier Development League hosting Stanislaus United at 5.

It’s the second year in a row that La Fiera (León) and Los Zorros (Atlas) have visited the central San Joaquin Valley. Last March, León lost to Cruz Azul 3-0 in front of 15,057 fans. In July, Atlas and Guadalajara-based rival Chivas played to a scoreless draw in front of a stadium-record 16,821.

Tickets are available online or throughout the day ahead of kickoff at the stadium box office, said promoter Fred Godinez of Latin Entertainment.

The exhibition comes during a break in Liga MX action for CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers. A few players from both Mexican clubs will not be in Fresno, including Atlas defender Rafa Márquez, who was called up to join El Tri in Vancouver for a match against Canada on Friday. The North American rivals play again Tuesday in Mexico City.

For León, goalkeeper William Yarbrough is on the U.S. roster for qualifying matches against Guatemala. Forward Mauro Boselli is staying in León to work on his fitness during the break, the club announced Tuesday.

Through 11 matches in the Clausura, Leon (6-4-1) is fourth with 19 points, five behind front-running Monterrey. Atlas is 17th at 2-7-2.

Both clubs are coming off weekend losses: León to Club América, 2-1; Atlas to Cruz Azul, 2-0.

León will face Chivas on Saturday in Portland, Ore.

Fans interested in going only to the Fuego game can buy $10 tickets as part of a promotion with supporters club Fire Squad Fresno. They can be purchased online at ticketreturn.com using the promo code “firesquad” or at the box office.

This story was originally published March 23, 2016 at 7:16 PM with the headline "Mexican soccer clubs León, Atlas to meet for Fresno friendly."