El Bolso decided to withdraw from the match scheduled in San Nicolás, and Xeneize is looking for a new opponent in order not to lose a preparation match
Boca had to make a last-minute adjustment to its preseason schedule. Although Xeneize will open 2026 with a friendly against Millonarios from Colombia on Wednesday, January 14 at La Bombonera, it will not be able to play the second international match that it had planned for this month.
The match against Nacional de Uruguay, scheduled for Sunday, January 18 at Estadio Único de San Nicolás de los Arroyos, was canceled by decision of the Uruguayan side, which decided to withdraw from the friendly and left Boca temporarily without an opponent for that date.
Ricardo Vairo, president of Nacional, explained the reasons for the decision and assured that it replied exclusively to a sporting matter. In statements to El Espectador Deportes, he detailed that the coaching staff chose a more limited preparation with fewer formal matches.
"Sometimes, coaches prefer to test themselves against demanding teams, and other times they seek to train in a more closed way without playing matches. Jadson had said that his idea was to have a couple of matches behind closed doors, but not to play friendlies," the executive stated.
Jadson quiere priorizar entrenamientos a puertas cerradas antes que amistosos
According to Vairo, the overloaded schedule ended up being key in the decision. The addition of the AUF League Cup and the short time between matches led coach Jadson Viera to prioritize training sessions behind closed doors rather than friendlies.
Beyond Nacional's withdrawal, Boca's intention is to maintain the date and venue of the friendly, and to find an alternative opponent, with Olimpia de Paraguay as the main target. In parallel, the squad is already focusing on the official debut in the Torneo Apertura, scheduled for Sunday, January 25 against Deportivo Riestra at home.
