Panini confirmed that Armando 'La Hormiga' González — the Chivas forward who made Mexico’s final list for coach Javier Aguirre — will be added to the Mexico update set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup album, correcting his absence from the original print edition and giving collectors an official sticker to complete their pages.
The company announced the inclusion with a celebratory line in Spanish: "¡El 'Otaku del Gol' ha completado su jutsu de invocación! Armando 'La Hormiga' González desbloquea su camino ninja y se une oficialmente a la Selección Mexicana en la colección de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026." Panini also named Neymar among the other players who will appear in the update set and explicitly confirmed Álvaro Fidalgo as part of the rollout, adding: "Álvaro Fidalgo formará parte del Set de Actualización que llegará muy pronto. Mantente atento a nuestras redes sociales, porque más adelante te contaremos cómo podrás conseguir su estampa."
That short list matters because González was left out of the album’s first print despite earning a spot on Mexico’s final World Cup roster — a mismatch that surprised fans and collectors. Armando González is a forward for Chivas and his late call-up into Javier Aguirre’s squad is the reason sources say he was absent from the initial run; Panini’s correction acknowledges that gap without offering a timetable for distribution.
Álvaro Fidalgo’s confirmation carries its own weight: he debuted for Mexico in March in friendlies against Portugal and Belgium, and Panini’s messaging suggests his update will appear quickly. Neymar’s inclusion in the same set underlines that Panini’s update will cross several high-profile rosters, not only Mexico’s. The underlying fact remains: Raúl Jiménez is still described as Mexico’s starting center forward for the tournament, and González’s sticker fills a secondary but visible hole in the team’s collectible representation.
The tension for buyers is practical. Collectors who purchased the original album discovered a player who reached the final roster but had no official sticker to place under Mexico’s section. Panini’s statement remedies the omission on paper, but the publisher has not provided a release date for the update sets — beyond the promise that Fidalgo’s sticker will arrive "very soon." That absence of timing leaves hobby shops, resellers and individual collectors without a clear window to complete runs or to plan purchases around the update packs.
For fans focused on la hormiga gonzalez and other late additions, the immediate takeaway is simple: Panini will print the missing González sticker and it will be part of the update set, joining names such as Neymar and Álvaro Fidalgo. What remains unresolved and now matters most is when those update packs will be available for sale; Panini has directed collectors to its social channels for details but has not set a public on-sale date. The single, consequential unanswered question for collectors is therefore straightforward — when will Panini put the update sets on shelves and in packs so buyers can finish their 2026 World Cup albums?
