The business end of the annual Leagues Cup tournament between the best teams in MLS and their counterparts in Mexico’s Liga MX is here.
The original field of 36 teams — 18 from each side of the Rio Grande — has been whittled down to eight, with the single-elimination quarterfinals kicking off on Tuesday before concluding with a pair of nationally televised games on Wednesday night.
Here’s an in-depth look at the four matchups, plus my picks to reach next week’s final four.
The Fire went a perfect 3-0 in the first round — or Phase 1 — of the tournament, and have steadily improved under second-year coach Gregg Berhalter, who led the U.S. national team to the knockout stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Once one of MLS’s marquee franchises, Chicago returned to the playoffs last fall after an eight-season drought, and Berhalter’s team — which recently signed legendary Polish striker Robert Lewandowski from Barcelona — is currently third in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami with a game in hand.
(Photo by Jessie Alcheh/Getty Images)
Los Rayados will be Lewandowski & Co.’s toughest opponent yet. Monterrey is third in Liga MX’s Apertura standings, and while they’re back in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2023, when they advanced to the final four, they have both the pedigree of a club that boasts five Mexican and five Concacaf titles all-time and prolific former Fire forward Hugo Cuypers, who headed south of the border shortly after Lewandowski’s arrival and will surely be extra motivated to eliminate his ex-employers.
Still, Chicago is the lone quarter-finalist hosting a home match as opposed to playing at a neutral site. That’s a significant advantage even if the contest will be held at the club’s former home stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois instead of Soldier Field — and a major reason why MLS sides have won all three editions of the Leagues Cup since the expanded format was introduced in 2023.
Pick: Fire
Not only will RSL not be at their usual home in Sandy, Utah, Tuesday’s nightcap will be staged at the stadium of their chief MLS rival, the Colorado Rapids: in even thinner air than the Claret and Cobalt usually play in at the foot of the Wasatch Range, with a sea of green in the stands as Léon supporters are expected to make up the bulk of those in attendance.
That’s part of the reason Pablo Mastroeni rested 10 starters over the weekend in Orlando to have them fresh for Léon — especially with RSL just one point above the playoff line in MLS’s Western Conference. With no guarantee of even getting the chance to make a title run in league play, prioritizing the Leagues Cup is a no-brainer, given that just reaching the final would be enough to secure a spot in next season’s Concacaf Champions Cup. Winning would snare RSL a round of 16 berth in addition to $2 million in prize money.
(Photo by Tyler Tate/Getty Images)
The marquee match of the knockout stage pits Liga MX’s most successful, most popular and richest club — the Mexico City-based Aguilas — against the 2024 Leagues Cup champion Crew.
This will be an away game for Columbus.
With the LA Galaxy’s 27,000-seat Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. assigned hosting duties, the venue will be packed to the gills by fans proudly clad in yellow — and not for the three-time MLS Cup winners.
They’d have their hands full even in Ohio’s capital.
(Photo by Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images)
