A professional soccer team’s schedule is different than the schedules followed by the United States’ other major pro sports.
Whether it’s LAFC, Real Madrid, or Manchester City, professional soccer clubs’ so-called “regular seasons” are interrupted now and then by matches that are part of unrelated competitions, allowing for fascinating storylines and thrilling championship journeys, as clubs bookmark their pursuit of a league title and chase trophies that have nothing to do with their regular-season schedules.
Leagues Cup is one such trophy.
Leagues Cup is also a fascinating mish-mash of cultures and playing styles, a competition in which the most intense rivalry in North American soccer – the United States versus Mexico—takes center stage, with a dash of Canada thrown in for extra flavor.
Leagues Cup 2024, the second edition of this annual, Concacaf-sanctioned competition, once again features all 18 clubs from Mexico’s top division, Liga MX, and all 29 clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), competing in a World Cup-style tournament that kicked off on Friday, July 26, and will careen ahead, with all the twists and turns that only the beautiful game can provide, until the final on August 25.
THE SETUP
The competition begins with Group Stage play, in which 45 teams, sorted into groups of three, play two games each, with two teams advancing from each group.
LAFC’s first two opponents come from just across the U.S.’s southern and northern borders. The Black & Gold defeated Club Tijuana on Friday, July 26, by a score of 3-0. Four days later LAFC will host the Vancouver Whitecaps, on Tuesday, July 30, at 7:30 p.m. PT. Vancouver will then host Tijuana on Saturday, August 3, to complete play in Group West 7. Results of these matches will determine which two teams will emerge from the three-team group and advance to the Leagues Cup Round of 32.
All Leagues Cup matches are available to stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
LAST SUMMER
In 2023, LAFC was allowed to skip Leagues Cup’s Group Stage because it won the MLS Cup title in 2022. (The Columbus Crew receives that privilege this year.) LAFC advanced all the way to the quarterfinals last summer, with convincing victories over Liga MX’s FC Juarez (a 7-1 win in the Round of 32) and Real Salt Lake of MLS (a 4-0 result in the Round of 16).
At the Rose Bowl on August 11, 2023, the Black & Gold jumped out to a 2-0 lead over perennial Liga MX power C.F. Monterrey, before the 80-year-old Mexican giant scored three goals in the final 30 minutes to claim a 3-2 victory and a berth in the semifinals.
For LAFC it was a gut punch, and a harsh lesson for a club with just six years of history, and a fraction of the big-tournament experience of Los Rayados.
Inter Miami CF ended up winning Leagues Cup 2023 by defeating Nashville SC in a thrilling final at Geodis Park in Nashville. (Monterrey finished fourth.) Lionel Messi made an unforgettable debut for Inter Miami in its Group Stage matches, and won the tournament’s Top Scorer and Best Player awards, as well.
ROUND TWO
Both leagues have stopped their regular seasons. Mexican clubs have traveled north for a rematch that will span 77 games and involve club pride, league bragging rights, and more than a hint of national flag-waving.
Passion? Absolutely.
Beautiful, physical football? Guaranteed.
Teams that advance from the Group Stage will compete in the knockout rounds, where each match is win-or-go-home. The Round of 32 will be played August 7-9, followed by the Round of 16 on August 12-13.
The eight advancing teams will compete in the Leagues Cup Quarterfinals on August 16-17. The two semifinal matches are scheduled for August 20 or 21.
The Leagues Cup 2024 Final and the third-place match will be played on Saturday, August 25 (location TBD), and will determine the three clubs who qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup—the most important and prestigious tournament in this region of the world.
The complete Leagues Cup 2024 Group Stage schedule can be found here.
All Leagues Cup matches will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. Select Leagues Cup matches can be seen on TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS.
