The league announced Friday that the 15 groups for the inaugural MLS/Liga MX League Cup, a new CONCACAF ‘World Cup-style’ mid-season tournament, have been finalized. Here’s what you should know:
- A total of 47 clubs will participate, 18 from Liga MX and 29 from MLS. The tournament he will run from July 21st to August 19th.
- LAFC go straight to Round 32 as 2022 MLS Cup champions, but Pachuca bids farewell to the Liga MX side.
- Based on club locations and performances in 2022, groups will be divided into four regions: West, Central, South and East.
What is League Cup?
The newly expanded League Cup takes both the MLS and Liga MX seasons on hiatus for a month each summer. In the first year, all matches will be played in the United States and Canada.
All tournament winners, runners-up and third place finishers automatically qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. You’ll also have the chance to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup.
what is the format?
Each team will play two matches in the group stage. The top two teams in each group, as determined by points, will advance to the knockout round of 32. If the score is tied after 90 minutes, a penalty shootout will be played. In the event of a tie after 90 minutes, a point is awarded to each team and the winner of the penalty he kicks gets an extra point. The team that wins in regulation gets him 3 points.
See here for format details.
How were the groups selected?
Each region has four groups, except for the West, which has three groups as LAFC say goodbye to the knockout stage. Pachuca will enter the Southern Knockout Stage, a quadrant opposite the MLS Cup champions and the top MLS seeded clubs in the bracket based on the final standings of the 2022 Supporters’ Shield. The club in the opposite quadrant would be his second-finishing team, as LAFC won his 2022 Supporters’ Shield. The Philadelphia Union will be in Group 1 of the East Region (East 1), according to the league’s announcement.
The top 15 non-LAFC MLS clubs were first placed in their corresponding regions and then based on their place in the finals. 2022 Supporters Shield StandingsThe top 15 Liga MX teams (excluding Pachuca) in the combined Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 standings were paired with the top 15 MLS clubs in reverse order (i.e. the 15th Liga MX club and 1st MLS Club, etc.). .).
The remaining 13 MLS clubs were placed into groups based first on their region and then on their Supporters Shield standings.
After the MLS clubs were divided into groups, one slot each remained in the South Region and East Region. Based on the Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 overall standings, his last two remaining Liga MX clubs (FC Juarez and Queretaro) have been placed in open positions.
2023 League Cup Group
West
Central
South
east
- East 1: Philadelphia Union (MLS 1st), Club Tijuana (15th Liga MX), Queretaro (17th Liga MX)
- East 2: CF Montreal (MLS 2nd), Puma (MLS 14th), DC United (MLS 27th)
- East 3: New York City FC (MLS 4th), Atlas (MLS 12th Liga MX), Toronto FC (MLS 26th)
- East 4: New York Red Bulls (No. 5 MLS), Atlético de San Luis (No. 11 Liga MX), New England Revolution (No. 19 MLS)
How to watch the League Cup
All League Cup games are available in the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV app. His 10-year, $2.5 billion media deal with Apple’s MLS begins this year.Web viewing of the tournament tv.apple.com.
TelevisaUnivision, Fox Sports, TSN and RDS will also be linear broadcast homes for select League Cup matches, with the League Cup final available on Univision.
what to do with the group
There are some interesting interleague matchups in the group stage. For example, Mexican powerhouses CF Monterrey and CONCACAF Champions League winners Seattle Sounders face off in Western Region 2. Real Salt Lake rounds out that group. of the first round.
But MLS wants fireworks, intrigue and drama to be part of this tournament. When Atlanta United legend Joseph Martinez is now at Inter Miami and meets his old club, they’ll get it in the South region. Cardenas
Martinez’s angle is juicy, but it’s worth bearing in mind that she welcomes Atlanta to her new home in South Beach in May. Central 1 gives new Columbus Crew boss Wilfried his Nancy a big test against the vaunted club his America and ousts MLS newcomers St. His Lewis City SC.
The Tigress would definitely like the chance to face a pair of Western Conference clubs in transition (Portland and San Jose) in the West 1. Meanwhile, only his two teams in MLS were drawn into the group without interleague opponents: Philadelphia Union and Austin FC. As his two final teams to be eliminated in LAFC’s progression to the MLS Cup, both must be challenged. — Reuters
Which match are you most looking forward to?
Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United will undoubtedly be the first round headliners to watch in North America.
Chivas de Guadalajara against FC Cincinnati could become a wide-open affair with Cincy’s Mexican-American striker Brandon Vazquez potentially facing the club who targeted him in December there is.
Club Leon, one of Mexico’s most respected coaches, and his manager Nicolas Larcamón are looking forward to facing the LA Galaxy and Chicharito Hernández. — Cardenas
USA struggled to a draw to start Clausura, but the date with Columbus is interesting far beyond which team will wear the first yellow kit. Raised eyebrows around the world when he left and moved to the lower Houston Dynamo. There’s no doubt he’ll have the points to prove it by joining Santos in his Laguna matchup.
Beyond that, it’s hard to guess which teams will come in rich form.Twelve months ago, it was predicted that Austin and FC Cincinnati would be among the most-watched teams in MLS in 2022. Very few would have. Losing idiosyncratic roster architect Garth Lagaway to Atlanta in club history — a group stage date with CF Monterrey will be seen as a chance to reassert itself among the North American class of CONCACAF Champions His life as a league winner. — Reuters
Why you should watch the League Cup
The last time MLS hosted a summer football tournament was the forgettable 2020 MLS is Back showcase. What fans want is competitive international tournaments with real stakes.
Regional bragging rights motivate teams in both MLS and Liga MX to take the League Cup seriously. Is the gap between the two leagues really closing? We’ll find out soon enough. And on the broadcast side, the Leagues Cup will challenge the new MLS and Apple media rights partnership. Matches will air on Apple in English and Spanish, with select matches on Univision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS. — Cardenas
Ultimately, we all care about the League’s Cup when it becomes clear that the players and coaches involved do. A summer friendly circuit to stretch your legs between league games It can be hard to maintain interest when it seems to be treated as a.. On the surface, though, it’s a fresh format that promises interesting competition through each matchup. It’s hard to argue that this isn’t an experiment worth trying. Reuters
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(Photo: Kirby Lee/USA Today)
