PREVIEW: Everything You Need to Know About Leagues Cup 2024
77 games, 47 teams, 3 countries, 1 month.
This year’s edition of the Leagues Cup kicks off today and will continue for about 4 weeks, while both MLS and Liga MX league play are paused for the duration of the tournament. Aside from bragging rights across North America, teams will also be competing for cash prizes and qualification into the CONCACAF Champions Cup next season.
Last year’s tournament proved to be highly competitive and entertaining, especially with the arrival of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s participation. Reigning champs, Miami will have a huge target on their back as they look to defend their crown.
A whopping five matches get things going tonight, starting at 7 PM CT. Mexican side Pumas faces Austin at 8 PM, and LAFC takes on Tijuana at 10 PM. These two matches are the only cross-league games of the evening, and they promise to be full of fireworks.
So, how does this work?
The tournament follows a World Cup-style setup, where teams are put into groups of three. Each team will face one another for a total of 2 matches played in the group stage. Each win rewards three points. There will be no ties in the tournament, meaning if a match ends in a draw after 90 minutes, teams will go straight to a penalty shoot-out! Each team will receive one point for tying and an additional point if they win the penalty shootout.
After all teams play each other in the group stage, the top two teams in each group will advance into the Round of 32. One team from each group will be eliminated.
The knockout rounds will be single-game eliminations with a total of 16 matches. Short, sweet, simple, and straight to the point. The best team across 3 countries will be crowned on Sunday, August 25th, in the Leagues Cup Final. There will also be a third-place match between the two losing sides in the semi-finals. The third-place team and the two finalists will earn their spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup later this year.
What About the Chicago Fire?
Our beloved Chicago Fire will play their first game on Sunday, July 28th. They will face MLS side and familiar foe, Sporting Kansas City. Liga MX side Toluca will be the third and final team in this group. The Fire certainly have their work cut out for them. Toluca is most definitely the ‘strongest’ side of the three, but the good news is the Fire will host them at home at SeatGeek Stadium.
For the Fire to qualify for the round of 32, they will most definitely need to steal a point in Kansas City, at the very least. A PK shootout win would be tremendous for the men in red.
Last year, the Chicago Fire advanced out of the group stage, which featured Puebla and Minnesota United. In the opening match, the Fire defeated Minnesota United 3-2. In their second match, the Fire earned a point for the tie but lost in penalties to Puebla.
This was enough to earn them a spot in the round of 32, where they probably faced the best team in all of North America at the time, America CF. Hats off to the Fire, though, as they went toe-to-toe with the Mexican giants. Despite a few controversial calls, the Fire lost 1-0 due to an own goal later in the second half.
The Fire were eliminated, but not before they gave a stellar effort in front of a packed crowd of 22,000+.
I attended the match last year, and it was electric for 90 minutes. Granted, most of the stands were covered in American yellow and blue, but it was awesome to once again feel the buzz around the city and the attention on a Chicago Fire match. Hopefully, the Fire pick up some rhythm and give us a good showing at this year’s League Cup. Can you imagine a world where the Fire earns a spot in a CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament? One can dream.
You can catch all 77 matches streamed on Apple TV starting this evening, with a select few on national and local TV channels throughout the tournament.
Here’s a guide on all the matches and what TV stations they will be played on.
¡Vamos Fire!
PHOTO: Leagues Cup/Facebook
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