Jon Arnold
The Leagues Cup format has changed (https://www.leaguescup.com/news/more-liga-mx--vs-mls-than-ever-a-rivalry-intensified), but one thing hasn’t: The stakes.
This tournament matters. It means something. There’s something on the line for MLS and Liga MX teams.
Namely, there are three Concacaf Champions Cup places in play. The continental tournament is not only the top regional prize clubs can achieve but also serves as a qualifier for FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup, the first edition of which is ongoing in the United States, and FIFA’s Intercontinental Cup.
A club’s journey can start July 29 in this year’s Leagues Cup and take them all the way through the 2029 Club World Cup. But what is concrete, and more immediate, is that the two finalists and the third-place finisher in the Leagues Cup book a place in the 2026 CCC.
In recent history, we’ve seen teams make the most of their Leagues Cup slot, earning passage to the continental club championship through the summer tournament or making the most of the Round One bye that goes to the Leagues Cup winner.
In the 2025 CCC, two of the three teams that earned their place in the competition thanks to the Leagues Cup clashed in a Round of 16 rematch. LAFC got a bit of revenge on the Leagues Cup champion with a 4-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarterfinals against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami. There, it was Miami who prevailed and moved on.
Of course, Inter Miami is very familiar with the stakes of Leagues Cup. In 2024, it was the Herons who booked their place in the CCC Round of 16 as the Leagues Cup champion, getting to the quarterfinals before their run was ended. Nashville SC, who got out of Round One but ran into Inter Miami in the next round, and the Philadelphia Union, who also made it to the Round of 16 in that tournament, were the other Leagues Cup qualifiers.
While this year’s qualifiers will hope to go even farther, simply getting to the CCC is a good experience - and good business - for many involved.
Beyond making the CCC, teams can also end up fighting for their leagues in Leagues Cup play. That always seems true in Leagues Cup, especially this year as Liga MX looks to put a team in the top three for the first time ever. But it also can be even more direct.
In the 2023 tournament, Monterrey already had booked passage to the next year’s CCC, but a win over the Philadelphia Union in the third-place match would’ve extended a lifeline to Club León (https://www.leaguescup.com/news/why-club-leon-needs-a-monterrey-third-place-win-to-qualify-for-concacaf-champion). A Rayados victory would’ve allowed them to use the Leagues Cup slot, while León would’ve been able to bump up and take one of Mexico’s league places.
Unfortunately for the Guanajuato group, the Union earned a 3-0 victory in that match to lock up their own place and deny León another international tournament.
The Leagues Cup in its own right is a prize teams are happy to fight for, hoping to lift its double-bowl trophy at the end and celebrate winning silverware in front of their fans.
But for the three teams that go the farthest, there are obvious stakes, beyond the prize pool also awarded to clubs. A trio of tickets for the Concacaf Champions Cup are up for grabs, a chance for any Leagues Cup participant to go out, perform their best against North American rivals, and earn the right to participate in more international competition.
