DC United and Mazatlán will face off on Friday, August 9th, at Audi Field in Washington, aiming to secure their place in the Round of 16 in Leagues Cup 2024. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
The team led by Troy Lesesne comes into the match as one of the tournament’s top offensive sides, tied with Portland at the top of the scoring charts with six goals. In their two first-round matches, they scored three goals, and in their most recent game, they kept a clean sheet against Santos Laguna at Subaru Park.
Belgian forward Christian Benteke stands out as one of the top scorers in this edition with two goals so far and could be a key player for United. Benteke has had an excellent MLS season, currently in second place in the league with 16 goals, just one behind Cristian Arango.
In their first match of this tournament, DC United conceded three goals against Atlanta United, highlighting the need to strengthen their defense, which has allowed 50 goals during the regular season of the local league. The match against Santos was the first in their last 21 games where they did not concede a goal.
The team from the U.S. capital hopes to improve on their performance from last year when they advanced to the second round but were eliminated in penalties by Philadelphia Union after a goalless draw in regular time.
Mazatlán, on the other hand, continued their poor form in the Mexican league by debuting in this tournament with a 1-0 loss to New England Revolution. However, they secured their spot in the next round with a 2-0 win over Nashville SC, thanks to a brace from midfielder Ramiro Árciga Zárate.
The Cañoneros are in the second phase of the tournament for the second consecutive year and, like DC United, are looking to move past last year’s disappointment. The purple team finished at the top of their group but was unexpectedly eliminated by FC Dallas 2-1 at Toyota Stadium.
Despite their recent victory, Ismael Rescalvo’s men need significant improvement on offense if they hope to have a chance in this match, as their opponents have shown they can score with ease. If Mazatlán falls behind, mounting a comeback could be very difficult.
The winner of this match will face the team that advances from the Cruz Azul vs. Orlando City encounter in the next round.
