And then there were 32.
Leagues Cup starts with every, single team from Major League Soccer and Liga MX, but if teams don’t perform, they don’t advance. It’s that simple.
While we had the calculators and the rulebook out for the group stage, the field has been whittled down and, from here on out, Leagues Cup is a full-on knockout competition.
The group stage left us with plenty to think about, as contenders made their claim to be taken seriously, a couple of teams rode their luck to get through, and we bid farewell to teams who plenty of folks had selected as the winners in their bracket challenge entries: Whether it be Monterrey, Real Salt Lake, Chivas or another team.
Let’s look back at a few thoughts from the group stage and then take a glance ahead at a few storylines to watch when the knockout stage kicks off Wednesday.
Shootouts the decider
There are no draws in Leagues Cup, and a full 15 group games were decided from the penalty spot. That meant an outsized number of goalkeepers converting into stars, especially with some typical No. 2s pressed into action.
Luis Barraza of NYCFC helped the MLS team past last year’s Cinderella story Querétaro. David Bingham debuted for Charlotte FC and helped secure a win, though it wouldn’t be enough for Charlotte to get through.
Some top goalkeepers familiar to Leagues Cup watchers also stepped up. Orlando City’s Pedro Gallese, Pumas’ Julio Gonzalez and Zack Steffen of the Colorado Rapids all were involved in shootouts they won that helped their squads to the next round.
It all served to show that there’s little margin between most Leagues Cup rivals and sometimes the difference between a run to the title like Inter Miami had last season and early elimination is who can keep their nerve during the pressure of penalties.
High-stakes highlights
Austin FC won its group to set up a showdown with LAFC, and it was goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland stopping a penalty in stoppage time to preserve a win against Pumas and keep the match from being sent to stoppage time. Days later, Brad Stuver made some strong saves of his own, but the moves for the goals in a 2-0 win over Monterrey will be the lasting image.
And how about those golazos?
Both Tigres goals in Houston to beat Inter Miami and win their group were gorgeous, but Juan Brunetta’s volley from distance deserves a special mention. Jared Stroud’s screamer for D.C. United will definitely make all the highlight reels. Roberto Alvarado of Chivas sending the Guadalajara side’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes in front of a record crowd to a penalty shootout with a stoppage-time stunner. There were plenty of bangers in Leagues Cup and some lovely dribbling moves, passes and even Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman going seal mode and playing keepy-uppy with his head during the group stage.
Some jaw-dropping moments even came in a losing effort. Stephen Afrifa's goal just before the halftime break had fans in Children’s Mercy Park off their feet and cheering.
Grandes go through on grit
Three of Liga MX’s four grandes - traditionally the strongest and most well-supported teams - were involved in last-day shootouts and needed to win to go through. Two managed to do so, with Pumas advancing past Monterrey and Cruz Azul winning its shootout with the Philadelphia Union to secure passage to the next stage. Chivas fell to the LA Galaxy and were eliminated from the competition.
Still, with Club América beginning its Leagues Cup journey in the Round of 32 after earning a bye as the back-to-back Liga MX champion, it’s worth noting that three of the four teams are very much in the hunt for one of the Concacaf Champions Cup berths at the end of the tournament.
Cruz Azul sits atop Liga MX and despite a few nervous moments at Subaru Park, it ended both 90 minutes level, falling in one shootout and winning the next. Pumas also are off to a hot start in league play and now travel to Vancouver looking to build on a big win over Rayados. And América has been active playing warm-up matches ahead of the competition. Now Las Aguilas have their eyes fixed on fellow Mexican club Atlas at their hub in San Diego.
Speaking of the next round, what’s to come from the Round of 32?
More intra-league clashes
When the groups came out, fans were already thinking about some of the MLS vs. Liga MX matchups they might be able to see. There are seven of those matchups in the Round of 32 - and we’re already guaranteed to have a minimum of two of those contests in the Round of 16 and likely more.
Which games will provide the biggest clash of styles? I have Orlando City against Cruz Azul circled. Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja spent time leading Club Tijuana and knows Mexican soccer well, also having competed against top Liga MX teams in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Cruz Azul had hoped to be more dominant in the group stage but was able to do just enough to get through. Now, they need a win to better last year’s showing, when they bowed out in the first match of the knockout stage with a shootout loss to Charlotte FC.
A sneaky-good game is the Colorado Rapids hosting FC Juarez. The Rapids pulled off a big escape to beat León in a penalty shootout Monday night and now prepare for a Juárez team very few picked to win the West 3 group but did so as manager Maurício Barbieri steered his squad to a win and a shootout victory
And were these two teams sending each other indirect messages Monday night? Toluca’s free flowing attack found two goals to get past Sporting Kansas City and win West 4 with a perfect mark, but the Houston Dynamo did them one better with three goals in the first half on their own way to a group win. There is the potential for goals at Shell Energy Stadium.
That dish best served cold
It’s fair to say plenty of teams alive heading into the weekend have something of a thorn in their side from last year’s Leagues Cup. Toluca was eliminated on penalty kicks in the Round of 16 and, while the Diablos Rojos still found a path into the Concacaf Champions Cup, they would’ve loved to be in the U.S. for longer.
In the 2023 Round of 32, Orlando City ran into the buzzsaw that was Florida rivals Inter Miami on the way to their first trophy with Lionel Messi in the team.
FC Cincinnati is still thinking about falling - at home - to eventual runners-up Nashville SC by one kick in the shootout.
The Portland Timbers won their group with a pair of victories. Last year, they were booted at this stage by a Monterrey team headed to the semifinals.
Other teams, like Necaxa and the San Jose Earthquakes, who square off Thursday at PayPal Park, were bounced from the group stage last time around and are in uncharted waters.
All are hoping for a level of revenge, whether it’s against a team that gave them trouble last time around or just in the tournament itself as they put in an all-time performance.
Canada counts
After just one of Canada’s three MLS teams got out of the group stage in the 2023 tournament, the complete trio is in the knockout stage this time around. The Vancouver Whitecaps saw their run cut short in a memorable penalty shootout when goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman pulled a few magic tricks out of his bag to eliminate them in the Round of 32.
This year, the Whitecaps once again host a Mexican team with plenty of history - and a red-hot goalkeeper in Julio Gonzalez, the Pumas shot-stopper who made a pair of saves to get the Mexico City club to this point.
Meanwhile, CF Montreal travels to meet last year’s third-place finisher the Philadelphia Union after holding off a late charge by Atlético San Luis, while Toronto FC won its group and now plays defending champion Inter Miami in Florida.
None of the matchups will be easy, but in a summer where Canadian men’s soccer has shown it can make a deep run in a tournament like the Copa América, this may also be the year the country has its first team in the Leagues Cup Round of 16 - or beyond.
