2023 Leagues Cup

2023 Leagues Cup

Tournament details
Host countries	Canada United States
Dates	July 21 – August 19
Teams	47 (from 3 associations)
Venue(s)	29 (in 29 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Inter Miami CF (1st title)
Runners-up	Nashville SC
Third place	Philadelphia Union
Fourth place	Monterrey
Tournament statistics
Matches played	77
Goals scored	251 (3.26 per match)
Attendance	1,328,669 (17,255 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Lionel Messi (10 goals)
Best player(s)	Lionel Messi
Best goalkeeper	Drake Callender
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The 2023 Leagues Cup was the third edition of the Leagues Cup, an international club soccer tournament between Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX. It was held from July 21 to August 19, 2023, with all 77 matches held in either the United States or Canada. The tournament was organized by the two leagues (MLS and Liga MX) and sanctioned by CONCACAF, the continental governing body for the sport in North America. ^[1]

Inter Miami CF won the tournament after defeating Nashville SC on penalties in the final at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee. Miami's Lionel Messi was the top goalscorer and awarded the best player of the Leagues Cup. ^[2]

For the first time in the history of the competition, all MLS and Liga MX teams (47 total) competed in the tournament, with both leagues taking a pause in their respective seasons to participate. ^[3] In addition, the Leagues Cup finalists and third-place team earned berths to the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with winners Inter Miami automatically advancing to that tournament's round of 16.

Format

The starting lineups of Seattle Sounders FC (in green) and Monterrey (in white) prior to their group stage match

The 2023 Leagues Cup was the first edition where all MLS and Liga MX teams participated. The MLS Cup 2022 winners (Los Angeles FC) and the 2022 Clausura or 2022 Apertura champions with the highest aggregate points accumulated across 2022 (Pachuca) qualified automatically for the round of 32. The remaining 45 teams were placed into 15 groups of three. ^{[4] [5]}

For the group stage, teams played one match against each team in their group. Regulation wins were worth three points and regulation losses are zero points. Matches tied after 90 minutes advanced to a penalty shoot-out, where the winner earned two points and the loser earned one. All matches were held in either the United States or Canada, with the MLS teams playing at home and intra-Liga MX matches played at MLS venues depending on their region. ^{[1] [4] [5]} Matches disrupted by inclement weather, including thunderstorms, were delayed or postponed to another date to resume at the time of the stoppage. ^[6]

Tie-breaking criteria for group play
The ranking of teams in the group stage was determined as follows: [7] : 13  Points obtained in all group matches; Direct head-to-head match result between the tied clubs (for clarity, a victory on penalties was considered a win for purposes of this tiebreaker); Better goal differential between goals scored and goals conceded during the group stage; Greater number of goals scored during the group stage; Fewer number of goals conceded during the group stage; Clubs fair play table First yellow card: –1 point Second yellow card (indirect red card): –3 points (The first yellow card was not considered) Direct red card: –3 points Yellow card followed by a direct red card: –4 points; A draw organized by the organizing committee.

The top two teams in each group advanced to the round of 32, joining the MLS Cup winners and highest-ranked Liga MX champion. This phase of the tournament was a five-round single-leg knockout format with a third place match. As was the case during the group stage, knockout stage matches tied after 90 minutes were decided by a penalty shoot-out. ^{[7] : 14} The two finalists and third place team earned berths for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with the winners automatically advancing to the Champions Cup round of 16. ^[1]

Teams and draw

The competition featured all 47 clubs from the two leagues: 29 from MLS and 18 from Liga MX. ^[8] Teams were ranked by league using the 2022 Supporters' Shield standings for MLS and the 2022 aggregate table for Liga MX. The champions of each league received a bye to the knockout stage as the highest seed. The top 15 remaining teams from each league were placed into groups based on ranking and in reverse order (for example, the 2nd-ranked MLS club was drawn against the 16th-ranked Liga MX club). The remaining teams (13 MLS and 2 Liga MX) were drawn into groups and divided into geographical regions. The first two teams of every group were seeded. The third team was the nearest geographically located unseeded team to the other two teams. ^[4]

MLS (2022 Supporters' Shield table) Rank Team Pot 1 Los Angeles FC Bye 2 Philadelphia Union Seeded 3 CF Montréal Seeded 4 Austin FC Seeded 5 New York City FC Seeded 6 New York Red Bulls Seeded 7 FC Dallas Seeded 8 LA Galaxy Seeded 9 Nashville SC Seeded 10 FC Cincinnati Seeded 11 Minnesota United FC Seeded 12 Inter Miami CF Seeded 13 Orlando City SC Seeded 14 Real Salt Lake Seeded 15 Portland Timbers Seeded 16 Columbus Crew Seeded 17 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Unseeded 18 Colorado Rapids Unseeded 19 Charlotte FC Unseeded 20 New England Revolution Unseeded 21 Seattle Sounders FC Unseeded 22 Sporting Kansas City Unseeded 23 Atlanta United FC Unseeded 24 Chicago Fire FC Unseeded 25 Houston Dynamo FC Unseeded 26 San Jose Earthquakes Unseeded 27 Toronto FC Unseeded 28 D.C. United Unseeded – [a] St. Louis City SC Unseeded

Liga MX (2022 aggregate table) Rank Team Pot 1 Pachuca Bye 2 América Seeded 3 UANL Seeded 4 Monterrey Seeded 5 Santos Laguna Seeded 6 Cruz Azul Seeded 7 Puebla Seeded 8 Guadalajara Seeded 9 Toluca Seeded 10 León Seeded 11 Necaxa Seeded 12 Atlético San Luis Seeded 13 Atlas Seeded 14 Mazatlán Seeded 15 UNAM Seeded 16 Tijuana Seeded 17 Juárez Unseeded 18 Querétaro Unseeded

  Teams receiving bye to knockout stage.

  Teams assigned to a group based on league ranking.

  Teams drawn into a group.

1. ^
   St. Louis City SC joined Major League Soccer in 2023 and therefore had no 2022 season ranking.

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. ^[9]

Schedule for 2023 Leagues Cup

Phase	Round	Date
Group stage	Matchday 1	July 21–23, 2023
	Matchday 2	July 25–27, 2023
	Matchday 3	July 29–31, 2023
Knockout stage	Round of 32	August 2–4, 2023
	Round of 16	August 6–8, 2023
	Quarter-finals	August 11–12, 2023
	Semi-finals	August 15, 2023
	Third place play-off	August 19, 2023
	Final

Group stage

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup group stage

The group stage was played from July 21 to 31. ^[10] Competing teams were divided into fifteen groups of three teams. Teams in each group played one another in a single round-robin, where the top two teams advanced to the knockout stage.

West

West 1	West 2	West 3
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 UANL 2 6 2 Portland Timbers 2 3 3 San Jose Earthquakes 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Monterrey 2 6 2 Real Salt Lake 2 3 3 Seattle Sounders FC 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 León 2 5 2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 4 3 LA Galaxy 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup

Central

Central 1	Central 2
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Columbus Crew 2 6 2 América 2 3 3 St. Louis City SC 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Chicago Fire FC 2 4 2 Minnesota United FC 2 3 3 Puebla 2 2 Source: Leagues Cup
Central 3	Central 4
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 FC Cincinnati 2 5 2 Sporting Kansas City 2 4 3 Guadalajara 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Toluca 2 6 2 Nashville SC 2 3 3 Colorado Rapids 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup

South

South 1	South 2
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Mazatlán 2 5 2 Juárez 2 4 3 Austin FC 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Orlando City SC 2 5 2 Houston Dynamo FC 2 3 3 Santos Laguna 2 1 Source: Leagues Cup
South 3	South 4
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Inter Miami CF 2 6 2 Cruz Azul 2 2 3 Atlanta United FC 2 1 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Charlotte FC 2 5 2 FC Dallas 2 4 3 Necaxa 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup

East

East 1	East 2
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Philadelphia Union 2 6 2 Querétaro 2 3 3 Tijuana 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 UNAM 2 4 2 D.C. United 2 3 3 CF Montréal 2 2 Source: Leagues Cup
East 3	East 4
Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 Atlas 2 6 2 New York City FC 2 3 3 Toronto FC 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup	Pos Team v t e Pld Pts 1 New York Red Bulls 2 5 2 New England Revolution 2 4 3 Atlético San Luis 2 0 Source: Leagues Cup

Knockout stage

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup knockout stage

In the knockout stage, if the scores were equal at the end of regulation time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winners. ^{[7] : 15}

The host team was determined by several criteria, including group winner for round of 32 and the 2022 regular season standings for matches between two MLS clubs, where the team with the higher number of points hosted starting in round of 16. For MLS v. Liga MX matches, the MLS club hosted. Matches between two Liga MX teams were hosted at a neutral venue appointed by the Organizing Committee from a predetermined list. ^[11]

Bracket

Round of 32

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

August 2 – Los Angeles

Los Angeles FC

7

August 8 – Los Angeles

Juárez

1

Los Angeles FC

4

August 4 – Sandy

Real Salt Lake

0

León

1

August 11 – Pasadena

Real Salt Lake

3

Los Angeles FC

2

August 4 – Vancouver

Monterrey

3

UANL

1 (5)

August 8 – Houston

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

1 (3)

UANL

0

August 4 – Portland

Monterrey

1

Monterrey

1

August 15 – Nashville

Portland Timbers

0

Monterrey

0

August 4 – Columbus

Nashville SC

2

Columbus Crew

3 (3)

August 8 – Saint Paul

Minnesota United FC (p)

3 (4)

Minnesota United FC (p)

2 (4)

August 4 – Kansas City

Toluca

2 (2)

Toluca

4

August 11 – Nashville

Sporting Kansas City

1

Minnesota United FC

0

August 4 – Bridgeview

Nashville SC

5

Chicago Fire FC

0

August 8 – Nashville

América

1

América

2 (5)

August 4 – Cincinnati

Nashville SC (p)

2 (6)

FC Cincinnati

1 (4)

August 19 – Nashville

Nashville SC (p)

1 (5)

Nashville SC

1 (9)

August 3 – Chester

Inter Miami CF (p)

1 (10)

Philadelphia Union (p)

0 (5)

August 8 – Chester

D.C. United

0 (4)

Philadelphia Union (p)

1 (4)

August 3 – Harrison

New York Red Bulls

1 (3)

New York Red Bulls

1

August 11 – Chester

New York City FC

0

Philadelphia Union

2

August 3 – Washington, D.C.

Querétaro

1

UNAM

0

August 7 – Foxborough

Querétaro

1

Querétaro (p)

1 (4)

August 3 – Foxborough

New England Revolution

1 (3)

Atlas

2 (7)

August 15 – Chester

New England Revolution (p)

2 (8)

Philadelphia Union

1

August 2 – Frisco

Inter Miami CF

4

Third place play-off

Mazatlán

1

August 6 – Frisco

August 19 – Chester

FC Dallas

2

FC Dallas

4 (3)

Philadelphia Union

3

August 2 – Fort Lauderdale

Inter Miami CF (p)

4 (5)

Monterrey

0

Inter Miami CF

3

August 11 – Fort Lauderdale

Orlando City SC

1

Inter Miami CF

4

August 2 – Houston

Charlotte FC

0

Pachuca

0 (3)

August 7 – Houston

Houston Dynamo FC (p)

0 (5)

Houston Dynamo FC

1

August 3 – Frisco

Charlotte FC

2

Charlotte FC (p)

0 (4)

Cruz Azul

0 (3)

Round of 32

The matches were played from August 2–4, 2023.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Inter Miami CF	3–1	Orlando City SC
Mazatlán	1–2	FC Dallas
Pachuca	0–0 (3–5 p)	Houston Dynamo FC
Los Angeles FC	7–1	Juárez
Atlas	2–2 (7–8 p)	New England Revolution
Philadelphia Union	0–0 (5–4 p)	D.C. United
UNAM	0–1	Querétaro
New York Red Bulls	1–0	New York City FC
Charlotte FC	0–0 (4–3 p)	Cruz Azul
León	1–3	Real Salt Lake
Columbus Crew	3–3 (3–4 p)	Minnesota United FC
FC Cincinnati	1–1 (4–5 p)	Nashville SC
Chicago Fire FC	0–1	América
Toluca	4–1	Sporting Kansas City
Monterrey	1–0	Portland Timbers
UANL	1–1 (5–3 p)	Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Round of 16

The matches were played from August 6 to 8, 2023.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
FC Dallas	4–4 (3–5 p)	Inter Miami CF
Querétaro	1–1 (4–3 p)	New England Revolution
Charlotte FC	2–1	Houston Dynamo FC
América	2–2 (5–6 p)	Nashville SC
Philadelphia Union	1–1 (4–3 p)	New York Red Bulls
Toluca	2–2 (2–4 p)	Minnesota United FC
UANL	0–1	Monterrey
Los Angeles FC	4–0	Real Salt Lake

Quarter-finals

The matches were played on August 11, 2023.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Inter Miami CF	4–0	Charlotte FC
Nashville SC	5–0	Minnesota United FC
Philadelphia Union	2–1	Querétaro
Los Angeles FC	2–3	Monterrey

Semi-finals

The matches were played on August 15, 2023.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Philadelphia Union	1–4	Inter Miami CF
Monterrey	0–2	Nashville SC

Third place play-off

The winner of the third place match qualified for the first round of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

August 19, 2023 (2023-08-19)

18:00

Philadelphia Union	3–0	Monterrey
Bueno 1' Uhre 45+2' Bedoya 69'	Report

Subaru Park, Chester

Attendance: 17,731

Referee: Juan Calderón

Final

Main article: 2023 Leagues Cup final

Both clubs qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with the winners qualifying directly to the round of 16.

August 19, 2023 (2023-08-19)

8:00 p.m. CDT

Nashville SC	1–1	Inter Miami CF
Picault 57'	Report	Messi 23'
Penalties
Mukhtar Leal Godoy Zimmerman Surridge Moore Lovitz MacNaughton Davis Shaffelburg Panicco	9–10	Messi Busquets Campana Miller Ulloa Kryvtsov Alba Gómez Ruiz Yedlin Callender

Geodis Park , Nashville, Tennessee

Attendance: 30,109

Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Note: Goals scored in penalty shoot-outs are not counted towards players' goal counts or to match goal counts. ^[12]

  Team eliminated for this round.

  Player was inactive for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	MD1	MD2	MD3	R32	R16	QF	SF	3rd	F	Total
1	Lionel Messi	Inter Miami CF	1	2		2	2	1	1		1	10
2	Bongokuhle Hlongwane	Minnesota United FC	2	2		2	1					7
3	Denis Bouanga	Los Angeles FC				3	2	1				6
4	Germán Berterame	Monterrey		2	3							5
	Brandon Vázquez	FC Cincinnati	1	3		1
6	Dániel Gazdag	Philadelphia Union	1	3								4
	Robert Taylor	Inter Miami CF	1	2				1
8	Gustavo Bou	New England Revolution		1		2						3
	Cucho Hernández	Columbus Crew	1		2
	Josef Martínez	Inter Miami CF				1		1	1
	Fafà Picault	Nashville SC		1					1		1
	Harold Preciado	Santos Laguna		2	1
	Sam Surridge	Nashville SC					1	1	1
	Giacomo Vrioni	New England Revolution		3

Marketing and symbols

The official song of the tournament was "Tiki Taka Toco", sung in Spanish by California-based Mexicana group Fuerza Regida. A short instrumental version of the song is used for match broadcasts on MLS Season Pass as well as advertisements and stadium announcements. ^[13] The marketing for the tournament focused heavily on the arrival of Lionel Messi at Inter Miami CF, which was credited with increasing subscriptions and viewership; ^[14] on the day of Messi's debut for Miami, subscriptions to MLS Season Pass rose by 110,000 in the United States. ^[15]

Controversies

This edition received accusations of being designed to favor MLS teams. Most notably, the fact that all matches were played at MLS venues in the United States or Canada. ^{[16] [17]} Some Mexican coaches and players considered the format unfair, since there was no games in Mexico. For example, Nicolás Larcamón, coach of Club León stated: "there is a benefit for the MLS teams, on their field, in their environment, in their climate. I would love to have a second game in León, It would be ideal to play in both stadiums to equilibrate the balance". ^[18]

The mexican (and LA FC) player Carlos Vela declared: "Obviously, for me, the fairest thing is we should also had games in Mexico, that it shouldn't be all playing in the United States, so that everyone could had a little bit of playing away, at home, and being a little more even" he also added: “Not only does (being local) benefit, the Mexican team has to be away from their home and their families for a long time and it is not fair. I believe that, if you hold a tournament, everyone must have the same possibilities, or the same advantages and disadvantages, in that aspect I think that those from the MLS have a little more advantage, (Although) in the end we know that anything can happen on the field ”. ^[19]

Noticeably, this was also reflected in a greater travel effort for the Mexican squads since the 18 Liga MX clubs traveled more than twice as many kilometers as all 29 in the MLS. Mexicans added an estimated 69,495 km; while combined Americans and Canadians, only 33,995. The criticism was more severe from the president of Club Monterrey, who, prior to their match against Los Angeles FC, pointed out that the Mexicans had moved more than 9,000 km, while throughout the Leagues Cup the team from the MLS had not left the Los Angeles metropolitan area. ^{[16] [20]}

“It’ll be our fifth game (traveling), while LA(FC) will be home with their players eating dinner with their families every night, going to the movies, resting,” he stated. ^[17]

References

1. Straus, Brian (October 6, 2022). "How MLS, Liga MX's Leagues Cup Competition Will Work". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved October 6, 2022.
2. Kaufman, Michelle (August 19, 2023). "Messi scores, Callender shines, Inter Miami wins League Cup in 11-round PK shootout". Miami Herald . Retrieved August 19, 2023.
3. "Historic reimagined Leagues Cup starting in 2023". MLSsoccer.com. September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
4. "Leagues Cup 2023 dates and structure announced". Major League Soccer. October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
5. Cardenas, Felipe (October 6, 2022). "MLS, Liga MX reveal format for expanded Leagues Cup" . The Athletic. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
6. Kennedy, Paul (August 7, 2023). "Weather plays havoc on MLS summer" . Soccer America . Retrieved August 8, 2023.
7. "Leagues Cup 2023 Tournament Regulations". Major League Soccer. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
8. "Leagues Cup 2023 Details Unveiled as MLS and Liga MX Clubs Face-off in World Cup-style Tournament" (Press release). Major League Soccer. October 6, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
9. "2023 Leagues Cup: Matches, final, key dates". Leagues Cup. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
10. "2023 Leagues Cup: Matches, final, key dates". Leagues Cup. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
11. "Leagues Cup Tournament Regulations 2023". Major League Soccer. p. 11. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
12. "Leagues Cup 2023 » Top Scorer". worldfootball.net. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
13. Mier, Tomas (July 21, 2023). "'The Mexican Genre's on Top': Fuerza Régida on Sold-Out Stadium Show and Leagues Cup Song". Rolling Stone . Retrieved September 12, 2023.
14. Springer, Jon (August 10, 2023). "The Messi marketing effect—how the soccer superstar is boosting MLS and Apple TV" . AdAge . Retrieved September 12, 2023.
15. Toonkel, Jessica (September 5, 2023). "Messi Drives Jump in Apple TV+ and MLS Subscriptions" . Wall Street Journal . Retrieved September 12, 2023.
16. López, Eduardo (August 11, 2023). "18 equipos de la Liga MX recorrieron más del doble de distancia que 29 de la MLS en Leagues Cup". Diario AS (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2024.
17. Cardenas, Felipe. "Leagues Cup: Messi's impact, the controversies and more". The Athletic. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
18. Demos, Editorial; Ap, De la redacción y. "La Jornada - Liga Mx se inconforma ante Leagues Cup por decisiones arbitrales". www.jornada.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2024.
19. m.zavala (August 1, 2023). "Carlos Vela cree que la Leagues Cup no es justa: 'Debería haber partidos en México'". Record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved February 19, 2024.
20. c.chavez (August 10, 2023). "Rayados es el equipo que más kilómetros ha recorrido en la Leagues Cup". Record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved February 2, 2024.

External links

• Official website