2025 Leagues Cup

Last updated

2025 Leagues Cup
Tournament details
Host countriesCanada
United States
DatesJuly 29 – August 31
Teams36 (from 3 associations)
Venue(s)TBD
2024
2026

The 2025 Leagues Cup is the upcoming fifth edition of the Leagues Cup, an international club soccer tournament contested by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX clubs in North America. It will be held from July 29 to August 31, 2025, and feature 36 teams. Unlike the previous editions, only the top 18 MLS teams from the 2024 season qualified for the tournament. All 18 Liga MX clubs will participate.

Contents

Format

The tournament will consist of a league phase, known as "phase one", and a knockout phase. During phase one, teams will play three games against teams in the other league (i.e. all games will be MLS vs Liga MX). [1] The top four teams from each league will advance to the knockout stage which will consist of the quarterfinals, semifinals and a final. Like previous editions of the Leagues Cup the top three clubs will qualify the CONCACAF Champions Cup. [2]

Teams

Thirty-six teams will participate in the Leagues Cup including all 18 Liga MX teams and 18 out of 30 MLS teams. [3] The 18 MLS teams qualified for Leagues Cup by reaching the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, with one exception. San Diego FC replaced Vancouver Whitecaps FC who will not participate because they will compete in two other cup competitions in 2025. [2]

Draw

To determine matchups, all teams were placed into a combined ranking that used the 2024 Supporters' Shield table for MLS teams and the most recent 34 matches in the 2024 Clausura and Apertura seasons for Liga MX teams. These teams were then divided into an East region and a West region based on geographical and performance criteria. Within each region, teams were assigned to Tier 1, 2, or 3 based on the combined ranking with the restriction that each tier includes three teams from each league.

Finally, six "sets" will be formed by drawing one team from each tier of each region such that two teams from the same tier cannot be from the same league. Teams will play three matches against teams from their set who are not from their league. [2]

Eastern clubs
RankTierTeamLeague
2Tier 1 Inter Miami CF MLS
3Tier 1 Toluca Liga MX
4Tier 1 Columbus Crew MLS
8Tier 1 C.F. Monterrey Liga MX
11Tier 1 FC Cincinnati MLS
12Tier 1 UNAM Liga MX
14Tier 2 C.D. Guadalajara Liga MX
16Tier 2 Orlando City SC MLS
18Tier 2 Charlotte FC MLS
19Tier 2 New York City FC MLS
27Tier 2 Club León Liga MX
28Tier 2 Club Necaxa Liga MX
22Tier 3 New York Red Bulls MLS
25Tier 3 CF Montréal MLS
29Tier 3 Atlanta United FC MLS
30Tier 3 Atlas F.C. Liga MX
32Tier 3 FC Juárez Liga MX
35Tier 3 Club Puebla Liga MX
Western clubs
RankTierTeamLeague
1Tier 1 Cruz Azul Liga MX
5Tier 1 UANL Liga MX
6Tier 1 Los Angeles FC MLS
7Tier 1 LA Galaxy MLS
9Tier 1 Club América Liga MX
10Tier 1 Real Salt Lake MLS
13Tier 2 Seattle Sounders FC MLS
15Tier 2 Houston Dynamo FC MLS
17Tier 2 Minnesota United FC MLS
23Tier 2 Atlético San Luis Liga MX
24Tier 2 Club Tijuana Liga MX
26Tier 2 C.F. Pachuca Liga MX
20Tier 3 Colorado Rapids MLS
21Tier 3 Portland Timbers MLS
31Tier 3 Querétaro F.C. Liga MX
33Tier 3 Mazatlán F.C. Liga MX
34Tier 3 Santos Laguna Liga MX
36Tier 3 San Diego FC MLS

League stage

Major League Soccer

PosTeamPldWPWPLLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 Atlanta United FC 000000000 Advance to knockout stage
2 FC Cincinnati 000000000
3 Charlotte FC 000000000
4 Columbus Crew 000000000
5 Colorado Rapids 000000000
6 Houston Dynamo FC 000000000
7 LA Galaxy 000000000
8 Los Angeles FC 000000000
9 Inter Miami CF 000000000
10 Minnesota United FC 000000000
11 CF Montréal 000000000
12 New York City FC 000000000
13 New York Red Bulls 000000000
14 Orlando City SC 000000000
15 Portland Timbers 000000000
16 Real Salt Lake 000000000
17 San Diego FC 000000000
18 Seattle Sounders FC 000000000
First match(es) will be played: July 29, 2025. Source: Leagues Cup

Liga MX

PosTeamPldWPWPLLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 América 000000000 Advance to knockout stage
2 Atlas 000000000
3 Atlético San Luis 000000000
4 Cruz Azul 000000000
5 Guadalajara 000000000
6 Juárez 000000000
7 León 000000000
8 Mazatlán 000000000
9 Monterrey 000000000
10 Necaxa 000000000
11 Pachuca 000000000
12 Puebla 000000000
13 Querétaro 000000000
14 Santos Laguna 000000000
15 Tijuana 000000000
16 Toluca 000000000
17 UANL 000000000
18 UNAM 000000000
First match(es) will be played: July 29, 2025. Source: Leagues Cup

Results summary

Matchday 1
Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Atlanta United FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
FC Cincinnati   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Columbus Crew   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Charlotte FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Colorado Rapids   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Houston Dynamo FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
LA Galaxy   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Los Angeles FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Inter Miami CF   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Minnesota United FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
CF Montréal   Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
New York City FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
New York Red Bulls   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Orlando City SC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Portland Timbers   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Real Salt Lake   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Seattle Sounders FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
San Diego FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Matchday 3
Team 1ScoreTeam 2
Atlanta United FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
FC Cincinnati   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Columbus Crew   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Charlotte FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Colorado Rapids   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Houston Dynamo FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
LA Galaxy   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Los Angeles FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Inter Miami CF   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Minnesota United FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
CF Montréal   Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
New York City FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
New York Red Bulls   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Orlando City SC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Portland Timbers   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Real Salt Lake   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
Seattle Sounders FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  
San Diego FC   Flag of the United States.svg Flag of Mexico.svg  

Knockout stage

The quarterfinal pairings will be determined as follows: [2]

Bracket

 
Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
 
          
 
August –
 
 
MLS 1
 
August –
 
Flag of Mexico.svg LMX 4
 
 
 
August –
 
 
 
Flag of Mexico.svg LMX 2
 
August 31 –
 
MLS 3
 
 
 
August –
 
 
 
Flag of Mexico.svg LMX 1
 
August –
 
MLS 4
 
 
 
August –
 
  Third place play-off
 
MLS 2
 
August –
 
Flag of Mexico.svg LMX 3
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarterfinals

Team 1ScoreTeam 2
MLS 1 Flag of Mexico.svg  Liga MX 4
MLS 2 Flag of Mexico.svg  Liga MX 3
Liga MX 1  Flag of Mexico.svg MLS 4
Liga MX 2  Flag of Mexico.svg MLS 3

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References

  1. Hernandez, Cesar (January 30, 2025). "MLS vs. Liga MX to dominate Leagues Cup lineup". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Leagues Cup 2025 format & competition details: What to know". January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  3. Deen, Safid (January 30, 2025). "Leagues Cup: Here's what's new about the 2025 tournament featuring MLS, LIGA MX teams". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 2, 2025.