By Charles Boehm
Phase One of Leagues Cup 2026 is in the books, leaving just four survivors apiece from MLS and LIGA MX to battle in the tournament’s knockout rounds and continue building towards the Sept. 6 final.
That's the business end of this rivalry-rich competition, when a trophy, prize money and three Concacaf Champions Cup berths hover just within reach.
Who’s in the mix, and how did we get here? Let’s speedrun it for you.
Chicago Fire FC
Showtime in Chicago
If you were watching the scene unfold in a movie, you might have dinged the screenwriters for being too obvious.
Chicago Fire FC hosted mighty Cruz Azul at a boisterous SeatGeek Stadium on the final night of Leagues Cup Phase One. With two wins from two already banked, both sides could advance with a draw, and that looked the certain outcome after Nico Ibáñez bagged a late equalizer for the defending LIGA MX champions just three minutes after entering the match.
But then… in a stunning turn of events, La Máquina pressed high up the pitch in injury time, hunting an easy turnover as the Fire built possession from the back. And when Chicago passed their way through the pressure, suddenly Puso Dithejane had a point-blank finish for his second goal of the night, providing a 2-1 win for the hosts.
Their victory completed a perfect 3W-0L-0D run through Phase One, and not only eliminated Cruz Azul at the death, but also handed CF Monterrey that fourth and final spot in the knockouts, via the third tiebreaker, no less.
Monterrey, you may recall, are the side who just welcomed former Chicago star and erstwhile MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi leader Hugo Cuypers in a reported $7.5 million transfer, at Cuypers’ request, in the wake of Robert Lewandowski’s splashy arrival in the Windy City. The Belgian marksman has already scored three Leagues Cup goals for his new club, and now he’ll lead Rayados into a rapid reunion with his old one, both teams riding rising tides of momentum.
“Of course, right?” Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter wryly noted postgame. “Of course it turned out like that.”
As goalkeeper Chris Brady put it: “You can’t write a better story than that.”
Austin FC
Austin find a spark
One beauty of in-season cup competitions is the fresh start they can provide, particularly for sides struggling in league play. And that certainly applies to Austin FC.
The Verde & Black are second-to-last in the MLS Western Conference on 17 points (4W-9L-5D), which prompted them to part company with head coach Nico Estévez in May. With successor Jim Curtin not taking the helm until season’s end, it felt like a substantial period of treading water would ensue under interim boss Davy Arnaud, who inherited a roster struggling to equal the sum of its parts.
So consider this observer pleasantly surprised to witness the central Texans grabbing the Leagues Cup bull by the horns and wrasslin’ it in their favor.
Arnaud & Co. cruised to deserved wins over Tijuana and Puebla, then seized their place in the knockouts by outlasting Mexican giants Club América in a penalty shootout win. It’s all been paced by the excellence of much-critiqued club-record signing Myrto Uzuni, who netted a hat trick vs. Puebla, the equalizer vs. América and an assist vs. Xolos.
A quarterfinal against reigning Concacaf Champions Cup title-holders Toluca is a mighty tall order. But who knows? This version of ATX has been nigh unrecognizable, especially in those new ‘Violet Crown’ kits.
Columbus Crew
Clarity in Columbus
Another team seemingly utilizing this tourney to get right after spring struggles and a coaching change: the Columbus Crew, who will cross swords with the aforementioned Club América in the quarterfinals after positive results vs. Atlas, Pachuca and Pumas.
What might be most heartening for the central Ohioans is that they look a lot more like their usual selves, playing with bravery and purpose even when their LIGA MX adversaries forced them to work without the ball for longer stretches than they usually prefer.
Interim head coach Laurent Courtois says they’ve been dialing in the details, and their 5W-1L-2D overall record under his guidance suggests it’s working.
“The mentality, the spirit that I want the guys to have: The defeats don't define us. What defines us is the little actions that I want us to [do] – the little mini-victories: ‘OK, we're in a good spot in this, we're in a good spot in this,’” Courtois said this week. “This is the stuff that we focus on, rather than just focusing on being happy when we win and devastated when we lose.
“We try to be mindful that the guys want to be happy, to come in training and challenge themselves and keep doing what they’ve always done in the past, which is winning games.”
The Crew's showpiece summer signing, Brais Méndez, is also looking like the real deal. The Spanish attacking midfielder and former LaLiga standout provided 2g/1a during Phase One, offering strong early returns amid some roster changes.
Real Salt Lake
RSL push the throttle
When in doubt, go all-out.
It’s not everyone’s mentality, and it’s not always the right play. But it certainly paid off for Real Salt Lake, who edged past LAFC to snatch MLS’s final quarterfinal spot on the regulation-wins tiebreaker.
The Claret-and-Cobalt ate an early punch when they lost a penalty-kick shootout vs. Tigres UANL in their Leagues Cup opener. They then recovered admirably, however, with blowout wins over less-imposing LIGA MX outfits Atlante and Juárez, scoring seven goals from a variety of sources and conceding zero as Diego Luna showed more of his usual quality and rookie leading scorer Sergi Solans extended his excellent form.
Meanwhile, LAFC’s expensively assembled lineup notched a head-turning, last-minute 1-0 win over Toluca, yet had to settle for PK shootout wins over Chivas and Querétaro, scoring just three goals from open play across their three Phase One fixtures. That left them out in the cold on multiple tiebreakers when all was said and done, and underlined questions about head coach Marc Dos Santos’ tendency towards tactical conservatism.
Quick hits
→ For the first time in the tournament’s current iteration, the Leagues Cup knockout rounds will unfold without Inter Miami CF. The Herons welcomed back Lionel Messi for this week’s meeting with Club León after the GOAT’s time away to mourn the passing of his beloved father Jorge, and amid the heavy emotions of the moment, the 2023 champions and 2025 finalists couldn’t find a path into this year’s quarterfinals. Perhaps a few fewer fixtures on their calendar will prove a blessing in disguise for the reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi holders this autumn.
→ FC Dallas, Portland Timbers and Charlotte FC fell just short of advancing despite some strong performances in Phase One. We’re curious to see whether these turn out to be one-off occasions or moments they can build from as MLS action resumes with the regular season’s crucial stretch run looming. All three are on course for Audi MLS Cup Playoffs qualification, though will face ferocious competition to keep hold of them, let alone clamber up the table into the top-four finish that’s vital for making a serious run.
→ This correspondent has written before about the evolution of the regional rivalry between Mexico and the United States (and, to a different extent, Canada), how the burning hatred and otherness of past decades branched into a more familiar sort of competitiveness as the links between the nations and leagues multiply. It’s fascinating to watch this dynamic in Leagues Cup specifically, with players like Cuypers, his new Rayados colleague Diego Rossi, and MLS academy products Brian Gutiérrez and Efra Álvarez crossing borders to take on new challenges, including some against familiar counterparts to the north.