Sound the trumpets. Shake the maracas. Spread the word, you Loons: It’s time for Leagues Cup 2026.
I won’t spend too much time diving into what makes Leagues Cup so special — Kyle wrote a wonderful refresher article for those of you who need the reminder — but here’s the gist: It’s a chance for every team in Liga MX, plus the 18 best and brightest of MLS (as determined by last season’s playoff qualifiers), to compete for some nice, shiny hardware. Your Loons are set to host three games in Phase One of this summer tournament, and it all starts on Tuesday, August 4. So without further ado: Let’s preview some Leagues Cup.
Minnesota United
As far as the Loons’ run of form goes, Minnesota has struggled to find a decisive victory since returning from the break. However, after a disappointing loss to Sporting Kansas City, the Black and Blue fought to a pair of gritty draws at home against Vancouver and San Diego, building up some momentum despite not securing the full three points. Leagues Cup could be an opportunity for your Loons to loosen up a bit at home and get over their winless hurdle, building up some confidence before returning to MLS play.
FC Juárez
With Liga MX just starting their Apertura run, FC Juárez doesn’t really have a run of form to speak of, though they have struggled to get off on the right foot in their initial three games. Los Bravos landed 12th out of 18 teams in the most recent Clausura season, ending with a 5-8-4 (W-L-D) record and a -6 goal differential. As one of the younger clubs in the Mexican top flight competing among storied giants like Toluca, Club América, and Cruz Azul, they’ll need a serious reset to get up to snuff — and that might be on its way, as Juárez fired their coach just last night after their third consecutive loss to start the season.
Also, they’re based in the state of Chihuahua, but their mascot is not an angry, soccer-loving chihuahua. (I feel this is a missed opportunity, but this isn’t about me.) Instead, Benny el Bravo is a steel horse, and rumor has it, he’ll be making the trek up to Minnesota to hang out with PK.
Keys to the Match:
Fresh Legs
Like any other midseason tournament, the thing that might make or break a team’s Leagues Cup campaign is rotation and priority management. Leagues Cup is about to level the Loons with a quick stretch of major schedule congestion, as they’ll play three games in just eight days, bracketed by regular-season fixtures on either side. That means the Black and Blue have a chance to flex the depth of their roster, or get creative in finding ways to cover some of the thinner spots (like central midfield, with both Peter Stroud and Nectarios Triantis out on injury).
Coach Knowles might just take this Leagues Cup opportunity to throw down all the cards and go for a trophy, but a meager two days of rest before this initial matchup is quite the hurdle to overcome. We could see the likes of Carlos Harvey and Devin Padelford picking up some more time on the pitch, giving veteran starters like Wil Trapp and Michael Boxall some time to rest their legs — especially because Juárez is more likely to lean into their reserves for this initial matchup, seeing as they have to contend with a star-studded Vancouver side in their second match.
Hungry Hungry Juárez
It’s Hungry Hungry Hippos, but with chihuahuas. (Sorry, I mean horses or whatever.) Juárez has scored only a single goal in their 2026 Apertura campaign, and that small victory was overshadowed in a 5-1 home loss to Pumas. That struggle will be weighing on them even in a different tournament setting. Momentum is momentum even across competitions, and right now Los Bravos don’t have it. Their top scorers in the 2026 Clausura season were Óscar Estupiñan (6) and Guilherme Castilho (4), both of whom will be raring to get on the scoresheet. Sometimes it comes down to who wants it more, and the Loons will need to put their best foot forward to nip this starving attack in the bud.
Getting Creative
Leagues Cup presents the Loons with the opportunity to shake things up a little. With only three matches to prove themselves worthy of advancement, all the chips are down. Throwing in some players who haven’t seen the pitch much lately — Dominik Fitz, perhaps, or Mauricio González — could spice up the attack, or Knowles could even opt to give a back four formation another try to open up some forward movement. A few well-timed experiments against some wildcard opponents could be just the thing the Black and Blue need to get out of this scoring funk and book a win (or two, or three) on the home pitch.
