Lionel Messi‘s title-holding Inter Miami CF will face Mexican powerhouse Tigres, while both the LA Galaxy and San Jose Earthquakes will take on Liga MX giant Chivas in the group stage of the revised Leagues Cup tournament this summer.
Kicking off on July 26 and closing out with a final on Aug. 25, the joint MLS and Liga MX “World-Cup style” competition will once again feature all 47 clubs in a battle for the regional title and three automatic spots into the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
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The teams were distributed into 15 groups of three, with two byes into the knockout round given to Liga MX champion Club America and MLS Cup winner Columbus Crew. However, this year’s competitors are now split into groups within two regions, East and West, as opposed to the four regions utilized in 2023.
The group distribution was set by a new “Leagues Cup Ranking” system that arranged teams into three tiers based on their 34 regular season performances in 2023. Groups were then selected and took into account travel and competitive balance.
“My understanding is that it was not a draw [from the three tiers] as much as it was a considered view of what would be equity among the 15 groups of three,” said Nelson Rodriguez, MLS’ executive vice president of sporting product and competition. “I think it would’ve been harsh, unlikely, but harsh if the top team [in Tier 1] then got the top team of the second tier and the top team of the third tier.”
Highlighting the groups is East 3, where current Leagues Cup champion Inter Miami and global superstar Messi will face Liga MX’s 2023 Apertura finalist Tigres and Apertura quarterfinalist Puebla.
“It’s a tough group,” said DaMarcus Beasley, former player for the U.S. men’s national team and Puebla. “Tigres, the history that that club has from winning, especially in the last 10 years…[and] Inter Miami, you know the names, I don’t have to say them all.
“[Messi] he’s still the best in the world, so everybody wants to beat the best and why not in Leagues Cup 2024?”
