By Jon Arnold
No competitor wants to finish second-best — or third-best — but in Leagues Cup the third-place game represents something more than just a podium place or a bronze medal. It represents a second chance.
The third-place finisher earns a place in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup, a prize both the LA Galaxy and Orlando City are plenty interested in.
What comes after a semifinal? “As far as I’m concerned it’s another final,” LA Galaxy manager Greg Vanney said after his team fell 2-0 to the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night. “Of course you want to win the final. That was the priority. That was the mission. That’s why we’re all upset, but the next game is another final. There’s something to win, something to take out of it.”
For the Galaxy, who saw Leagues Cup as a chance to “save the season” after an MLS campaign that didn’t go according to plan, it’s another opportunity to salvage the season and have something to build toward in 2026 as playmaker Riqui Puig prepares to return from his ACL tear and another transfer window approaches.
“Playing in the third-place game, there’s a lot to play for,” LA Galaxy manager Greg Vanney said. “That was kind of the post-game message after we briefly discussed the game. It’s about refocusing. It’s about putting this one behind us. We can’t go back and win this one.
“There’s still a lot to play for. After a season like this, to be able to earn a spot in Champions Cup would be a big opportunity for this group. We should see this as our only opportunity to salvage something. I think we have to be mature enough to bounce back, put our heads back on our shoulders, pick up our chins and get after it.”
Orlando City’s playoff chances are alive and well, with the Lions currently sitting fifth in the East, but after missing out on the 2025 CCC, manager Oscar Pareja’s side would love the direct ticket to more international play. They fell short of the Leagues Cup final after a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami in the semifinal, a game that Orlando led until Lionel Messi’s 76th-minute equalizer from the penalty spot. While the game appeared destined for a shootout, Messi scored again in the 88th minute, with Telasco Segovia adding a stoppage-time exclamation mark.
After such emotional semifinals, both managers face a tough challenge, hoping to make sure their players don’t dwell on the defeats during the week.
“We’ll do it as always. We have to get back to our routines, back to our preparation,” Pareja said. “It’s something within the group that when we win, when we tie, when we lose, it’s fine.”
Vanney’s group has the benefit of playing at home, awaiting an Orlando team that traveled across the country and returns to the site of their quarterfinal victory over Toluca, which took place at Dignity Health Sports Park since Toluca had hosting rights.
But Vanney isn’t under any illusions that his team will be in a different headspace than Orlando just because they’re sleeping in their beds and using the same locker room as usual.
“They have the same feeling we have tonight. They wanted to go the final to try to win the championship. So did we, so we both feel like shit,” Vanney said Wednesday. “Now, who can recover and get after it? It’s the way it goes.”
Whichever team is able to shake off that frustration, focus on the present and earn a victory will be able to leave Leagues Cup with their heads high, knowing that even thought they fell short of lifting a trophy they still were able to take something from the tournament and set up a 2026 with even more to play for than the league title and next year’s Leagues Cup.
It’ll be a better feeling than the team that comes in fourth. No competitor wants to finish fourth-best, especially when it means going home empty-handed.
