By Tony Álvarez
One of the most exciting teams in MLS will look to start strong in front of their home crowd against a red-hot UNAM team in their 2026 tournament edition debut.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
- 1st matchup between each team
- Record at Leagues Cup: Charlotte FC (6-4), Pumas (5-5)
LAST FIVE GAMES:
- Charlotte:
- 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 1 Loss
- Lost their last game in MLS play against Chicago Fire allowing two Robert Lewandowski goals.
- Pumas:
- 2 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Losses
- Have won two of their first three Apertura 2026 Liga MX games.
MAIN STORYLINES:
- Charlotte FC is looking for their first ever Concacaf Champions Cup bid.
- Pumas has already qualified for the upcoming Concacaf Champions Cup.
- Both teams enter the tournament looking to win their first ever Leagues Cup.
- Charlotte FC will play all their first-round matches at home.
- Pumas will play their first-round matches in three different stadiums.
KEY FACTORS:
- Charlotte:
- Allan Saint-Maximin played against Pumas before, when he played for Club America during a 4-1 win for his team (September 2025).
- Will look for their first win at home since MLS (international schedule) resumed play after the World Cup.
- Have scored five times and allowed four goals in three games since MLS (international schedule) resumed play after the World Cup.
- Pumas:
- Changed head coach after Liga MX Clausura 2026 Final loss to Cruz Azul.
- Playing in 3rd straight road game, have won previous two.
- Have scored seven goals and allowed just two in those last two matches.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Two teams hungry for international success are set to kick off their 2026 Leagues Cup schedule, when Pumas travel to the United States to face Charlotte FC Tuesday at Bank of America Stadium at 8:00 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
The team with The Crown looks to also lift a trophy that has been denied in the recent past. CLTFC started their Leagues Cup history in 2023, a year after their MLS debut, and they did it with a bang after showing their talent on the pitch that served to put their name on the map; they reached the quarterfinals of the tournament surprising everyone.
However, things have been different since. In the 2024 edition of the tournament, they could not advance past the group stage and last year they only managed to play in the first round, totaling two wins in both of those editions combined.
Led by head coach Dean Smith, they currently sit in seventh place in the MLS´s Eastern Conference. While playing at home is an advantage, Charlotte FC has only managed to win six of their 12 matches at Bank of America Stadium in all competitions this season.
For UNAM things are beginning to shape up positively. After a devastating Liga MX Final loss back in late May and Efraín Juárez leaving the team, a re-tooling was in effect. Another former Auriazul player stepped up to the challenge, as Esteban Solari took the team´s head coaching role.
The semester started roughly after surrendering a 3-0 defeat at home against Solari´s former team Pachuca FC, but after the shaky start, Pumas managed to obtain two solid wins. A comeback road win at Toluca 2-1 and a dominating 5-1 victory at FC Juarez has put the team´s project back on track. Juninho´s hat-trick against Bravos shapes him up as a force in attack and a player to fear.
With all that said, it´s a new beginning for both Charlotte FC and Pumas as both team desire the Leagues Cup trophy and the correct way to earn it is by starting this chapter with a win, one that will come after a hard fought encounter between two teams that have the talent to obtain a prestigious championship.
Charlotte FC enters as the slight favorite with 43% of the Polymarket prediction, compared to 34% for Pumas UNAM. The narrow gap reflects one of the most evenly matched contests of Leagues Cup's opening round.
