By Tony Álvarez
Cincinnati continued its strong start in Leagues Cup 2026 with a 2-0 win over Pumas UNAM on Friday at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The match featured several early chances for both sides. Evander received a ball as he sprinted toward the Pumas back line and delivered a timely pass to Kévin Denkey, who beat Keylor Navas in the 6th minute, but the referee whistled an offside.
Three minutes later, Juninho had a chance for Pumas after a deflection inside the box, but Evan Louro got enough of the shot to send it onto the crossbar. An offside was then called.
In the 36th minute, Angel Azuaje gave the home side another scare as he hit a powerful shot that went just wide. Seven minutes later, it was Adalberto Carrasquilla with a powerful set-piece effort that the goalkeeper saved.
After some marvelous ball distribution from the right side, Pavel Bucha received a pass from Evander inside the box, only to dribble past a defender and fire a left-footed shot that Navas barely touched as it went in one minute into first-half additional time to put the score 1-0 at halftime.
The second half featured plenty of back-and-forth action, beginning with a clinical right-footed shot from Evander that went just wide.
Two minutes later, Pumas responded with another powerful effort from Juninho. After a series of ricochets, Louro made a one-handed save to deny the Auriazules an equalizer.
It was not the night for the Liga MX side up front, as Sebastián Cordova, Uriel Antuna and Carrasquilla also joined in the missed opportunities.
FC Cincinnati sealed the victory in the third minute of second-half additional time after a counter-attack goal by Kenji Mboma Dem on a strong left-footed finish for a final score of 2-0.
REACTIONS
- Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan
- “Nice to see a zero in terms of goals conceded; it’s good. It’s been a while (…) It’s tricky because when I watch the game you rely on moments; we relied on a save by Evan (Louro), and they missed a couple.”
- Cincinnati Midfielder Pavel Bucha
- "Another amazing night with our fans. I’m so happy for my goal and for the win we got, and I don’t really remember it clearly, but I think Evander found me in the box, I got a little bit of time, and I faked my shot and then shot with my left foot, and it went in to the net.”
- Pumas Head Coach Esteban Solari
- “It was a very evenly matched game; at times we had control, and we had two scoring chances in the first half, but then they ended up scoring. It could easily have gone the other way, though; it's frustrating.”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Cincinnati
- Evander provided the assist for Bucha's opening goal and consistently helped drive Cincinnati's attack
GAME NOTES
- Pavel Bucha scored his fifth goal in Leagues Cup play.
- Pat Noonan earned his 100th career win as Cincinnati head coach.
- Cincinnati won its third straight match, fifth in its last six.
- Pumas has allowed five goals in two Leagues Cup matches and has scored none.
- Evander has six assists in the Leagues Cup, second-most all time in the tournament.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Cincinnati: Obinna Nwobodo (42’)
LOOKING AHEAD
- Cincinnati: Aug. 11 vs. Atlas
- Pumas: Aug. 11 vs. Columbus
