MATCH RECAP: Charlotte gets overpowered at home in 4-1 loss to FC Juárez

By Favian Renkel

Charlotte FC suffered a crushing 4-1 defeat at home to FC Juárez in Leagues Cup play, with the visitors taking complete control early and never looking back.

FC Juárez opened the scoring just seven minutes in through Brazilian midfielder Madson, who struck again in the 21st minute to complete a brace and expose Charlotte’s lack of defensive organization. The hosts briefly responded through 20-year-old Idan Toklomati, who found the back of the net in the 18th minute to keep Charlotte within reach.

But Juárez never lost control. Their pressing and ball movement continuously disrupted Charlotte’s rhythm, and right before the break, Moisés Mosquera extended the lead with a thunderous header off a corner in first-half stoppage time. The third goal left Charlotte stunned as they headed into halftime.

Charlotte attempted to push forward in the second half but lacked composure in the final third. Despite playing with energy, they couldn't find a second goal. Their night got worse when Toklomati was shown a red card for violent conduct, reducing Charlotte to 10 men. Their hopes were dashed entirely in the 90th minute when Óscar Estupiñán sealed the win with a well-taken
strike from the top of the box.

Wilfried Zaha and Pep Biel were both largely neutralized on the night, unable to break down a Juárez side that came into the match winless in its last eight games. Juarez got into Zaha’s head early with pestering him, and the legendary English Premier League player was unable to get back on track.

This 4-1 loss leaves Charlotte FC in a difficult position, especially with goal differential weighing heavily where only four MLS teams advance. For FC Juárez, the performance marked a breakthrough under new manager Martín Varini. Dominant in possession, clinical in front of goal, and defensively sharp, the Liga MX side delivered its first competitive win of the season in emphatic fashion.

REACTIONS:

• FC Juarez
  • Head Coach Martin Varini
    • “Today are players played to an insane form. The whole group has worked very well:
  • Madson de Souza Silva
    • “The key was our unity, I think we did everything Martin asked of us. We showed it on the field. We are happy and we deserved to leave with the win.”
• Charlotte
  • Head Coach Dean Smith
    • “There’s a lot of things that went wrong in the first half, it felt like my eyes were bleeding...I don’t think our players showed enough care in this game today.”

PLAYERS OF THE MATCH:

• FC Juarez:
  • Madson de Souza Silva scored two goals in the first 21 minutes of the match and Juarez never looked back
• Charlotte:
  • 20-year-old Idan Toklomati scored Charlotte FC’s only goal but was red carded and now will miss their next match

GAME NOTES:

• Juarez has now won a group stage game versus an MLS team in each of the last three Leagues Cup
• Juarez joined Tigres, Portland and Minnesota as the four clubs with 4 goals in their opening match this tournament
• Juarez scored three goals in the first half of a game for the first time since August 2023
• Madson logged his 2nd brace in his 17th appearance with Juarez, he only recorded one brace in the rest of his career prior to joining Liga MX (that was back in 2022 with Estrela Amadora)
• Charlotte is the 3rd team to receive a red card thus far this tournament

CARDS/INJURY REPORT:

• Yellow Cards
  • FC Juarez: Jose Garcia, Moises Mosquera, Manuel Mayorga
  • Charlotte: Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Djibril Diani, Ashley Westwood
• Red Cards:
  • Charlotte: Idan Toklomati

LOOKING AHEAD:

• FC Juarez's next match will be against Cincinnati's on August 3rd
• Charlotte's next match will be against Guadalajara on August 3rd