By Jon Arnold
The night started with hope for Liga MX clubs but ended with despair. Four teams entered Wednesday night with aspirations of being the first Mexican club to secure a Concacaf Champions Cup berth through Leagues Cup with a top three finish. But the wait continues after a quartet of wins from MLS squads.
For most MLS teams, it was a staunch defensive effort that pushed them into the semifinals and kept their quest for the CCC alive.
Toluca was unable to beat Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese despite an attacking core that regularly racked up goals in Liga MX play - and had scored a minimum of two goals in each of their three Phase One matches in League Cup.
Puebla’s attack has been less ferocious in domestic play, but La Franja also struggled to create scoring opportunities in its quarterfinal contest with the Seattle Sounders. Despite ending the night with just two shots on target, their defense held strong and forced a penalty shootout. But the Sounders saw a legendary performance by goalkeeper Andrew Thomas, saving the first and last Puebla kicks to push them into the Final Four of the tournament.
“We’re really proud of what we did on the field. The game plan came off almost perfectly” Puebla interim manager Martin Bravo said. “The team put in an effort, worked during the 90 minutes and really in regular time got a good result. I’ve always believed penalties are a bit of a lottery and unfortunately we lost, but we’re proud of the work we did.”
The other two Liga MX clubs in action Wednesday did find the back of the net, but it wasn’t enough. For Pachuca, Alexandre Zurawski’s goal was too little, too late. The LA Galaxy had gone into the locker room with a 2-0 advantage thanks to an own goal and a Marco Reus effort. Despite pushing for an earlier goal, Tuzos weren’t able to break through until late in stoppage time. While they were hoping for more time to find an equalizer, the referee blew the whistle.
And Tigres got a great goal from Angel Correa, his fifth in the competition, making him the leading scorer. But a pair of Luis Suarez penalties were sandwiched around it, with Inter Miami taking a 2-1 win. That match also saw Miami put in a strong defensive performance, limiting Tigres to that Correa shot and one other.
“We played the way we wanted. We scored a goal, created chances, they didn’t create much. That was really good,” Inter Miami assistant coach Javier Morales said after the victory. “ Then, in the second half, they adjust and of course after all the effort in the first half we couldn’t keep it up in the second. They found spaces, but at the end of the day we found a way to keep fighting and win another big game.”
That was what all four MLS teams were able to do. The contests against the top four Liga MX qualifiers from Phase One weren’t easy - and certainly no match turned into a blowout. Two required shootout wins while the other pair were decided by just one goal.
The defensive effort, the determination to move through and a continued focus on keeping dangerous Liga MX attackers from finding space and opportunities meant MLS once again is able to send three additional teams to the 2026 CCC - with the podium finishers guaranteed to come from the U.S.
“It was a typical match in the quarterfinals, a knockout match where you see the competitiveness the players have. A lot of times the match was choppier than we wanted, but the attention to details and the respect between teams was there. We competed well against a team with a lot of history, with excellent players, a manager who I respect a lot. We competed, we played a game like we wanted to play,” Orlando City manager Oscar Pareja said. “We’re really proud to beat the Mexican champion with a roster like that, a manager like him. We’re very happy.”
Now, he and his staff - along with their MLS rivals - will prepare to do the same against teams they’re familiar with - Orlando against regional rival Inter Miami and the Galaxy against their Western Conference rival Sounders. Liga MX teams are focusing, once again, on the domestic campaign and looking to Leagues Cup 2026 when they once again will try to break into the top three and lift the two-bowled Leagues Cup trophy.
