This is going to be an exciting weekend of Leagues Cup matches.. let me check the schedule real quick..
Sweet sixteen is set. The @LeaguesCup Round of 16 is set. 🙌Action continues Monday and Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/0amvWJVCqf— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 10, 2024
Based on the breakdown of number of participants you'd expect 10 MLS and 6 Liga MX teams in the final 16. There are 10 MLS and 6 Liga MX teams in the final 16. But I was told Liga MX wasn't taking this competition seriously...
Barbieri thinks there should be more neutral site games, especially when the Mexican team is a higher seed. "We finished first on the first phase of the tournament. We should have some advantage. I don't think that's the most fair way. It's the way it is." https://t.co/U8tbBjUtOO— Burgundy Wave (@Burgundywave) August 10, 2024
Looks like Tigres vs. NYC will be at Red Bull Arena. Other non-obvious locations are América vs. St. Louis in Carson and Cruz Azul vs. Mazatlán in DC.
At least that means Mazatlán doesn’t have to travel. As the only Liga MX side. But how will it look in the stands? Pumas-Querétaro drew 948 in DC last year in the R32. Heading into the knock-out rounds Club America has already done quite a bit of travel within the US, but this was purely self-inflicted with friendlies in Atlanta (Chelsea) and Chicago (Aston Villa) before flying to San Diego.
On another note, from the remaining six Liga MX clubs only two haven’t qualified for next year’s CCC. Toluca and Mazatlán. So the lure of this particular “carrot” is a bit limited from a Mexican perspective. It may play a role for Toluca later on should they get far enough.