With recent "upsets" by A-League squads over MLS, it's got me wondering. Not knowing much at all about the A-League, could it possibly be that it's a better league than the MLS???
Not knowing much about A-league myself, I'm just gonna guess "no". I hope that's right, or MLS is in trouble. DC didn't put their best squad out there (not sure about the other MLS teams). Also, with the $100,000 prize, maybe nobody really cares. It's not exactly the FA Cup. I think all the MLS losses hurt the cup itself rather than the teams that lost.
Having seen over 50 MLS matches in person, and about 30 A-League matches live, I'm going to say no Lower-level teams beat higher level teams all the time in one-off cup competitions. Doesn't mean the lower league is better than the higher one.
Absolutely not. There are 4 MLS and 4 A-League teams left. Look at the history. Only twice has an A-League team been in the final, the Rochester Rhinos in 1996 and 1999. The Rhinos won in outstanding fashion in 1999. The A-League players take the US Open Cup more seriously, because they are trying to get noticed by MLS clubs. The 4 upsets were close games, and in a one-off affair, upsets will happen. But if you look at the total picture, MLS is still better than the A-League. What the latest results show is that the gap between leagues is closing, which can only be good for both leagues.