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As North American soccer returns to action following the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil, league action pauses briefly as clubs from host nations United States, Canada, and Mexico all come together for a month-long clash.
The Leagues Cup gets under way for a sixth edition in 2026 — and fourth since the big rebrand in 2023 — as 36 clubs from across the three countries in Major League Soccer and Liga MX match up.
So far, MLS clubs have won each of the last three editions since the competition brought the two leagues together in the hopes of pushing out the U.S. Open Cup as the premier cup competition in the United States. Last time around, the Seattle Sounders triumphed to earn a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup the following season.
The Sporting News brings you a look at the 2026 tournament bracket, league phase matchups, and results.
Leagues Cup format for 2026 tournament
For the 2026 competition, the Leagues Cup format will reflect something similar to that of the UEFA Champions League, having also adopted the Swiss Model by instituting a league phase and a knockout stage.
First, the teams will play three games in the league phase. The matchups were determined by a draw which used an eastern and western breakdown to minimize travel, and was seeded by overall combined table finish by putting the two league tables together.
Six-team regional groupings were made by selecting one team from each league (MLS and Liga MX) from each of the three tiers. From these regional groupings, each of the three Liga MX teams played each of the three MLS teams.
From there, they will be sorted by league (MLS and Liga MX) to ensure that an equal number of teams from each league advance to the knockout stage.
The top four in each table will advance to the quarterfinals. To begin the knockout phase, the four quarterfinal games will each feature one MLS team and one Liga MX team. The first-place MLS finisher will play the fourth-place Liga MX finisher, and so-on.
For continental qualification purposes, both finalists will earn a spot in the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, while the third-place finisher will secure a position in the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round.
Leagues Cup dates, rounds
| Round | Matches | Dates |
| League Phase, Matchweek 1 | 18 | Aug. 4-6 |
| League Phase, Matchweek 2 | 18 | Aug. 7-9 |
| League Phase, Matchweek 3 | 18 | Aug. 11-13 |
| Quarterfinals | 4 | Aug. 25-27 |
| Semifinals | 2 | Sep. 1-2 |
| Final & third place match | 2 | Sep. 6 |
Leagues Cup schedule, results
League phase
Matchweek 1
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Aug. 4 | 7:45 p.m. | Columbus Crew 3-1 Atlas | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (Columbus, OH) |
| Aug. 4 | 7:45 p.m. | FC Cincinnati 3-1 Pachuca | TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH) |
| Aug. 4 | 8 p.m. | Charlotte FC 3-0 Pumas | Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) |
| Aug. 4 | 8:30 p.m. | Minnesota United 1-2 FC Juarez | Allianz Field (St. Paul, MN) |
| Aug. 4 | 10 p.m. | Tigres 1-1 Real Salt Lake Tigres won 6-5 on pens | America First Field (Sandy, UT) |
| Aug. 4 | 10:30 p.m. | Vancouver Whitecaps 0-1 Atlante | BC Place (Vancouver, Canada) |
| Aug. 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Inter Miami 4-2 Atletico San Luis | Nu Stadium (Miami, FL) |
| Aug. 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Monterrey 1-2 Orlando City | Inter.co Stadium (Orlando, FL) |
| Aug. 5 | 8:30 p.m. | Nashville SC 0-1 Club Leon | GEODIS Park (Nashville, TN) |
| Aug. 5 | 8:30 p.m. | FC Dallas 2-0 Queretaro | Texas Health Stadium (Mansfield, TX) |
| Aug. 5 | 10 p.m. | Toluca 3-0 Seattle Sounders | Estadio Nemesio Diez (Toluca, Mexico) |
| Aug. 5 | 10:30 p.m. | LAFC 1-1 Chivas Guadalajara LAFC won 5-4 on pens | BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, CA) |
| Aug. 6 | 7:30 p.m. | NYCFC 2-0 Santos Laguna | Sports Illustrated Stadium (Harrison, NJ) |
| Aug. 6 | 8 p.m. | Cruz Azul 1-0 Philadelphia Union | Subaru Park (Chester, PA) |
| Aug. 6 | 8:30 p.m. | Chicago Fire 2-0 Necaxa | SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL) |
| Aug. 6 | 9 p.m. | Austin FC 2-0 Tijuana | Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX) |
| Aug. 6 | 10 p.m. | Club America 3-1 San Diego FC | Estadio Banorte (Mexico City, Mexico) |
| Aug. 6 | 10:30 p.m. | Portland Timbers 5-2 Puebla | Providence Park (Portland, OR) |
Matchweek 2
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Aug. 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Charlotte FC vs. Atlas | Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) |
| Aug. 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Columbus Crew vs. Pachuca | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (Columbus, OH) |
| Aug. 7 | 8 p.m. | FC Cincinnati vs. Pumas | TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH) |
| Aug. 7 | 9 p.m. | Tigres vs. Minnesota United | Allianz Field (St. Paul, MN) |
| Aug. 7 | 10:30 p.m. | Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Juarez | BC Place (Vancouver, Canada) |
| Aug. 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Orlando City vs. Club Leon | Inter.co Stadium (Orlando, FL) |
| Aug. 8 | 8 p.m. | Inter Miami vs. Monterrey | Nu Stadium (Miami, FL) |
| Aug. 8 | 9 p.m. | Chivas Guadalajara vs. FC Dallas | PayPal Park (San Jose, CA) |
| Aug. 8 | 10 p.m. | Real Salt Lake vs. Atlante | America First Field (Sandy, UT) |
| Aug. 8 | 11:10 p.m. | Toluca vs. LAFC | BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, CA) |
| Aug. 9 | 3:30 p.m. | Seattle Sounders vs. Queretaro | Lumen Field (Seattle, WA) |
| Aug. 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Cruz Azul vs. NYCFC | Sports Illustrated Stadium (Harrison, NJ) |
| Aug. 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Philadelphia Union vs. Necaxa | Subaru Park (Chester, PA) |
| Aug. 9 | 8 p.m. | Chicago Fire vs. Santos Laguna | SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL) |
| Aug. 9 | 8 p.m. | Nashville SC vs. Atletico San Luis | GEODIS Park (Nashville, TN) |
| Aug. 9 | 9 p.m. | Austin FC vs. Puebla | Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX) |
| Aug. 9 | 10 p.m. | San Diego FC vs. Tijuana | Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA) |
| Aug. 9 | 10:15 p.m. | Club America vs. Portland Timbers | Providence Park (Portland, OR) |
Matchweek 3
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Aug. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Columbus Crew vs. Pumas | ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (Columbus, OH) |
| Aug. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Charlotte FC vs. Pachuca | Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) |
| Aug. 11 | 8 p.m. | FC Cincinnati vs. Atlas | TQL Stadium (Cincinnati, OH) |
| Aug. 11 | 8:30 p.m. | Minnesota United vs. Atlante | Allianz Field (St. Paul, MN) |
| Aug. 11 | 9:30 p.m. | Real Salt Lake vs. Juarez | America First Field (Sandy, UT) |
| Aug. 11 | 10 p.m. | Tigres vs. Vancouver Whitecaps | Estadio Universitario (Nuevo Leon, Mexico) |
| Aug. 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Orlando City vs. Atletico San Luis | Inter.co Stadium (Orlando, FL) |
| Aug. 12 | 7:30 p.m. | Inter Miami vs. Club Leon | Nu Stadium (Miami, FL) |
| Aug. 12 | 8 p.m. | Monterrey vs. Nashville SC | GEODIS Park (Nashville, TN) |
| Aug. 12 | 10 p.m. | Toluca vs. FC Dallas | Estadio Nemesio Diaz (Toluca, Mexico) |
| Aug. 12 | 10:15 p.m. | San Diego FC vs. Puebla | Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego, CA) |
| Aug. 12 | 10:30 p.m. | LAFC vs. Queretaro | BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, CA) |
| Aug. 12 | 10:30 p.m. | Seattle Sounders vs. Chivas Guadalajara | Lumen Field (Seattle, WA) |
| Aug. 13 | 7 p.m. | Philadelphia Union vs. Santos Laguna | Subaru Park (Chester, PA) |
| Aug. 13 | 7:30 p.m. | NYCFC vs. Necaxa | Sports Illustrated Stadium (Harrison, NJ) |
| Aug. 13 | 8:30 p.m. | Club America vs. Austin FC | Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX) |
| Aug. 13 | 9 p.m. | Cruz Azul vs. Chicago Fire | SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL) |
| Aug. 13 | 10:30 p.m. | Portland Timbers vs. Tijuana | Providence Park (Portland, OR) |
Knockout stage
Quarterfinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Aug. 25-27 | TBD | MLS #1 vs. Liga MX #4 | TBD |
| Aug. 25-27 | TBD | MLS #2 vs. Liga MX #3 | TBD |
| Aug. 25-27 | TBD | Liga MX #2 vs. MLS #3 | TBD |
| Aug. 25-27 | TBD | Liga MX #1 vs. MLS #4 | TBD |
Semifinals
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Sep. 1-2 | TBD | TBD vs. TBD | TBD |
| Sep. 1-2 | TBD | TBD vs. TBD | TBD |
Third place playoff
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Sep. 6 | TBD | Semifinal loser vs. Semifinal loser | TBD |
Final
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Location |
| Sep. 6 | TBD | Semifinal winner vs. Semifinal winner | TBD |
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