MLS, Liga MX teams to fight for title at Allegiant Stadium

Las Vegas hosted 1 of the events of the shot twelvemonth erstwhile the U.S. played Mexico astatine the 2021 Gold Cup Final connected August 1 astatine Allegiant Stadium. A follow-up, of sorts, volition instrumentality spot successful the aforesaid determination astatine 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The nationalist teams won’t beryllium back. They’re successful the midst of World Cup qualifying. But Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders volition instrumentality connected Liga MX’s Club Leon successful the last of the 2nd variation of the Leagues Cup.

The event, which pits 4 MLS teams (from some the U.S. and Canada) against 4 Liga MX clubs (from Mexico) successful a bracket-style tournament, volition extremity successful Las Vegas for the 2nd time. Cruz Azul won the archetypal rubric astatine Sam Boyd Stadium successful 2019.

The archetypal title lucifer featured 2 Liga MX sides, giving this 1 a antithetic edge.

“I deliberation it’ll beryllium a bully accidental for MLS playing against a Liga MX broadside for america to showcase what we have,” said Sounders midfielder Danny Leyva, a Las Vegas native. “It’s going to beryllium a beardown game, but I deliberation we’re ready. More than ready.”

The Sounders volition beryllium looking to adhd to their already awesome trophy database aft winning 2 MLS championships and making different last successful the past 5 seasons. They’re 2nd successful the Western Conference standings astatine 13-5-6 acknowledgment successful ample portion to diminutive guardant Raul Ruidiaz, who ranks 2nd successful the league with 14 goals.

Club Leon volition beryllium hard to bushed aft waltzing done the archetypal 2 rounds of the tourney with an 8-1 extremity differential. It is 4th successful the Liga MX standings astatine 4-2-3. Its extremity scoring has been much evenly distributed. Forward Angel Mena has four, midfielder Elias Hernandez 3 and 4 different players person scored astatine slightest one.

“(They’re) precise adjacent the apical of the standings,” Seattle manager Brian Schmetzer said. “Got immoderate tremendous players. I deliberation they’ll beryllium up for it.”

Contact Ben Gotz astatine bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz connected Twitter.