There's nothing like two brothers fighting in the backyard. You know you don't have to pull your punches, but there's also some love there. Multiply that by 18 and you have the 2026 Leagues Cup between MLS and Liga MX.
The Leagues Cup began in 2019, though the organizers date it to 2023 and call this the fourth edition, a count that erases both years a Mexican club won it. Cruz Azul and Léon won the first two instances, while three MLS clubs have won the last three years: Inter Miami, Columbus Crew, and Seattle Sounders. Every previous champion will be present, and in fact, the cumulative hardware is staggering.
Seattle are the current Leagues Cup title-holders. Inter Miami have MLS Cup. Cruz Azul have the Concacaf Champions Cup. Toluca won the Apertura and Cruz Azul won the Clausura. Vancouver were the Champions Cup runners-up.
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Four matches will be contested in Mexico at this year's competition for the first time since 2019, including Club America hosting San Diego FC at Estadio Azteca.
Here's what to know.
2026 Leagues Cup Dates
- League Phase: August 4-13
- Quarterfinals: August 25-27
- Semifinals: September 1-2
- Third Place Match and Final: Sunday, September 6
How to Watch in the US / Streaming
All 54 league matches stream on Apple TV. Ten of those matches will also be broadcast on FS1, Univision, UniMás or TUDN.
How Leagues Cup Works
Thirty-six clubs meet in the 2026 Leagues Cup, half from the MLS and half from Liga MX. MLS teams qualified if they were in the top nine spots for each conference in the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs. Every Liga MX team qualifies.
Seeding is dictated by the final 2025 MLS Supporters' Shield standings and Liga MX's 2025 Apertura and Clausura performances.
Every club plays three league phase matches, always against the other league. There are no draws, and a match level after regulation goes directly to penalties. The loser of PKs takes one point. The winner takes two points.
The top four from each table advance to the quarterfinals.
Standings
MLS
| Team | GP | W | PW | PL | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte FC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +5 | 6 |
| FC Cincinnati | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
| Columbus Crew | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| Portland Timbers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
| Inter Miami | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Austin FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Chicago Fire | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| FC Dallas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| New York City FC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Orlando City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| LAFC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Real Salt Lake | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Minnesota United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 |
| Nashville SC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Philadelphia Union | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| San Diego FC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
| Seattle Sounders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
Liga MX
| Team | GP | W | PW | PL | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juárez | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| Tigres UANL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Toluca | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 3 |
| Club América | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +2 | 3 |
| Atlante | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Cruz Azul | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| León | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 |
| Guadalajara | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Monterrey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Atlético San Luis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Necaxa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Querétaro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Santos Laguna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Tijuana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Pachuca | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 0 |
| Puebla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 |
| Atlas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 |
| Pumas UNAM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
Leagues Cup 2026 Results & Schedule
Tuesday, August 4
- FC Cincinnati 3-1 Pachuca
- Columbus Crew 3-1 Atlas
- Charlotte FC ?-? Pumas UNAM
- Minnesota United ?-? Juárez
- Tigres UANL 1-1 Real Salt Lake (Tigres win shootout)
- Vancouver Whitecaps 0-1 Atlante
Wednesday, August 5
- Inter Miami 4-2 Atlético San Luis
- Monterrey 1-2 Orlando City
- FC Dallas ?-0 Querétaro
- Nashville SC 0-1 León
- Toluca 3-0 Seattle Sounders
- LAFC 1-1 Guadalajara (LAFC win shootout)
Thursday, August 6
- New York City FC 2-0 Santos Laguna
- Cruz Azul 1-0 Philadelphia Union
- Chicago Fire 2-0 Necaxa
- Austin FC 2-0 Tijuana
- Club América 3-1 San Diego FC
- Portland Timbers 5-2 Puebla
Friday, August 7
- Charlotte FC 2-0 Atlas
- Columbus Crew 2-1 Pachuca
- FC Cincinnati 2-0 Pumas UNAM
- Tigres UANL 0-0 Minnesota United (Tigres win 4-2 on pens)
- Vancouver Whitecaps 1-3 Juárez
Saturday, August 8
- Orlando City vs León - 6:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Inter Miami vs Monterrey - 8:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Guadalajara vs FC Dallas - 9:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV, FS1, TUDN, Univision
- Real Salt Lake vs Atlante - 10:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Toluca vs LAFC - 11:10 p.m. ET · Apple TV, FS1, TUDN, Univision
Sunday, August 9
- Seattle Sounders vs Querétaro - 3:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Cruz Azul vs New York City FC - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Philadelphia Union vs Necaxa - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Chicago Fire vs Santos Laguna - 8:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Nashville SC vs Atlético San Luis - 8:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Austin FC vs Puebla - 9:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- San Diego FC vs Tijuana - 10:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Club América vs Portland Timbers - 10:15 p.m. ET · Apple TV
Tuesday, August 11
- Charlotte FC vs Pachuca - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Columbus Crew vs Pumas UNAM - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- FC Cincinnati vs Atlas - 8:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Minnesota United vs Atlante - 8:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Real Salt Lake vs Juárez - 9:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Tigres UANL vs Vancouver Whitecaps - 10:00 p.m. ET · Estadio Universitario · Apple TV
Wednesday, August 12
- Inter Miami vs León - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Orlando City vs Atlético San Luis - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Monterrey vs Nashville SC - 8:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Toluca vs FC Dallas - 10:00 p.m. ET · Estadio Nemesio Diez · Apple TV
- San Diego FC vs Puebla - 10:15 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- LAFC vs Querétaro - 10:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Seattle Sounders vs Guadalajara - 10:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
Thursday, August 13
- Philadelphia Union vs Santos Laguna - 7:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- New York City FC vs Necaxa - 7:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Club América vs Austin FC - 8:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Cruz Azul vs Chicago Fire - 9:00 p.m. ET · Apple TV
- Portland Timbers vs Tijuana - 10:30 p.m. ET · Apple TV
Bracket
Single elimination from the quarterfinals. Draw after regulation goes straight to penalties. Every quarterfinal and semifinal is MLS against Liga MX.
- Quarterfinals: August 25-27
- Semifinals: September 1-2
- Third Place Match: Sunday, September 6
- Final: Sunday, September 6
What's at stake
Three spots in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup go to the champion, the runner-up and the third-place finisher. The champion advances directly to the round of 16.