NEW YORK; MEXICO CITY; HERRIMAN, Utah (Thursday, July 20, 2023) – As announced earlier this year by Major League Soccer (MLS) and LIGA MX, with the support of CONCACAF, Real Salt Lake’s inaugural foray into the Leagues Cup kicks off Saturday at America First Field against MLS Western Conference rival Seattle Sounders FC – complete with post-game Pioneer Day Weekend Fireworks – with the highly-anticipated return of Mexican power CF Monterrey to Utah soil on Wednesday, July 26. Both West 2 Group Stage matches in Sandy kick off at 7:30p MT, with tickets available at www.RSL.com/tickets.
Additional details regarding RSL’s participation in the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup 2023, which will occur from July 21 – August 19 this Summer, amidst RSL’s 19th campaign, can be obtained at www.LeaguesCup.com.
Real Salt Lake (10-7-7, 37 pts., t-2nd West) rides extended momentum into Leagues Cup, as Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni’s side remains unbeaten in 10 games played in MLS and Open Cup action during June & July – seven wins, three draws, with 22 RSL goals scored by nine different players. Dating back to April 8, RSL is unbeaten in 20 of its last 23 games across all competitions (13 wins, seven draws), a run which includes a Club-record 11 consecutive road results. RSL has won each of its last two home matches by a combined 7-1 aggregate over MLS Eastern Conference sides Orlando and New York Red Bulls.Â
RSL is unbeaten in five of its last six against the Sounders, having played Seattle (10-8-6, 36 pts., 4th West) on two occasions already this season, the 0-0 draw on April 29 at America First Field marking RSL’s first clean sheet since last September, preceded by an 0-2 RSL loss at Lumen Field on March 4. Seattle owns just one MLS reg. season win on Utah soil, a 2-1 Sounders victory in May, 2011, the lone blemish on RSL’s all-time 11W-1L-4T mark, which has seen RSL amass a 25-9 goal differential (2nd highest in RSL history). The Sounders also won 1-0 in suburban Salt Lake City in the second leg of a 2012 MLS Cup Playoff series between the teams.
Saturday’s kickoff against Seattle starts at 7:30p MT on the Apple MLS Season Pass w/ Keith Costigan and Maurice Edu (ENG) & Jorge Perez-Navarro and Marcelo Balboa (SPN); for local coverage, tune in at 6:30p MT for KSL Radio pre-game w/ David James & Jay Nolly via www.KSLSports.com / 1280 AM / 97.5 FM and www.KSLNewsRadio.com / 1160 AM).
Real Salt Lake v Seattle Sounders FC – Leagues Cup West 2 Group Stage Match #1
America First Field – Sandy, UT
Saturday, July 22, 2023 – 7:30p MT
FAMILIAR FOES IN WEST GROUP 2 FOR RSL
Earlier this year, Seattle became the first-ever MLS side to represent the League and U.S. Soccer in the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco, following last year’s CONCACAF Champions League title. Despite the departure of former RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey from Seattle, multiple ties bind the clubs, whose rivalry was formed during contentious postseason series in 2010 and 2011. Former RSL manager Freddy Juarez joined the Sounders’ staff in August, 2021, after 11 years with the Utah organization, while another former RSL GM, Craig Waibel, Lagerwey’s successor from 2015-19, is now in his third season with the Pacific Northwest side. Former RSL playmaker Albert Rusnák signed with Seattle 14 months ago as a free agent, after notching 41 goals and adding 39 assists for the Claret-and-Cobalt from 2017-21. Seattle midfielder Kelyn Rowe also called RSL home for the 2019 season.
Los Rayados visit Utah for the first time since April, 2011, when the storied Monterrey club defeated Real Salt Lake, 1-0, in that year’s CONCACAF Champions League Final. Twelve years since they last squared off, RSL will host CF Monterrey in the rematch on Wednesday. RSL secured a 2-2 tie in the first leg of that 2011 CCL series, but Rayados, thanks to a late first-half goal by Humberto Suazo, took the title with a 1-0 upset in Utah. Victor Manuel Vucetichwas the coach for Monterrey then, and returned to the club in 2022.Â
LEAGUES CUP KNOCKOUT SCHEDULE, IF NEEDED
Should RSL emerge as one of the two teams from West Group 2, advancing sides will compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals from August 11-12 (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches on August 15. The possibility exists that America First Field in Sandy could host Knockout Round matches involving Real Salt Lake, as well as potential “intra-league” matches between Liga MX opponents.Â
The Leagues Cup 2023 Final and third-place game will be played on Saturday, August 19 to determine the three clubs that will qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League.
Fans around the world will be able to watch Leagues Cup on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, which is available on Apple devices, smart TVs, streaming devices from Roku, Amazon, and Google, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for select Leagues Cup matches in the United States and Canada.Â
HOW WE GOT HERE
While RSL could not host any matches during the 2022 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, last year’s postseason qualification – the Claret-and-Cobalt’s fourth in the last five years, and its 12th in 15 seasons since 2008 – did clinch at least these TWO home matches at America First Field in Sandy against both Monterrey and Seattle for the 2023 Leagues Cup.Â
Last September, Real Salt Lake welcomed reigning LIGA MX Champion Atlas FC to Utah in the Leagues Cup “Showcase” as the 42nd match against 30 different international opponents from 16 various countries for the Claret-and-Cobalt since 2005. Atlas FC – which overcame an early and spectacular 78-yard laser from former homegrown DF Aaron Herrera for RSL – was the ninth Mexican opponent to visit Utah and appear opposite RSL, which has also competed against Monarcas Morelia, Santos Laguna, Cruz Azul, Club America, CD Guadalajara, Monterrey, Xolos de Tijuana and UANL Tigres a combined 17 times across international friendly or CONCACAF Champions League play, as well as the Leagues Cup 2019. All-time, RSL is now just 3-7-4 (W-L-T) against Mexican visitors, while the Utah side owns an all-time 18-13-11 overall international record. Both records include RSL’s home 1-0 loss to Tigres in 2019, as well as last year’s 1-2 loss to Atlas.
Leagues Cup 2023 Bracket Announcement presented by Coors Light
Group Stage: As previously announced, the Leagues Cup 2023 groups can be viewed here. Â
The MLS Cup 2022 champion, the Los Angeles Football Club, has qualified directly and will host its Round of 32 match. Club de FĂştbol Pachuca earned the bye as the LIGA MX champion with the most combined points accumulated across the Clausura and Apertura seasons in the 2022 calendar year. Â
Knockout Rounds:Â Pachuca will enter the Knockout Stage in the South region, in the opposite bracket from the MLS Cup champion, LAFC, which enters in the West region. Following the Group Stage, the advancing teams will join LAFC and Pachuca to compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds, beginning with the Round of 32 on August 2-4 (16 matches), followed by the Round of 16 on August 6-8 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals on August 11-12 (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches on August 15.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32. The top advancing club from each group will face a second-place team from a group in their same region.Â
Due to the odd number of teams this year, the second-place team in Group 1 of the South region will enter the Leagues Cup 2023 bracket in the West region due to that group having the lowest-performing team in the 2022 season (No. 2 club in the South region).
For the potential Knockout round match-ups and the pathway to the Final, see the above bracket.Â
Knockout Round - Venues:Â In 2023, advancing MLS clubs will host knockout round matches against LIGA MX teams, and MLS venues will host all Leagues Cup knockout round matches. Round of 32 matches between two MLS clubs will be hosted by the group winner. Round of 32 matches between two LIGA MX clubs will be hosted at a regional venue designated by the Organizing Committee.
Starting with the Round of 16, matches between two MLS clubs will be hosted by the club with the better 2022 regular season performance. Matches between two LIGA MX clubs will be hosted at a venue designated by the Organizing Committee.
The pool of regional venues for matches between two LIGA MX clubs during the knockout round are as follows:
- West: BMO Stadium (Los Angeles, CA), Dignity Health Sports Park (Carson, CA), America First Field (Salt Lake City, UT), PayPal Park (San Jose, CA)
- Central: SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, IL), Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX), DICK’S Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City, CO), Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX)
- Â South: Q2 Stadium (Austin, TX), Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX), Exploria Stadium (Orlando, FL)
- Â East: Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ), Subaru Park (Chester, PA), Audi Field (Washington, D.C.)
Knockout Round match locations and kickoff times will be announced at the conclusion of the Group Stage.Â
Beginning in 2023, MLS and LIGA MX will pause their respective league seasons each summer and compete in Leagues Cup, an official Concacaf competition to be played across the U.S. and Canada. The champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions League and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.Â
The complete details on the Leagues Cup format can be viewed here.
Ticket InformationÂ
Individual tickets will be available to fans via the hosting MLS club. MLS club season ticket holders should contact their club representative for more information. For more tournament information, visit www.LeaguesCup.com and follow @LeaguesCup on social.
Media AssetsÂ
