2025 Leagues Cup

Soccer tournament held in Canada and the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025 Leagues Cup was the fifth edition of the Leagues Cup, an international club soccer tournament contested by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX clubs in North America. It was held from July 29 to August 31, 2025, and featured 36 teams. Unlike the previous editions, only the top 18 MLS teams from the 2024 season qualified for the tournament. All 18 Liga MX clubs participated.

Host countriesCanada
United States
DatesJuly 29 – August 31
Teams36 (from 3 associations)
ChampionsUnited States Seattle Sounders FC (1st title)
Quick facts Tournament details, Host countries ...
2025 Leagues Cup
Tournament details
Host countriesCanada
United States
DatesJuly 29 – August 31
Teams36 (from 3 associations)
Final positions
ChampionsUnited States Seattle Sounders FC (1st title)
Runners-upUnited States Inter Miami CF
Third placeUnited States LA Galaxy
Fourth placeUnited States Orlando City SC
Tournament statistics
Matches played62
Goals scored200 (3.23 per match)
Attendance1,058,038 (17,065 per match)
Top scorer(s)Argentina Ángel Correa
(5 goals)
Best playerArgentina Pedro de la Vega[1]
Best goalkeeperUnited States Andrew Thomas[1]
2024
2026
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Seattle Sounders FC won their first Leagues Cup title by defeating Inter Miami CF 3–0 in the final. The match, played at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, set a tournament record for attendance with 69,314 spectators.[2]

Format

The tournament consisted of a group stage, known as "Phase One", and a knockout phase. During phase one, teams played three games against teams in the other league (i.e., all games were MLS vs Liga MX).[3] The top four teams from each league advanced to the knockout stage, which consisted of the quarterfinals, semifinals and a final. Like previous editions of the Leagues Cup, the top three clubs qualified for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.[4]

In Phase One, teams earned three points for a win in regulation, two points for a win in a penalty shoot-out, or one point for a loss in a penalty shoot-out.[5] In the event two or more teams ended the group stage tied on points, these tiebreakers in order were used for ranking:[6]

  1. Greater number of wins in regular time.
  2. Greater goal difference.
  3. Greater number of goals scored.
  4. Fewer number of goals conceded.
  5. Fewer points in the team’s Fair Play Table.
  6. A draw organized by the Organizing Committee.

Teams

Thirty-six teams participated in the Leagues Cup, including all 18 Liga MX teams and 18 out of 30 MLS teams.[7] The 18 MLS teams qualified for Leagues Cup by reaching the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, with one exception: San Diego FC replaced Vancouver Whitecaps FC, who did not participate because they were competing in two other cup competitions in 2025.[4]

Draw

To determine matchups, all teams were placed into a combined ranking that used the 2024 Supporters' Shield table for MLS teams and the most recent 34 matches in the 2024 Clausura and Apertura seasons for Liga MX teams. These teams were then divided into an East region and a West region based on geographical and performance criteria. Within each region, teams were assigned to tiers based on the combined ranking, with the restriction that each tier included three teams from each league.

More information Rank, Tier ...
Eastern clubs
RankTierTeamLeague
2Tier 1Inter Miami CFMLS
3Tier 1TolucaLiga MX
4Tier 1Columbus CrewMLS
8Tier 1MonterreyLiga MX
11Tier 1FC CincinnatiMLS
12Tier 1Pumas UNAMLiga MX
14Tier 2GuadalajaraLiga MX
16Tier 2Orlando City SCMLS
18Tier 2Charlotte FCMLS
19Tier 2New York City FCMLS
27Tier 2LeónLiga MX
28Tier 2NecaxaLiga MX
22Tier 3New York Red BullsMLS
25Tier 3CF MontréalMLS
29Tier 3Atlanta United FCMLS
30Tier 3AtlasLiga MX
32Tier 3JuárezLiga MX
35Tier 3PueblaLiga MX
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More information Rank, Tier ...
Western clubs
RankTierTeamLeague
1Tier 1Cruz AzulLiga MX
5Tier 1Tigres UANLLiga MX
6Tier 1Los Angeles FCMLS
7Tier 1LA GalaxyMLS
9Tier 1AméricaLiga MX
10Tier 1Real Salt LakeMLS
13Tier 2Seattle Sounders FCMLS
15Tier 2Houston Dynamo FCMLS
17Tier 2Minnesota United FCMLS
23Tier 2Atlético San LuisLiga MX
24Tier 2TijuanaLiga MX
26Tier 2PachucaLiga MX
20Tier 3Colorado RapidsMLS
21Tier 3Portland TimbersMLS
31Tier 3QuerétaroLiga MX
33Tier 3MazatlánLiga MX
34Tier 3Santos LagunaLiga MX
36Tier 3San Diego FCMLS
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Sets

Finally, six "sets" were formed by drawing one team per league from each of the three tiers of a region. Teams played three matches against teams from their set who were not from their league.[4]

More information Tier, Team ...
Eastern 1
TierTeamLeague
1TolucaLiga MX
1Columbus CrewMLS
2New York City FCMLS
2LeónLiga MX
3CF MontréalMLS
3PueblaLiga MX
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More information Tier, Team ...
Eastern 2
TierTeamLeague
1Inter Miami CFMLS
1Pumas UNAMLiga MX
2Orlando City SCMLS
2NecaxaLiga MX
3Atlanta United FCMLS
3AtlasLiga MX
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More information Tier, Team ...
Eastern 3
TierTeamLeague
1MonterreyLiga MX
1FC CincinnatiMLS
2GuadalajaraLiga MX
2Charlotte FCMLS
3New York Red BullsMLS
3JuárezLiga MX
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More information Tier, Team ...
Western 1
TierTeamLeague
1Tigres UANLLiga MX
1Los Angeles FCMLS
2Houston Dynamo FCMLS
2PachucaLiga MX
3MazatlánLiga MX
3San Diego FCMLS
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More information Tier, Team ...
Western 2
TierTeamLeague
1AméricaLiga MX
1Real Salt LakeMLS
2Minnesota United FCMLS
2Atlético San LuisLiga MX
3Portland TimbersMLS
3QuerétaroLiga MX
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More information Tier, Team ...
Western 3
TierTeamLeague
1Cruz AzulLiga MX
1LA GalaxyMLS
2Seattle Sounders FCMLS
2TijuanaLiga MX
3Colorado RapidsMLS
3Santos LagunaLiga MX
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Round dates

The schedule of the competition was as follows.[8]

More information Phase, Round ...
Schedule for 2025 Leagues Cup
Phase Round Date
League stage Matchday 1 July 29–31
Matchday 2 August 1–3
Matchday 3 August 5–7
Knockout stage Quarterfinals August 20
Semifinals August 27
Third place playoff August 31
Final
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League phase

Table

Liga MX

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Toluca 3 2 1 0 0 6 4 +2 8 Advance to knockout stage
2 Pachuca 3 2 0 1 0 6 4 +2 7
3 Tigres UANL 3 2 0 0 1 7 4 +3 6
4 Puebla 3 2 0 0 1 6 4 +2 6
5 Juárez 3 1 1 1 0 7 4 +3 6
6 Guadalajara 3 1 1 0 1 4 4 0 5
7 Mazatlán 3 1 1 0 1 3 3 0 5
8 Pumas UNAM 3 1 1 0 1 5 6 1 5
9 Atlético San Luis 3 1 1 0 1 4 6 2 5
10 América 3 0 2 1 0 6 6 0 5
11 Necaxa 3 1 0 1 1 6 8 2 4
12 Cruz Azul 3 0 2 0 1 3 10 7 4
13 Tijuana 3 1 0 0 2 5 8 3 3
14 Monterrey 3 0 1 0 2 3 6 3 2
15 León 3 0 0 1 2 1 4 3 1
16 Querétaro 3 0 0 0 3 1 6 5 0
17 Atlas 3 0 0 0 3 3 9 6 0
18 Santos Laguna 3 0 0 0 3 2 8 6 0
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Source: Leagues Cup

See above for tie-breaking criteria.

Major League Soccer

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Seattle Sounders FC 3 3 0 0 0 11 2 +9 9 Advance to knockout stage
2 Inter Miami CF 3 2 1 0 0 7 4 +3 8
3 LA Galaxy 3 2 0 1 0 10 3 +7 7
4 Orlando City SC 3 2 0 1 0 9 3 +6 7
5 Portland Timbers 3 2 0 1 0 6 1 +5 7
6 Columbus Crew 3 2 0 1 0 6 3 +3 7
7 Real Salt Lake 3 1 1 1 0 5 4 +1 6
8 Los Angeles FC 3 1 1 1 0 4 3 +1 6
9 New York Red Bulls 3 1 1 1 0 3 2 +1 6
10 Minnesota United FC 3 1 0 1 1 7 6 +1 4
11 FC Cincinnati 3 1 0 1 1 6 6 0 4
12 Colorado Rapids 3 1 0 1 1 5 5 0 4
13 Charlotte FC 3 1 0 1 1 5 6 1 4
14 Atlanta United FC 3 1 0 0 2 7 7 0 3
15 San Diego FC 3 1 0 0 2 5 5 0 3
16 New York City FC 3 1 0 0 2 3 5 2 3
17 CF Montréal 3 0 1 0 2 3 5 2 2
18 Houston Dynamo FC 3 0 0 0 3 2 8 6 0
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Source: Leagues Cup

See above for tie-breaking criteria.

Results

Knockout stage

The quarterfinal pairings were determined as follows:[4]

  • MLS 1 vs Liga MX 4
  • MLS 2 vs Liga MX 3
  • MLS 3 vs Liga MX 2
  • MLS 4 vs Liga MX 1

Bracket

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
August 20 – Seattle
 
 
United States Seattle Sounders FC (p)0 (4)
 
August 27 – Carson
 
Mexico Puebla0 (3)
 
United States Seattle Sounders FC2
 
August 20 – Carson
 
United States LA Galaxy0
 
United States LA Galaxy2
 
August 31 – Seattle
 
Mexico Pachuca1
 
United States Seattle Sounders FC3
 
August 20 – Carson
 
United States Inter Miami CF0
 
Mexico Toluca0 (5)
 
August 27 – Fort Lauderdale
 
United States Orlando City SC (p)0 (6)
 
United States Orlando City SC1
 
August 20 – Fort Lauderdale
 
United States Inter Miami CF3 Third place playoff
 
United States Inter Miami CF2
 
August 31 – Carson
 
Mexico Tigres UANL1
 
United States LA Galaxy2
 
 
United States Orlando City SC1
 

Quarterfinals

More information Team 1, Score ...
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Semifinals

More information Team 1, Score ...
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Third place playoff

The winners of the third place playoff qualified as the last seed to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

More information Team 1, Score ...
Third place playoff
Team 1ScoreTeam 2
LA Galaxy United States2–1United States Orlando City SC
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Final

Both clubs that made the final qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, with the winners qualifying directly to the round of 16.

More information Seattle Sounders FC, 3–0 ...
Seattle Sounders FC United States3–0United States Inter Miami CF
Report
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Statistics

Top goalscorers

  Team eliminated for / did not play this round.

References

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