**Chivas de Guadalajara** will begin their **Leagues Cup 2023** campaign on Thursday 27 July, when they take on FC Cincinnati in the second match-up of the Central 2 group. The duel will feature one of Major League Soccer’s star strikers - one who had to decide between representing either the United States or Mexico at international level, and who goes by the name of Brandon Vázquez.
FC Cincinnati striker has US nationality and his parents are Mexican, so he had the chance to turn out for Tri. However, Mexico never made a move, so he instead decided to represent his country of birth.
He has played a total of eight games with the United States senior national team and scored four times. He was also called up to the squad that played at the last Gold Cup.
His first time playing against a Mexican team
The clash against Chivas will be the first time that Vázquez takes on a LIGA MX outfit, and recent events have raised the anticipation for the match.
During the last transfer window, Vázquez saw the Rojiblancos reach out to him informally to enquire about the possibility of a move to the Mexican team. However, he quickly turned down this opportunity as he wanted to carry on playing in MLS, before potentially making the jump to Europe.
In any case, ahead of the game, the forward insists that facing Chivas will be no simple task: “This Chivas has a great team, so we know it’s not going to be easy, but we’re ready for the challenge”, he told TUDN.
He was then asked about whether MLS teams currently have the edge over their LIGA MX counterparts: “I don’t have a definitive answer, but I think this tournament also has to be watched. Many teams are at the same level, this is why we have these kinds of competitions - that way we have quality matches”.
Cincinnati kicked off their Leagues Cup campaign with a win on penalties against Sporting Kansas City after a dramatic 90 minutes. The game had ended 3-3 in regulation time, with Vázquez himself scoring his team’s second.
