This year’s edition of Leagues Cup, the tournament that brings together North American soccer, will be kicking off on July 21. A new format will see the competition reach new heights, as all 47 MLS and Liga MX teams are involved over the course of a month, in which 77 games will be played.
With the final taking place on August 19, the revamped competition - which is beginning its third edition - will be played out in 28 different venues - 25 stadiums in the United States and 3 in Canada.
More specifically, the teams have been divided into 15 groups of three, and have been seeded based on their league finishes from last season and then divided up by regions. The first two teams in every pool will go through to the knockout stages. Should a match end in a draw, the result will be decided via a penalty shoot-out - where the winner will receive two points (instead of three otherwise), and the loser will get one (instead of none otherwise)
The two champions - Los Angeles FC and Club Pachuca - have been handed a bye directly into the Round of 32.
Which clubs make up the Central 1 group?
The group will be made up of SC Club América, Columbus Crew, and St. Louis CITY.
When will the Central 1 group matches be played?
Columbus Crew vs St. Louis CITY - Lower.com Field | July 23 | 19:30 hrs. ET (17:30 hrs. de CDMX)
SC Club América vs St. Louis CITY - Citypark | July 27 | 21:00 hrs. ET (19:00 hrs. de CDMX)
Club América vs Columbus Crew - Lower.com Field | July 31 | 19:00 hrs. ET (17:00 hrs. de CDMX)
Who are the players to watch in Central 1?
Club América: Jonathan Dos Santos, Henry Martin, Diego Valdés
Columbus Crew: Lucas Zelarayán, Christian Ramírez, Yaw Yeboah
St. Louis CITY SC: Nicholas Gioacchini, Jared Stroud, Roman Bürki
How were the Leagues Cup groups formed?
The teams in both MLS and LIGA MX who finished between 2nd place and 16th overall were placed into pools in reverse order. This means that second place in MLS would face 16th in LIGA MX, and vice versa. The remaining teams have been drawn to form the 3-team groups, which were then divided into general geographic regions.
When will the 2023 Leagues Cup rounds be played?
Group stage: July 21-31
Round of 32: August 2-4
Round of 16: August 6-8
Quarterfinals: August 11-12
Semifinals: August 15
Final: August 19
