The Colorado Rapids and Club León meet for the last spot in the knockout round from West 5 up for grabs on Monday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.
Portland Timbers sealed first place in the group lead with wins over Colorado and León. That means the winner of Monday’s encounter, outright or on penalties, will secure second place and the qualification to the Round of 32 while the other is eliminated.
“As players and coaches, these are the games you want to be in,” said Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas. “These are the games that you sign up for when you want to become a professional athlete. Is the ones you want to coach, when you become a professional coach. The decisive games, the ones that, you win, you move on.”
The Rapids entered the League Cup with a 12W-9L-5T record in MLS, 7th in the Western Conference, in Armas's first season with the club. At home, the team boasts an 8W-2L-3T record in league play.
Colorado fell 4-nil at the Timbers in their Leagues Cup opener. While the team was disappointed, the talk after the match was focused on the opportunity to still advance.
“The messaging after the game in Portland was, no matter what, we were going to have to come back here and get a result anyway against León,” said Colorado Rapids defender Keegan Rosenberry. “I think we were always going to have the same mentality coming into this match and, no matter the opponent. We come back home, into the building with our fans, confident and excited to perform.”
Club Leon arrived at the tournament with a 1W-1D-2L record in Liga MX to start the Apertura 2024 season. At Portland, the team fell 2-1 on a 90th minute goal conceded from a free kick.
“Obviously, how we lose is an aspect that we had to be more thorough and work on more,” said Club Leon head coach Jorge Bava. “Because the previous game at home before coming here had not happened, where we lost points due to dead ball plays, which we have to improve.”
Bava has personal experience in MLS, as a former goalkeeper for the Chicago Fire during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Leon just missed the Apertura 2024 playoffs, in the Uruguayan manager’s first season in charge, and look to take another step towards challenging for a title with a squad that includes former Mexico national team captain Andrés Guardado.
“I believe that this team is improving significantly,” said León defender Stiven Barreiro. “We have been working very well, and we hope that tomorrow we will all be at 100 percent, and we can give a victory to ourselves and to the people who always support us.”
