With Leagues Cup bringing together the best of Major League Soccer and LIGA MX, there are dozens and dozens of top players who will look to push their team past fellow North American contenders and into the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
You probably already are familiar with the biggest names: Lionel Messi, last year’s Leagues Cup top scorer with Inter Miami; Andre-Pierre Gignac, Tigres’ legendary French striker; Lucho Acosta, the reigning MLS MVP with FC Cincinnati who also played in LIGA MX, Jonathan dos Santos, the LA Galaxy ex who has helped Club América to back-to-back titles.
While those superstars will shine brightly this summer, here are a few players who may be under the radar to fans of one league or another but will draw the eye during Leagues Cup:
Gabriel Pec (LA Galaxy)
The 23-year-old winger arrived from Vasco da Gama of his native Brazil in the winter and already looks more than comfortable with life in MLS. In 24 matches played for the Galaxy, he has nine goals and 10 assists, plus he’s dazzled fans with the skill moves he displays wide to try to beat defenders one-v-one.
Pec is getting hot at the right time as well. Four of his goals and three assists have come in the last six matches.
Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati)
What is Vélez Sarsfield doing when it comes to youth development? Whatever it is, it’s working. Orellano joins a line of recent standouts from the Buenos Aires club’s academy that also includes Thiago Almada and Alvaro Barreal — and like those players he’s liable to put in a jaw-dropping goal that will rack up the YouTube views any time he’s on the field.
One of the most interesting parts of Orellano’s game is his versatility. He could be deployed as the left wingback, the right winger or somewhere in between. All you need to know is to keep an eye on him. Something fun is about to happen.
Uriel Antuna (Cruz Azul)
Since his stint with the LA Galaxy, Antuna has been back in LIGA MX. But he hasn’t been content to simply be a LIGA MX starter. Antuna became the league’s top scorer helping Cruz Azul to the final of the most recent season.
That has drawn interest from clubs in Europe who are interested in seeing him return after his time in the Netherlands on loan from City Football Group. So far, though, it looks like Antuna will once again be suiting up for Cruz Azul in Leagues Cup, bombing down the wing to score for himself and set up new forward Giorgos Giakoumakis.
Moise Bombito (Colorado Rapids)
Bombito has enjoyed a quick rise from college player and draft pick ahead of the 2023 season to a regular starter for Canada and a player with interest coming from abroad. That rise is even more remarkable when recalling that Bombito didn’t even make his MLS debut until May 2023, weeks into the season, because of an MCL tear suffered before the campaign.
It certainly doesn’t seem to have slowed him, with the Montreal native ready to step into Leagues Cup as a cornerstone and hopefully make a deep run rather than the 121 minutes he saw last competition.
Cade Cowell (Chivas)
A Northern California native who will be back in his home state during Leagues Cup, Cowell is off to a great start with Fernando Gago’s Chivas this campaign. He scored in two of the first three matches of the Apertura and no doubt will have something to prove in front of familiar faces when he meets the San Jose Earthquakes, the team where he developed.
After starting life in Guadalajara being asked to play as a central forward, a fit Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has allowed Cowell to move back to the wing, where he’s most comfortable. It’s shown, with the 20-year-old continuing to play more and more of a part in Chivas’ attack.
Andrés Gómez (Real Salt Lake)
Others understandably have stolen the show in Real Salt Lake’s attack this season. Chicho Arango leads MLS in goals with 17. Diego Luna’s vibrant playmaking has led to a dozen assists. Yet, Gomez’s numbers are hardly anything to sneeze at.
The Colombian has 11 goals and nine assists — both top 20 marks in the league. Even if his huge improvement from 2023 to this season hasn’t made international headlines, Gomez did draw the attention of national team manager Nestor Lorenzo, who brought him in for a pair of March friendly matches before the Cafeteros’ run to the Copa America final this summer. Tear it up in Leagues Cup, and Gómez may find himself included in World Cup qualification rosters this fall
Guido Pizarro (Tigres)
Pizarro is a familiar name to long-time soccer fans in the Americas but may be in an unfamiliar position. After many years in the midfield, Pizarro has slid back into a role as a center back for Tigres, with new manager Veljko Paunović continuing to deploy the Argentine in his back line.
Why wouldn’t he? Pizarro is sure in defense and makes it easier to get the team’s attacking contingent on the field. He performed so well as a defender last season, he earned the award for Best Defender at LIGA MX’s annual Balón de Oro ceremony.
Christian Benteke (D.C. United)
The tall Belgian forward likely is a familiar name to fans of the English Premier League thanks to his spells with Aston Villa, Liverpool and Crystal Palace, but he’s now scoring goals in MLS. In fact, he heads into the Leagues Cup second in the league with 16 goals scored this season.
He’s already eclipsed the 14 goals he scored last season and matched the four assists by becoming more efficient with his finishing and sharper with his passing.
Lucas Cavallini (Puebla)
The Canadian forward is a veteran of both LIGA MX and MLS, joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2020 before returning to Mexico in 2023 with Club Tijuana. Now back at the familiar confines of former club Puebla, Cavallini is working to get back into the national team picture as Canada continues its new era under manager Jesse Marsch.
While the coach’s attacking options are plentiful, four goals in four matches for La Franja to open the Apertura shows the 31-year-old “Tanque” still has something in the tank.
