Club América, Chicago Fire clinch Leagues Cup Quarterfinal berths
Club América and Chicago Fire FC clinch places in the Quarterfinals as the final Phase One matches determine the eight teams advancing.
MIAMI –2026 Leagues Cup action continued on Thursday with five matches to conclude Phase One. Club America and Chicago FC secured their spots in the Quarterfinals, while Santos, Necaxa and Portland left the competition with victories.
Philadelphia Union 0-2 Club Santos Laguna
Club Santos Laguna earned its first win of the competition with a 2-0 victory over MLS side Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, closing out its Leagues Cup 2026 participation.
Ramiro Sordo opened the scoring for the Liga MX side, sending a header into the back of the net in the 48’. Ezequiel Bullaude doubled Santos' lead in the 52’ with a right-footed shot from inside the box.
Santos Laguna finished Phase One in 10th place among Liga MX sides, while Philadelphia Union closed its participation in the competition in 17th place among the MLS teams.
New York City FC 1-2 Club Necaxa
Club Necaxa came from behind to secure a 1-2 win against New York City FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey.
The hosts scored the first goal of the night in the 37’ when Keaton Parks collected possession in the box following a corner kick and fired a shot past goalkeeper Luis Jimenez.
Necaxa kept pushing to even things out, finding the equalizer in the 58’ when Juan Valencia struck a right-footed shot from the edge of the box. Juan Torres completed the comeback for the Liga MX team with a winner in the 79’.
Club America 1 (5) – 1 (6) Austin FC
Club America and Austin FC played to a 1-1 draw in regulation, with the MLS side taking the extra point after a 5-6 penalty shootout win at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.
An own goal by Jon Gallagher gave Las Aguilas the lead in the 49’. Austin FC managed to even proceedings in the 67’ thanks to a powerful right-footed shot by Myrto Uzuni, sending the match to a penalty shootout.
Austin FC secured the extra point after Cristian Borjas failed to score the last attempt for Club America. The result was enough to see both teams qualify for the Quarterfinals of Leagues Cup 2026.
Cruz Azul 1-2 Chicago FC
Chicago FC secured a home win and a spot in the Quarterfinals with a 1-2 win over Cruz Azul at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.
Puso Dithejane was the star of the night, scoring his first goal in the 67’. Nicolas Ibañez found an equalizer for La Máquina in the 81’ with a shot from outside of the box.
Dithejane secured a brace and the win for Chicago Fire FC in the 90+3' with a strike from close range. With this result, the MLS side qualified for the Quarterfinals of the tournament, while Cruz Azul was eliminated.
Portland Timbers 3-1 Club Tijuana
Portland Timbers bounced back from defeat to earn a 3-1 win against Tijuana at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.
Mourad El Ghezouani opened the scoring on the night, netting for Tijuana in the 19’.
The hosts found an equalizer in the 40’ through a left-footed shot in the box by Kevin Kelsy. Antony scored the second goal for Portland in the 64’. Ariel Lassiter completed the comeback for the MLS side in the 76’ with a left-footed shot in the box.
