By Miguel Rapetti
Jan 31, 2024, 17:12 PM EST
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the MLS will defend its title in the Leagues Cup that it won in 2023 against the runner-up of the Liga MX Clausura tournament, Tigres de la UANL, after the groups for the 2024 edition of the competition were announced. It will be held from July 26 to August 25 in the United States and Canada.
A statement published on social networks by the organization reported that Inter Miami will share in its Este 3 group with two Hispanic teams, the UANL’s own Tigres, as well as Puebla, both with considerable experience within the Mexican league.
David Beckham’s team, the Más brothers and company, were able to win the 2023 edition precisely thanks to the Albiceleste’s number 10, who since he landed on the team ended up boosting it with key goals and assists, which ultimately ended up meaning the first title in the history of the young MLS team.
Although the competition will maintain its usual format of groups of three teams, on this occasion these will be divided by region to help the teams not be affected by the excessive schedule, as well as to avoid very distant trips.
This gave rise to interesting pairings such as the West 2 group that will have San Jose Earthquakes, Chivas de Guadalajara and Los Angeles Galaxy, in what will be the return of Chicharito Hernández to the club where he made history in the MLS after having signed recently with the Sacred Flock.
New York Red Bulls and New York City FC also have their pairings
The New York teams were also part of the draw, although in the case of the New York Red Bulls they were much more fortunate than New York City FC in terms of pairings.
In the case of New York City FC, which will enjoy the talent of Argentine Julián Fernández from 2024, it was paired with the champion of the MLS Supporters’ Shield in 2023, FC Cincinnati, in addition to the Mexican Querétaro as part of the East 1 group
For its part, the New York Red Bulls will share the East 6 with Canadian Toronto FC and Pachuca, champion of the Apertura tournament in 2022.
The characteristic rules of the Leagues Cup will remain the same
One of the peculiarities of the Leagues Cup is that it has an initial format with a group stage but this does not allow ties and instead the winner of the match is determined from the penalty spot.
The clubs that manage to secure victory within the usual 90 minutes will add three points as is usual in any football tournament, but those that equal will be distributed one unit each and the remaining will be assigned to the winner of the round from 11 Steps.
Likewise, the competition on this occasion will distribute three places for the Concacaf Champions League in 2025, while there will be home field priority for the best-ranked clubs in the Liga MX.
“Club América (current Liga MX champion) will play its home games until the semifinals. Monterrey (No. 1 in the ranking) until the quarterfinals. Chivas de Guadalajara (No. 4 in the ranking) until the round of 16 and Tigres de la UANL (No. 6 in the ranking) will have their two home games in the group stage,” indicated the organization of the event.
Likewise, they confirmed that the champions of both leagues, Columbus Crew (MLS) and the Águilas, will begin the tournament directly from the round of 16.
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