SAN JOSE, Calif.– The San Jose Earthquakes will compete in the inaugural Leagues Cup this week, a competition between all the teams in Major League Soccer and Liga MX. Drawn into the West 1 Group, the Earthquakes will open against MLS side the Portland Timbers this Saturday, July 22 (7 p.m. PT) at Providence Park. San Jose then hosts Liga MX side Tigres UANL on Sunday, July 30 (8 p.m. PT) at PayPal Park. Tickets for the Earthquakes first-ever Leagues Cup home match can be purchased here.
Both matches will be streamed globally on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, and well as broadcasted live on FS1 and Univision.
The Earthquakes will hold a watch party at PayPal Park for the club’s opening match against Portland. The event will take place in the Epicenter fan zone starting at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday. Activations will include live music, food trucks, specialty cocktails, pick up soccer at the Mini Pitch and more. The first 200 fans to arrive will receive Leagues Cup T-shirts. To RSVP for the watch party, click here.
San Jose will then host the 2023 Liga MX Clausura champions Tigres UANL next Sunday in the final group stage match. This match will mark the first time the Earthquakes and Tigres play each other.
Additionally, fans are able to watch all Leagues Cup matches at Jack’s in San Jose, which will serve as the official hub for the Leagues Cup tournament.
What is Leagues Cup
Beginning this week, Major League Soccer and LIGA MX will pause their respective league seasons and compete in Leagues Cup, an official Concacaf competition to be played across the U.S. and Canada. The inaugural edition will see all 47 clubs (18 from LIGA MX, 29 from MLS) compete in a World Cup-style tournament from July 21 - August 19, 2023.
Tournament Rewards
The Leagues Cup champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions League and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Group Stages
The tournament’s group stage will open with 15 groups divided into four regions and three teams per group. Each club will play a minimum of two matches in the group stage, and the top two teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32. LAFC, the winner of the 2022 MLS Cup, and C.F. Pachuca, the club with the most points across Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2023, will bypass the group stage and have automatic spots in the Round of 32.
There will be no ties in the group stages. Each team will receive one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes, and the winner of the subsequent penalty shootout will earn an additional point. The Earthquakes will compete with the Portland Timbers and Tigres UANL in Group West 1 for a spot in the Round of 32.
Knockout Rounds
The knockout rounds will feature single game elimination to move on to the next round, beginning with the round of 32, with 4 games in each region for a total of 16 matches. The winners from the round of 32 will face off in the round of 16 looking for a chance to compete in the quarterfinals. MLS clubs will host in the knockout rounds if facing a Liga MX club. For matches between two MLS clubs, the higher seeded club based on their 2022 regular season performance will host. If two Liga MX teams face off, they’ll be assigned a regional match site by the organizing committee.
The losers of the semifinal matches will compete in a third-place match. The winners of the semifinals will compete in the Leagues Cup Final on Saturday, August 19.
To learn more about Leagues Cup, click here.
