2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Spots on the line Tuesday
With Leagues Cup 2023 Semifinals kicking off on Tuesday, three MLS teams are just one win away from clinching their place in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Additionally, at least one MLS club will have the opportunity to earn a spot in the Round of 16 of the international club tournament by winning Leagues Cup 2023.
For the Philadelphia Union, defeating Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi on Tuesday evening would secure a second consecutive appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup for the first time in club history. Philadelphia is the only MLS team to reach the semifinals of the Champions Cup in two of the past three editions (2021 and 2023).
Nashville SC and Inter Miami could each qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup for the first time in their clubs’ histories with a win. Both teams entered MLS in 2020 and now have a chance to get their first tastes of Concacaf’s most prestigious competition with some of the biggest stars in MLS in Lionel Messi and Hany Mukhtar hoping to lead them to their competition debuts.
Currently, Vancouver Whitecaps FC – winners of the 2023 Canadian Championship – will be joined by at least two MLS teams to the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Depending on the results of the final four matches of Leagues Cup 2023, MLS will lead all leagues with either nine or 10 clubs in next year’s edition of the Champions Cup.
Stage Set for the Semifinals
The stage has been set for the final four teams remaining in Leagues Cup 2023, as MLS’ Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC, and Philadelphia Union, and LIGA MX’s C.F. Monterrey are all on the hunt for two more wins to become the Leagues Cup 2023 champion.
Philadelphia will once again turn to its home fortress – Subaru Park – as they look to become the first club in Leagues Cup to slow the Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami squad. The Union have won their last 10 home matches and are unbeaten in their last 15 matches at Subaru Park across all competitions, while allowing just four goals across five Leagues Cup matches. Their steadfast defensive unit will look to slow Messi, who has a competition-high eight goals in five games, and an Inter Miami attack that leads Leagues Cup with 17 goals scored – three more than the next closest team.
In one of the biggest games in Nashville SC’s brief history, the club will welcome LIGA MX giant C.F. Monterrey to GEODIS Park with a berth in the final and a shot at the club’s first trophy on the line. Nashville newcomer Sam Surridge, who signed as a Designated Player from Nottingham Forest in July 2023, has scored in each of his first two matches with the club, while reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar recaptured his peak form in the club’s 5-0 quarterfinal victory over Minnesota United FC, recording a trio of assists and scoring once in the win. The only club standing in the way of an all-MLS final is Monterrey, who dramatically erased a two-goal second-half deficit against reigning MLS Cup champion LAFC to earn a 3-2 victory and a berth in the semifinals.
Messi and Miami Eye First Piece of Silverware
Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi has won a trophy in his first seasons with both of his two previous clubs – FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) – but a victory in Leagues Cup 2023 could mark the fastest title the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has claimed with a new club.
A month after Messi’s unveiling at DRV PNK Stadium, the Argentine has lifted Miami to the semifinals of Leagues Cup. If Messi were to hoist the Leagues Cup 2023 trophy, it would be the fastest he’s ever won his first title with a new club while also securing Miami’s first-ever trophy and subsequently their inaugural qualification to the Concacaf Champions Cup.
As the tournament’s leading goal scorer with eight goals through five games, it’s almost guaranteed Messi will have something to say when it comes to the scoreline, but the Philadelphia Union will revel in the challenge of stopping him. Miami will need to beat the Union, who have lost just four times at home since 2020, in their semifinal match up on Tuesday, August 15 (MLS Season Pass, 7 p.m. ET) at Subaru Park.
Inter Miami head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, though, has no fear at Subaru Park, as he previously coached Atlanta United to an undefeated 1-0-1 record in Philadelphia between 2017-18. As his Miami team continues to take shape and Messi’s goal-scoring touch keeps finding the back of the net, this could be an opportunity for the Herons to post a rare win as a visitor at Subaru Park and punch their ticket to the Leagues Cup 2023 Final.
MLS Returns to Regular Season Play
After a pause for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game and Leagues Cup 2023, 22 MLS clubs return to action this Sunday, August 20.
All 29 MLS clubs have between 10-12 games remaining in regular season play, culminating on October 21 - Decision Day 2023. FC Cincinnati, behind the play of Luciano "Lucho" Acosta, leads the Supporters’ Shield race with 51 points through 23 games played. Acosta has started every match since June 21 for FC Cincinnati, playing a team-high 808 minutes during those games.
Four teams (CF Montréal, the New York Red Bulls, Charlotte FC, New York City FC) are separated by only four points in the push for the ninth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, with D.C. United currently holding the ninth seed with 30 points through 24 games. Additionally, a Lionel Messi-led Inter Miami CF team will look to overcome a difficult stretch of form prior to Leagues Cup 2023 to put their name in the running for a playoff position.
In Western Conference play, expansion club St. Louis CITY SC maintains a four-point lead as the conference’s top seed while five clubs (FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, Minnesota United FC, Sporting Kansas City, and the Portland Timbers) are separated by four points between the eighth and 12th place.
NOTE: Several matches originally scheduled for Saturday, August 20 have been rescheduled due to MLS teams advancing in Leagues Cup 2023:
- The Philadelphia Union will host FC Dallas on Wednesday, September 27, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET.
- Nashville SC will face the New England Revolution on Saturday, October 14, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
- Inter Miami CF’s match against Charlotte FC has been postponed to a date to be determined.
MLS NEXT Standouts Help U.S. Capture Concacaf Under-15 Championship Crown
On Sunday, the U.S. U-15 Men’s Youth National Team defeated Mexico, 4-2, to win the 2023 Concacaf Boys’ Under-15 Championship, marking the first time the U.S. has won the tournament. All 18 players on the U.S. roster compete for MLS NEXT academies, representing nine different MLS clubs. The U.S. won all six of their matches by an aggregate score of 26-5.
Multiple MLS NEXT standouts helped the U.S. earn the trophy, including the Philadelphia Union’s Cavan Sullivan, who earned the Best Player Award for the tournament after scoring four goals. Three other notable MLS NEXT players for the U.S. included:
- Julian Hall (New York Red Bulls): A 2023 MLS NEXT Cup champion and earned MVP presented by adidas honors.
- Tanner Rosborough (New York Red Bulls): Won the 2023 MLS NEXT Cup championship and scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time of the final.
- William Mackay (Real Salt Lake): Earned 2022 MLS NEXT Cup Best Goalkeeper presented by Allstate honors after helping RSL to an appearance in the U-15 finals.
First Two Playoff Spots Clinched in MLS NEXT Pro
With MLS NEXT Pro's Decision Day approaching on September 24, the first two spots in the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs have been clinched. Crown Legacy FC (15-4-3, 50 points) and Colorado Rapids 2 (14-3-5, 51 points) currently sit atop the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively, and on Sunday became the first teams to clinch playoff spots in 2023.
Crown Legacy FC needed a stoppage time goal from Iuri Tavares (90’+1’) to secure a 1-0 win at home over visiting Huntsville City FC. Later Sunday night on the other side of the country, Colorado Rapids 2 converted two penalty kicks to defeat Tacoma Defiance, 3-1.
The clubs are two of the 14 that will qualify for the playoffs in 2023. This season will feature an expanded playoff format that includes a pick-your-opponent element in the first two rounds.
Within each conference, the two division champions and the five clubs with the next highest points (seven clubs total) will advance to the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. The playoffs will consist of three rounds, taking place over four consecutive weeks beginning the weekend of September 29, culminating in MLS NEXT Pro Cup on October 22.
Complete details on the race to the playoffs are available at mlsnextpro.com.
