Tata Martino and Josef Martínez Face Reunion with Atlanta United
Inter Miami CF head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, forward Lionel Messi, and midfielder Sergio Busquets have already begun to turn the tide in Miami.
Martino, Messi, and Busquets’ debuts in Leagues Cup 2023 saw the former strike a game-winning, golazo, free-kick goal in stoppage time to secure a 2-1 win over Cruz Azul and put Miami in the driver’s seat to clinch a spot in the knockout round.
With a win tonight (including a win in PKs), Miami will clinch the top spot in the South 3 group and play the winner of the South 2 group (Orlando City, Santos Laguna, or Houston Dynamo FC). However, standing in their way of a potential clinching victory is Tata Martino’s former club, Atlanta United, on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
Martino joined Atlanta as the team’s inaugural season head coach and led Atlanta to an MLS Cup championship in the club’s second year.
Only two players from the Tata-era Atlanta United team remain: goalkeeper Brad Guzan and defender Miles Robinson, both a part of the 2018 MLS Cup-winning team.
In addition to Messi and Busquets, Tata and Miami will square-off against Atlanta with the firepower of former Atlanta United forward Josef Martínez, who built his legacy as one of the league’s best-ever goal scorers while in Atlanta.
Supported by a cast of young Homegrowns in 18-year-old midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi and 19-year-old midfielder David Ruiz, Martino’s Miami squad is already starting to take the shape of what was a winning formula down in Atlanta five years ago.
Old Foes Collide When RSL Hosts Monterrey in West 2
Real Salt Lake and CF Monterrey hold the honor of having competed in one of the most enthralling Concacaf Champions League finals over the last two decades and one in which Monterrey narrowly came out on top after winning the two-legged final by a 3-2 aggregate scoreline in April 2011.
That final was the first of three consecutive titles Monterrey lifted between 2010-2013, in addition to two more won by the club in 2019 and 2021. Since arriving at the club in 2015, forward Rogelio Funes Mori has been at the epicenter of the team’s success, including a continental treble comprised of the 2019 Concacaf Champions Cup, 2019 Apertura, and the 2019-20 Copa MX. His goal-scoring exploits have also seen him become the club’s all-time leading goal scorer with 153 scores across all competitions, surpassing Humberto Suazo’s 121 goals for the club.
RSL are hoping to have found their own lethal goal scorer in Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango, who scored in both his club and Leagues Cup 2023 debuts. Arango established himself as a Golden Boot contender while with LAFC between 2021-22 and will likely be a frontrunner for the award in this tournament if RSL can make a deep run. The Colombian forward will also be reliant on the service of 19-year-old Diego Luna and star winger Jefferson Savarino from the wings to bang in the goals throughout the club’s Leagues Cup 2023 run.
Only one of these teams will come out on top when they meet on Wednesday, July 26 (MLS Season Pass, 9:30 p.m. ET).
League Leaders Meet in Central 3 Rematch
Chivas Guadalajara holds the only undefeated record in LIGA MX to start the 2023 Apertura and owns a league-leading goal differential of plus-five. Across the border, the top team in MLS, FC Cincinnati, owns a 15-2-6 record and sits atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with 51 points, eight ahead of the next closest team.
As fate would have it, the two teams will meet in the group stage of Leagues Cup 2023. Yet, it isn’t just a matchup: it’s a rematch. The two clubs squared off against each other in the 2022 Leagues Cup Showcase, where the Orange and Blue used three second half goals to soar over Chivas, 3-1.
Luciano Acosta, July’s MLS Player of the Month, and Cincinnati will clash with Fernando Beltran (two goals in three matches) and Chivas Guadalajara on Thursday, July 27 at 8 p.m. ET (MLS Season Pass).
Busquets Shines in Inter Miami Debut
Entering the club’s inaugural Leagues Cup 2023 match alongside Lionel Messi and Josef Martínez in the 54th minute, Inter Miami CF midfielder Sergio Busquets also had an MLS debut to remember, pulling the strings for the Herons second-half attack.
In a 2-1 victory over LIGA MX’s Cruz Azul, the Spanish Designated Player utilized a precision passing attack, completing 93.8 percent of his passes (30 of 32) in just 36 minutes of action. Busquets calm and composed distribution led to a direct shift in the Inter Miami offense, as he consistently drove the ball into opponent territory with 20 forward zone passes and two total attacking assists (Watch Here). As Busquets continues to integrate into the club’s attack, Miami will look to reap the benefits of their sensational distributor as they chase the first trophy in team history.
The former FC Barcelona duo of Busquets and Messi will look to build upon their dynamic debuts as they face off against MLS opponent Atlanta United at DRV PNK Stadium on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
The Odds
Leagues Cup Group Stage pits Davids vs. Goliaths
From Lionel Messi’s 94th minute winner to an astonishing six games already reaching penalty shootouts, Leagues Cup has been nothing short of thrilling through its first few matchdays. Seedings were handed out based on finishes in league standings during the 2022 season, and in doing so, has matched up some of the top teams from MLS against the bottom teams in LIGA MX, and vice versa. The ‘David and Goliath’ matchups began on Saturday, July 22nd , when Montreal (MLS No. 2) took down Pumas (LIGA MX No. 14) 2-2 (4-2) in an exhilarating penalty shootout. Philadelphia (MLS No. 1) took care of business against Tijuana (LIGA MX No. 15).
Top Seeded MLS Clubs
The top-seeded team from MLS in group play, the Philadelphia Union, will get another favorable matchup in the group stage when they take on Querétaro, the club that finished at the bottom of LIGA MX standings.
On Saturday, July 29th, FC Juárez (LIGA MX No. 16) will travel to take on Austin FC (MLS No. 3) in another underdog situation. Juárez, for all of their troubles last year, have been on a tear recently. Through the club’s first three LIGA MX matches this season, the club has produced a league-best seven goals en route to two wins and a draw. Austin will look to bounce back after a falling at the hands of 13-seeded Mazatlán, who knocked back a triad of second-half goals in the 3-1 road victory.
Top Seed LIGA MX Clubs
On the opposite end of the table, MLS will look to issue some group stage theatrics as its lower-seeded teams take the pitch against the LIGA MX heavyweights. St. Louis City SC (MLS No. 28) will attempt to scale the mountain that is Club América (LIGA MX No. 1). While St. Louis earned its position due to its status as an expansion team in MLS, it currently sits atop the leauge’s Western Conference midway through their inaugural season. The matchup projects to be an exhilarating one between two of the tournament’s best.
Another matchup will pit Tigres UANL (LIGA MX No. 2) against the San Jose Earthquakes (MLS No. 25). Still, the game projects to be another exciting one, as San Jose has enjoyed success thus far in 2023, currently sitting sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 8-7-8. Tigres, who have secured a win and two draws through the first three game of their LIGA MX league play, will look to ensure their advancement to the knockout round against the Earthquakes.
How To Cover Leagues Cup 2023
Media interested in covering the inaugural edition of Leagues Cup 2023 –an official Concacaf competition featuring all 47 clubs (18 from LIGA MX, 29 from MLS) in a World Cup-style tournament can access media resources, by visiting LeaguesCup.com/Media-Resources . The champion and the second and third-place finishers will qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup and have an opportunity to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Schedules and Information
- Leagues Cup 2023 Match Schedule | CLICK HERE
- Official Press Conference Schedules (including zoom Links) | CLICK HERE
- Leagues Cup 2023 Game Sheets | CLICK HERE
- Leagues Cup 2023 Press Releases | CLICK HERE
- Leagues Cup 2023 Tournament Regulation and Media Policies | CLICK HERE
- Tournament Media Contacts | CLICK HERE
Media Accreditation
The online media credential applications for each match is accepting requests at the following link: Leagues Cup Credential Application System
Media Assets
Click here for Leagues Cup 2023 assets. To watch the Leagues Cup explainer video, click here.
For TV networks and affiliates interested in highlights for use during news windows only, please sign up here in advance of the tournament: https://mls.imagencloud.com/
For any media interested in Leagues Cup highlights outside the news window, please contact Juliana Rodriguez ( Juliana.Rodriguez@MLSsoccer.com )
How to Watch
Fans in over 100 countries and regions can watch Leagues Cup matches on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, the subscription service from Apple and MLS that is available on smart TVs, streaming devices, Apple devices, set-top boxes, game consoles, and the web at tv.apple.com. In addition, TelevisaUnivision , FOX Sports, TSN and RDS will be the linear broadcast home for 15 group stage matches in the United States and Canada.
