The stage is set for the semi-finals of the 2026 Leagues Cup where for the first time, in its new format, a Liga MX club will win the tournament. Toluca, Monterrey, Club León and Club América overcame the obstacle of homefield advantage for the MLS side after dominant performances in the quarter-finals. Let’s take a look at the upcoming games.
Toluca vs. Club León
Toluca is coming off a successful year in football after winning back-to-back Liga MX titles during the 2025 year. They may have not won
a third consecutive league title, but they have shown that they aren’t slowing down any time soon. Currently, they sit in second place in league play having scored 12 goals over six games. Then they came into the Leagues Cup where they won two of their group stage matches and only suffered one loss which was enough to move them onto the quarter-finals. There they met Austin, who had yet to lose a match in the competition. However, that was not enough as Toluca was able to dominate the MLS club who over the course of 90 minutes did not have a single shot on target compared to Toluca’s eight. Now Toluca has a chance to add another piece of silverware to their cabinet if they can make it to the final.
Club León making it to the semi-finals of the Leagues Cup has been surprising. It’s surprising because León is a club that has sadly under performed over the years in league play, yet they are close to reaching a final. Many fans had hope that the team was going to turn things around when Colombian James Rodriguez signed for the team back in January 2025. The superstar addition did seem to give some temporary relief but then the team slumped back down to the form fans are used to. Then play started in the Leagues Cup and León has over-performed. They have yet to lose a single game and have scored nine goals while only allowing two into their net. They even won games where on paper they were destined to fail yet they pulled the upset. This is a team that has pushed through every game and only have Toluca standing in the way of winning a second Leagues Cup trophy, their first in the new format.
Club América vs. Monterrey
After two years of success Club América has slowly come undone, or so everyone thought. Countless reports of a team in chaos have been running rampant since the beginning of the year but now that’s not the case. The Aguilas went from barely making the liguilla to now sitting at the top of the league after six games. They may not have superstar talent anymore but their new head coach Guillermo Almada has gotten them back to the top. If they could make their way to the finals and win the competition, it would prove just how wrong everyone was about the collapse of a historic team.
Monterrey did not have the best start to the Leagues Cup after a narrow loss in the first game of the competition. Since then they have not lost a game and they make their way to the semi-finals on a three-game win streak. Now, those three games weren’t won in the most dominant fashion as they had to dig deep for those wins. They were even out-possessed in most of their games but they did more with the few chances they had. At the end of the day winning a football match is about who makes the most out of their chances even if they had a terrible game. While they have not been performing well in Liga MX, this competition is a chance to prove to the world they are a ‘grande’ team.
So, Mexican fans, who do you believe will make it to the finals of the Leagues Cup? Will it be the two superstar teams or will the dark horses make their way to the final of the Leagues Cup? Enjoy the games!
