2021 Leagues Cup

2021 Leagues Cup
Tournament details
Dates	August 10 – September 22, 2021
Teams	8 (from 2 associations)
Final positions
Champions	León (1st title)
Runners-up	Seattle Sounders FC
Tournament statistics
Matches played	7
Goals scored	21 (3 per match)
Attendance	98,635 (14,091 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ángel Mena; (3 goals)
	← 2020 2022 Showcase →

The 2021 Leagues Cup was the second edition of the Leagues Cup organized by Major League Soccer (MLS) and Liga MX. The tournament was originally planned to include sixteen teams but was later reduced to eight teams.

The 2020 edition of the tournament was canceled in May 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in North America.^[1] In the final at Allegiant Stadium near Las Vegas, León defeated Seattle Sounders FC 3–2 to win their first title.

Qualification

The top two Major League Soccer teams from each conference in the 2020 season who did not qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League qualified for the Leagues Cup.^[2]

The top four Liga MX from the 2020–21 aggregate table who are not competing in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League semifinals or the 2021 Campeones Cup qualified for the Leagues Cup.^[3]

Major League Soccer (4 berths)
Team	Qualification method
Sporting Kansas City	1st, Western Conference
Orlando City SC	4th, Eastern Conference
Seattle Sounders FC	2nd, Western Conference
New York City FC	5th, Eastern Conference

Liga MX (4 berths)
Team	Qualification method
León	3rd, aggregate table
UANL	5th, aggregate table
Santos Laguna	6th, aggregate table
UNAM	7th, aggregate table

Matchups and schedule

On July 7, 2021, Major League Soccer and Liga MX announced the Leagues Cup schedule as well as the opening round matches.^[4]^[5]

Results

Orlando

Orlando City SC	0
		September 14 – Seattle
Santos Laguna	1
		Santos Laguna	0
August 10 – Seattle
		Seattle Sounders FC	1
Seattle Sounders FC	3
				September 22 – Paradise
UANL	0
				Seattle Sounders FC	2
August 11 – New York City
				León	3
Houston
		UNAM (p)	1 (3)
Kansas City
			León		2
Sporting Kansas City	1

León	6

Quarterfinals

August 12

7:00 p.m. EDT

Orlando City SC	0–1	Santos Laguna
	Report	Otero 30'

Exploria Stadium, Orlando

Attendance: 750

Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras

)

August 11

8:00 p.m. EDT

New York City FC	1–1	UNAM
Castellanos 61'	Report	Rogério 72'
Penalties
Castellanos Tajouri-Shradi Callens Sands Moralez	2–3	Velarde Mozo Lira Galindo Saucedo

Yankee Stadium, New York City

Attendance: 17,276

Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

August 10

7:00 p.m. PDT
(10:00 p.m. EDT)

Seattle Sounders FC	3–0	UANL
Ruidíaz 23' (pen.) Montero 64' Lodeiro 70'	Report

Lumen Field, Seattle

Attendance: 17,077

Referee: John Pitti (Panama)

August 10

7:00 p.m. CDT
(8:00 p.m. EDT)

Sporting Kansas City	1–6	León
Duke 61'	Report	Colombatto 16' Fernández 27', 44' Mena 62' Meneses 72' Dávila 79'

Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City

Attendance: 15,579

Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Semifinals

September 14

7:00 p.m. PDT
(10:00 p.m. EDT)

Seattle Sounders FC	1–0	Santos Laguna
Ruidíaz 90+3'	Report

Seattle

Attendance: 12,201

Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica

)

September 15

7:00 p.m. CDT
(8:00 p.m. EDT)

León	2–0	UNAM
Colombatto 16' Ormeño 68'	Report

Houston

Attendance: 10,928

Referee: Walter López (Guatemala

)

Final

September 22

7:00 p.m. PDT
(10:00 p.m. EDT)

Seattle Sounders FC	2–3	León
C. Roldan 48' Benezet 90+2'	MLS ESPN	Mena 61', 81' (pen.) Gigliotti 85'

Allegiant Stadium, Paradise

Attendance: 24,824

Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Team details

Seattle Sounders FC

León


GK	24	Stefan Frei
DF	28	Yeimar Gómez
DF	3	Xavier Arreaga	10'
DF	27	Shane O'Neill		83'
MF	16	Alex Roldán
MF	6	João Paulo	15'
MF	22	Kelyn Rowe		83'
MF	94	Jimmy Medranda		68'
MF	7	Cristian Roldan	82'
MF	12	Fredy Montero		77'
FW	9	Raúl Ruidíaz	27'
Substitutes:
MF	20	Nicolas Benezet		83'
MF	84	Josh Atencio		83'
DF	11	Brad Smith		68'
FW	17	Will Bruin		77'
Manager:
Brian Schmetzer


GK	1	Rodolfo Cota
DF	4	Andrés Mosquera		59'
DF	21	Jaine Barreiro
DF	6	William Tesillo
DF	24	Osvaldo Rodríguez
MF	25	Omar Fernández		71'
MF	8	José Rodríguez
MF	22	Santiago Colombatto	23'
MF	13	Ángel Mena
FW	7	Víctor Dávila		60'
FW	16	Jean Meneses		60'
Substitutes:
DF	28	David Ramírez		59'
MF	10	Luis Montes	90+3'	71'
FW	20	Emanuel Gigliotti		60'
MF	11	Elías Hernández		60'
Manager:
Ariel Holan

Top goalscorers

Club eliminated for this round.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals	By round
Rank	Player	Club	Goals	QF	SF	F
1	Ángel Mena	León	3	1		2
2	Santiago Colombatto	León	2	1	1
	Omar Fernández	León		2
	Raúl Ruidíaz	Seattle Sounders FC		1	1
5	Nicolas Benezet	Seattle Sounders FC	1			1
	Valentín Castellanos	New York City FC		1
	Víctor Dávila	León		1
	Cameron Duke	Sporting Kansas City		1
	Emmanuel Gigliotti	León				1
	Nicolás Lodeiro	Seattle Sounders FC		1
	Jean Meneses	León		1
	Fredy Montero	Seattle Sounders FC		1
	Santiago Ormeño	León			1
	Juan Ferney Otero	Santos Laguna		1
	Cristian Roldan	Seattle Sounders FC				1
	Rogério	UNAM		1

References

^ "MLS All-Star Game, Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup canceled for 2020" (Press release). Major League Soccer. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
^ Straus, Brian. "MLS Reveals Leagues Cup Participants, Campeones Cup Date". Sports Illustrated.
^ "Tigres, Pumas, León and Santos Laguna set to represent Liga MX in the 2021 Leagues Cup". Leagues Cup. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
^ "2021 Leagues Cup schedule and Liga MX participants announced". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^ "2021 Leagues Cup: Semifinal matchups, locations & times". Major League Soccer. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.

[1] "MLS All-Star Game, Leagues Cup and Campeones Cup canceled for 2020" (Press release). Major League Soccer. May 19, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.

[2] Straus, Brian. "MLS Reveals Leagues Cup Participants, Campeones Cup Date". Sports Illustrated.

[details-3] "Tigres, Pumas, León and Santos Laguna set to represent Liga MX in the 2021 Leagues Cup". Leagues Cup. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.

[4] "2021 Leagues Cup schedule and Liga MX participants announced". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.

[5] "2021 Leagues Cup: Semifinal matchups, locations & times". Major League Soccer. August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.

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