Leagues Cup lands in Snapdragon Stadium as San Diego FC faces Mazatlán in final Phase 1 match
(FOX 5/KUSI)-- The Leagues Cup is back this summer and more competitive than ever, as the San Diego FC expansion club is participating in the summer tournament for the first time in the franchise's young history.
The club will be taking on Mazatlán FC Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Snapdragon Stadium, and it will be the third and final game of Phase 1 of the tournament for both teams. The standings from Phase 1 will determine the seeding for the Knockout Phase.
The tournament hasn't been easy for the San Diego FC, as the club is 0-2 in its first two Phase 1 matches of the tournament, allowing five goals in its first two games, and has technically already been eliminated from qualifying for the Knockout Round.
It won't get any easier for San Diego as they prepare to take on the third-seed of the LIGA MX league in the tournament, Mazatlán FC, who aim to secure their spot in the Knockout Stage with a win at Snapdragon Stadium on Tuesday.
It would mark Mazatlán's third straight Leagues Cup victory, after defeating Los Angeles FC on July 29 and Houston on Aug. 1.
When Phase 1 is complete, the four top-seeded clubs from each of the two leagues will move on to the Knockout Phase, while the winner of the entire tournament will directly qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16.
While San Diego may officially be eliminated from the tournament, not all hope is lost for the club. This could lead to an opportunity for the team to implement some changes in its lineup and experiment with its young talent.
San Diego will also be getting its playmaking forward and leading scorer, Anders Dreyer, back from a one-game suspension.
Also, San Diego sits atop the MLS Western Conference with 46 points through 25 games in the regular-season standings.
The Leagues Cup consists of 36 clubs, with 18 teams coming from LIGA MX, and the other 18 teams are those that qualified for the 2024 MLS Playoffs. The 36 clubs are divided into two regions: East and West, and three tiers based on regular-season performance.
