Leagues Cup Wednesday Preview: LAFC still in the Hunt | OneFootball

My colleague Alejandro Orellana drew the short straw and wrote about the really important Wednesday matches. You can read about them here. That, of course, means I get the rest, a landscape of dead rubbers and pointless fixtures. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun!

Orlando City vs. Atlético de San Luis

Kickoff: 7:30pm ET / 4:30 PT @ Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando FL Streaming on Apple TV+

The arrival of Antoine Griezmann over the summer engendered a metamorphosis at Orlando City, transforming them from MLS kittens into true avatars of the lion on their crest. They eviscerated the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0 on the road, then hobbled Nashville 1-0 at home to register their first back-to-back wins of 2026. Although they stumbled against Red Bull NY, expectations for Leagues Cup were high.

And to be fair, Orlando City looked like a real contender. They put on a mature performance against Monterrey. The 2-1 scoreline looks closer than it really was; Rayados scored deep in second half stoppage time. But in their next tie against Club Léon, Orlando apparently lost their courage. In the battle of the Lions, it was the green and yellow that established dominance with ten shots of frame. Despite eight saves from Maxime Crépeau, they fell 2-1, effectively knocking them out of quarterfinals contention.

One thing you cannot accuse Atlético de San Luis of is lack of effort. One of nine Liga MX teams with two losses, they at least scored three goals. Arguably they were the superior side against Inter Miami, albeit in the second half when the Herons, buoyed by four goals, basically stopped trying. San Luis also conceded four against Nashville, and poor defending is an accusation they cannot deny.

So this fixture comes down to two things. First, does Orlando feel confident enough to go out fast and hard. A win and lots of goals would at least give them a sporting chance to sneak into the knockouts, provided a LOT of help comes their way. Second, can Atlético shore up their backfield porousness to deny the home team. Only one scenario will play out.

San Diego FC vs. Puebla

Kickoff: 10:15pm ET / 7:15 PT @ Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego CA Streaming on Apple TV+

There’s no doubt: Puebla are among the worst Liga MX performers in the Leagues Cup so far. Like fellow stinkers San Luis, they’ve conceded eight goals. In losing 3-0 to Austin FC, they actually managed to make a very below-average team look competent. That in itself is a dubious achievement.

San Diego suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat to Club América down in Mexico City to start this campaign. Las Águilas ran roughshod over them, putting in all three goals in the first half. Carlos Dos Santos, their Cape Verdean goalkeeper who sat in Vozinha’s shadow the entire World Cup, showed he has shotstopping skills as well, making eight saves. 

SDFC’s nervy 1-0 win over Tijuana on Matchday 2 assured they won’t go pointless in the competition, but everyone knows they’re in the same boat as Orlando. They have to win big and keep fingers crossed everyone else screws up.

LAFC vs. Querétaro

Kickoff: 10:30pm ET / 7:30 PT @ BMO Stadium, Los Angeles CA Streaming on Apple TV+

Surprise! LAFC are sitting on five points in seventh place, which means that this game actually matters!

Now all we want to see is LAFC unleash their potent offense. They average 1.8 goals per game in MLS, but in Leagues Cup have only scored twice (this is tied for second lowest among all 18 MLS sides). They drew their first match against Chivas, prevailing in the shootout, and looked to be headed for a second straight draw before Eddie Segura’s stoppage time wonder strike.

They will be thanking the scheduling committee for wrapping up Phase One against Querétaro. The Gallos Blancos are a sieve defensively (five goals conceded), and while their attack takes lots of shots, and even puts 43% of those on frame, they have yet to find the net. Even if LAFC is the unfortunate team that allows Querétaro to score, they’ll probably put up enough goals to carry the win. Then all that’s left is watching the other scorelines.

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Chivas de Guadalajara

Kickoff: 10:30pm ET / 7:30 PT @ Lumen Field, Seattle WA Streaming on Apple TV+

This is a dead rubber match, but at least there’s some pedigree. Seattle are defending Leagues Cup champions; Chivas is one of the biggest and most successful clubs in Mexico. So you know neither side will be phoning it in. I’d tune in just to see how red the Chivas fans can make sections of Lumen Field.