What We Learned from Leagues Cup Matchday 1 | OneFootball

The first tranche of fixtures from Leagues Cup Phase One just wrapped up. We take a look at the eighteen games, identifying the trends, the upsets and the overachievers from Matchday 1.

Yeah, Home Field Advantage is Real

Thirteen teams who just happened to be playing in their home stadiums (Note, they might not have been the “home” team) won their opening match. That’s 72%.

It’s no secret this tournament was engineered to favor MLS teams. Fourteen of them play all three Phase One fixtures in their home stadium, with all the attendant benefits that provides. Liga MX sides aren’t outsupported when playing in the US (visiting crowds can often be just as numerous and significantly louder), but the wear and tear of travel, particularly with such a compact game schedule, does take a toll.

If we’ve learned anything from the CONCACAF Champions Cup, it’s that MLS teams historically struggle playing the Liga MX sides on their turf. The two games played this week aren’t a large enough number to be statistically significant, but dominant wins from Toluca and Club América certainly support this narrative. Let’s see if this continues next week, as there are two more ties in Matchday 2 scheduled to play down south.

You Want Goals? You Got Goals

Fifty-one of them, in fact, an average of 2.9 per game. 

No game ended in a 0-0 draw but there were plenty of shutouts. Half the teams failed to score a goal in their Matchday 1 opener, making the high tally that much more impressive.

Surprise Upsets

There were a few, which was refreshing. Here are some of the standouts.

Vancouver Whitecaps 0-1 Atlante

Atlante’s narrow win over Vancouver continues this club’s 2026 Cinderella story. Los Potros de Hierro just returned to Liga MX after a 12 year stint playing in the second division.

Austin FC 2 – 0 TijuanaAustin FC downing Xolos was very out of left field. Austin’s MLS season has been trash; they haven’t been any better since the World Cup break either. That dismal run of form making this result even more eyeopening.

Charlotte FC 3 – 0 Pumas UNAMIt would be unfair to say that Pumas forgot to unpack their enthusiasm, or heart, or desire, for this match. I think it was simply a case of Charlotte finally clicking together all their pieces. Poor Pumas were just in the way.

Other Impact Players

Ariel Lassiter & Cole Bennett They each earned a brace for Portland Timbers, becoming the second and third players to do so behind Messi.

David da Costa The diminutive striker from Portugal played with an attitude that was like “Messi, who?” He scored the Timbers’ third goal, but also fed assists to his two teammates with braces (not the kind on your teeth).

Brian Rodríguez The Uruguayan winger and former LAFC player was a one-man wrecking crew for Club América. He scored once, and provided assists for two other goals in their dismantling of visiting San Diego FC at the famed Estadio Azteca (now called Banorte for sponsorship reasons).

Tyrese Spicer While Antoine Griezmann has been getting attention as of late, yesterday Spicer’s performance shouted “Check me out!” After assisting Griezmann’s opening goal with a picture perfect cross, he then drew a penalty and coolly converted it. Well played from the Trinidadian winger.

Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number

I’m not sure if he’s mainlining Nugenix, power-wolfing muesli by the kilo, or just had a great day, but 40 year-old Sounders keeper Stefan Frei was simply amazing between the sticks.

Stepping in for regular starter Andrew Thomas, Frei made 16 saves against Toluca, singlehandedly sparing Seattle the ignominity of a double-digit defeat. If only his offense had helped him out on the other end.

Then there’s Lionel Messi. In only his second appearance in pink since the World Cup final, the GOAT showed why he’s earned that moniker at 39 years young. He scored a brace and got an assist from a corner in the first half of Miami’s 4-2 win over Atlético de San Luis.