Eight teams to compete for Leagues Cup's three Champions Cup spots

Some soccer fans dismiss the Leagues Cup as a money grab by its creators, Liga MX and Major League Soccer. They dismiss it, that is, until their team advances to the knockout round.

They're not wrong to mock Leagues Cup; until this year, all matches were played at MLS stadiums, regardless of merit. Its very existence prompted MLS to limit its participation in the U.S. Open Cup, a much older and potentially more prestigious tournament that needs EVERY first division team to participate, not the 12 of 30 currently committed to the United States' version of the FA Cup.

Detractors also can be forgiven for putting aside their objections when their team advances in the Leagues Cup; the top three finishers qualify for the continent's most important club competition, CONCACAF Champions Cup. (CONCACAF is the "Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football" -- and yes, "America" should come after "North," but the acronym is already ridiculously long).

Spoiler alert: Inter Miami, which made winning Champions Cup its priority after lifting its first MLS Cup in December, failed to advance in the 2026 tournament and hasn't qualified for the 2027 edition. After failing to advance to the Leagues Cup knockout rounds for the first time in four years, the Herons must hope to win the Supporters' Shield or the MLS Cup or finish first in the Eastern Conference in the regular season to compete in CONCACAF next year. (Their chances are good; Las Garzas trail Nashville SC by two points in the Supporters' Shield and Eastern Conference standings heading into tonight's crucial clash in Tennessee.)

Who's stalking the three Leagues Cup tickets to Champions Cup? The three-match Phase One weeded out 28 of 36 contenders, leaving (by design) four Liga MX and four MLS sides still in the hunt: Chicago Fire, Austin FC, Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake, Club León, Club América, Toluca FC and CF Monterrey. (For what it's worth, shorthanded Inter Miami lost 1-2 to Monterrey and 2-3 to León in Phase One.)

Here's the quarterfinals schedule:

• Chicago Fire vs. CF Monterrey, 7:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Bridgeview, Ill.

• Club León vs. Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Commerce City, Colo.

• Austin FC vs. Toluca FC, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Harrison, N.J.

• Club América vs. Columbus Crew, 9:45 p.m. CDT Wednesday

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