Inter Miami vs. Monterrey: Leagues Cup 'Phase One' is a back-alley brawl

How can Inter Miami qualify for the Leagues Cup knockout rounds?

Words matter, and I've been using mine incorrectly. In the lead up and initial posts about the 2026 Leagues Cup, I've been calling Inter Miami's first three games "group-stage matches." They're not; the Herons aren't competing with Atlético San Luis, Monterrey and Club León to advance to the quarterfinals; they're competing against the 17 other Major League Soccer clubs in the competition.

That's a pretty big difference. One of the concerns of the competition since it expanded in 2023 is the scarcity of late-round matches between Liga MX and MLS teams; no Mexican side has reached the finals in that time. In 2023, Inter Miami nipped Nashville 1-1 (10-9 in penalty kicks) in the tournament's best match to date, followed by Columbus beating Los Angeles FC 3-1 in 2024 and Seattle defeating Inter Miami 3-0 last year.

MLS has dominated Leagues Cup largely because, until this year, all matches have been played in MLS stadiums. For the first time, four Phase One matches -- each team's initial three matches, the games I've been calling "group stage" matches -- will be played south of the border. Toluca, the 2025 Liga MX champion hosts two Phase One contests, while Tigres and Club América host one each. Still, all knockout round matches (quarterfinals, semifinals and final) will be played at MLS sites; the bracket still is heavily weighted in Major League Soccer's favor, but any progress is better than none, right?

To make it more likely the knockout rounds include interleague contests, organizers devised the current format: all 18 Liga MX teams compete against the 18 teams who played in the previous year's MLS Cup playoffs (the top nine teams from the Eastern and Western conferences). The teams earn points in the Phase One matches -- 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for a penalty shootout win, and a point for each team in a draw.

With only three matches to weed out 28 sides, teams will finish with the same number of points. The first tiebreaker for advancement -- and to determine home field advantage in the knockout rounds -- is goal differential, followed by regulation wins, goals scored, and goals conceded.

Sound confusing? It is. Dylan Butler wrote a good explainer for MLS.com earlier this week. The most obvious takeaway is this: give no quarter. Teams must try to destroy their opponents, to score as many goals and allow as few goals as possible. This competition punishes sportsmanship.

That's why Rafa Llorente's 51st-minute goal Wednesday for Atlético San Luis was so disappointing; not only because it cut Inter Miami's advantage to two goals and gave the Mexican side a glimmer of hope, but also because that single goal (a beautiful strike, by the way) could be the difference between the Herons making the cut or going home to contemplate the rest of the MLS season. Or, if the Herons advance -- and I'm confident they will -- that goal could be the difference between hosting a knockout round match or playing away -- it was goal differential that gave Seattle home field advantage last year in the Leagues Cup final, which ended in a 0-3 loss and a post-match dust up that has been one of the most embarrassing events in the Herons' short history.

Las Garzas host Monterrey FC tonight in its second Phase One match; kickoff is at 7 p.m. CDT at Nu Stadium. The Rayados lost their first match against Orlando City SC on Wednesday and desperately need a result to remain in contention for the knockout rounds. (To read the Miami Herald preview, click here.) The Herons end Phase One with a home match Wednesday against Club León, which narrowly led MLS-leading Nashville, 1-0, in its first Phase One match and plays Orlando tonight.

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