International soccer action is back as FC Cincinnati begin their Leagues Cup 2026 campaign and take a brief pause from MLS action this week. The Orange and Blue, fresh off a dominant 4-2 victory over San Jose this weekend, now welcome three Liga MX teams from Mexico to TQL Stadium for a midseason tournament.
The first opponent FC Cincinnati welcome this week is CF Pachuca, one of the most successful clubs in Mexico, in a first-time matchup between the sides to kick off the fourth iteration of Leagues Cup.
Given the format of the Leagues Cup tournament, where only the top four teams in the MLS table advance to the knockout stages, starting the tournament off strong is extremely important and could help shape how the rest of the competition is framed for every club involved.
“Using last year as experience, we had a strong start with the win against Monterrey, went into the second game and had the point, which going into the third game wasn't strong enough as far as our goal differential,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Monday at the official prematch press conference ahead of Tuesday night's game. “ So, what you recognize is any team that loses the first game is pretty much done, you're going to need seven points and a good goal differential to advance in the competition. So, that's our approach, to win the game.”
Last season FC Cincinnati failed to advance out of Phase One, only securing four points after a win, a shootout loss and an outright loss in game three. To advance in this tournament, earning a win in game one is imperative, as no MLS squad that lost outright advanced, so starting strong is paramount to success.
“At a minimum, you hope to win in a shootout, and that gives you the two points and ability to say, ‘all right, let's let's go win the next one, and go into the third game, hoping for the same outcome,’” Noonan added. “But you have to win a game, in a shootout or regulation to position yourself in the best way to advance. So that's last year's experience and our approach this year.”
The matchup in Game One against CF Pachuca brings one of the top sides in Liga MX to TQL Stadium. In 2024, Pachuca won the Concacaf Champions Cup and has been seven-time winners of Liga MX. Last season they were one of four Liga MX sides to advance to the knockout stages of Leagues Cup, and despite some recent poor results in Liga MX – the club has opened the new season with one win and two losses – Pat Noonan is preparing for a battle.
“They're good. I mean, you could take a small sample size of the three games and the record, but that would be silly. It's the strength of their team, and I think there's a lot of similarities structurally to San Jose, so there's some carryover there. But to say it's like for like, that would also be silly. So we'll try to take some of the ideas and things that we saw against San Jose that we liked, and how we think it can carry over into tomorrow,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of CF Pachuca ahead of this match. “They're a dangerous team, and we have to be very good (Tuesday) to get a result.”
An element of play to consider Tuesday is that FC Cincinnati is the first team to kick off play in Leagues Cup this year, meaning they will need to set the bar for the tournament and force other teams to catch up with them. It’s also worth noting that goal differential is a key tiebreaker in this tournament and will be factored in. FC Cincinnati will want to get as big of a differential as possible, but per Pat Noonan, it’s important to find balance between hunting goals late and respecting an opponent to secure a win.
“They'll know the structure of the tournament,” Noonan said Tuesday as to whether he will need to address the goal differential conversation with his squad before this match.
“I think last year I remember addressing a question about a goal we conceded late against Monterrey,” Noonan continued. “Yeah, you hope to win by a wide margin, but let's understand the importance first and foremost of winning a game against a very strong opponent. Pachuca comes in with a good history of success in the league and these competitions, and winning a game against a team of that caliber is a positive.
“So we have to understand that, and if we can have a very strong performance, and be fortunate enough to be in a position to have a lead by multiple goals. Sure, that's ideal. But for us, it's respecting the fact that we're up against a very good team, and we have to have the right mentality and approach to just win a game. We can't get greedy about trying to think about how many goals we want to win by. We're not at that stage, and like I said, our opponent's very strong.”
FC Cincinnati and CF Pachuca kick off on Tuesday at 7:45 p.m. with the game streaming on Apple TV and FS1. Game 2 of the opening phase of Leagues Cup for The Orange and Blue comes Friday night when FCC host Pumas UNAM.
FC Cincinnati vs CF Pachuca – Tuesday, August 4, 2026 – 7:45 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Watch/Stream (English/Spanish): Apple TV
Watch: FS1
English Local Radio: ESPN 1530
Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM
Leagues Cup Explained
For the second year, Leagues Cup 2026 brings its new format and table to the competition, providing one of the most challenging and punitive setups to a tournament that FC Cincinnati will play in this season.
Leagues Cup pits 18 clubs from both Major League Soccer and Liga MX against each other in a battle to earn a trophy as the top of the two most competitive leagues in Concacaf. The winner of the tournament earns an automatic bye to the Round of 16 in the Concacaf Champions Cup, with the second- and third-place finishers also qualifying for the initial round of that event.
To win Leagues Cup, a club must play six matches, which includes three “group” games and three knockout stage matches.
The action starts with Phase One, which resembles more of a group stage. MLS and Liga MX are split into two tables, one for each league, with the top four teams from each side advancing to the knockout rounds. All matches will be played against interleague competition, so while you will be competing on the field against new foes, the pathway to advancing is based on your results as compared to your in-league compatriots. That means every match contributes to the table and who could advance.
It is also worth noting that there are no draws in Leagues Cup; all matches will end with a winner and a loser. Should teams be level after 90 minutes plus stoppage time, the match will move to a penalty kick shootout. For the table, a win outright will give a team three points, a win in the shootout will award two points, a loss in the shootout will give one point, and a loss outright will, as normal, give zero points.
Last year, in the first iteration of this tournament under these rules, an MLS side needed seven points (meaning no outright losses) and a goal differential of +6 to advance out of Phase One – meaning every match is important.
After Phase One, the top four teams from each league are sorted into a bracket for a single-elimination knockout stage. Only in the semifinal will it begin being possible for there to be in-league matchups. Should a team lose in the semifinals, they would still play in the third-place game.
International Match Play
For a fourth consecutive season, FC Cincinnati enter Leagues Cup 2026, the midsummer
tournament featuring 18 MLS clubs and all 18 Liga MX teams. For the first time, FC Cincinnati
begin play on the opening day of the tournament. All three of FCC’s Phase One opponents –
CF Pachuca, Pumas and Atlas FC – are first-time opponents for the Orange and Blue.
Despite Tuesday being a first-ever matchup between FC Cincinnati and CF Pachuca, Los Tuzos
have been to the Queen City. Pachuca fell, 2-1, to RB Salzburg at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup in a Group Stage match at TQL Stadium on June 18, 2025.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
Quick Turns – FC Cincinnati will play three matches in quick succession in Leagues Cup. Following Saturday’s win over San Jose Earthquakes, Tuesday marks FC Cincinnati’s 45th match under Head Coach Pat Noonan on just two-days rest. Since 2022, FCC are 22-12-11 in such matches.
Kevin! – Kévin Denkey scored in his FC Cincinnati debut in Concacaf Champions Cup (2/19/25 at MOT), MLS play (2/21/25 vs RBNY) and in the MLS Cup Playoffs (10/27/25 vs CLB) and seeks to score in his first-ever Leagues Cup match when he takes the field in this year’s tournament.
Added to the fold – Three FC Cincinnati 2 players, Deiver Mosquera, Félix Samson, Cheikhou Niang, have been added to the Leagues Cup roster for FC Cincinnati.
Scouting CF Pachuca (1-2-0, 3 Points, 13th in the Liga MX Apatura)
A giant in Liga MX history comes to TQL Stadium on Tuesday night to kick off the 2026 Leagues Cup and bring a pedigree of international and domestic cup competition success to the fold. The ‘Tuzos’ enter this tournament early in their Apertura season and have stumbled out of the gate a little bit, but are not a club to be taken lightly after finishing fourth in the Clausura season earlier this year, five points off the top of the table.
Pachuca, a club which started over 133 years ago, have been one of the best clubs in Mexico in the 21st Century, winning the league seven times and finishing as runners-up four times. They have also won the Concacaf Champions Cup six times, with their most recent victory coming in 2024, and have been entrants in the FIFA Club World Cup five times with a best finish of third place.
CF Pachuca, who play their home matches at Estadio Hidalgo, are led by Head Coach Benjamín Mora, who took over the team in June. Mora has vast experience as a Head Coach and has managed both in Liga MX and abroad before this appointment. Most recently, he Head Coached the Wuhan Three Towns of the Chinese Super League, Inter Toronto Football Club of the Canadian Premier League and Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C of the Malaysian Super League. In Liga MX, Mora has coached Atlas and Querétaro.
Through three games in the Apertura season, which is also Mora’s first matches with the club, Pachuca has one win and two losses. In those games, Pachuca has used a 4-2-3-1 formation.
At the top of the formation is Venezuelan forward Salomón Rondón, who, at 36 years old, continues to be a reliable option for the side. He leads the team with three goals this season, scoring twice in their season opener against Pumas. In the Clausura season, he, along with wingers Kenedy and Victor Guzman, all lead the squad with five goals as well.
A young star for Pachuca has also been a key contributor. Elías Montiel, 20, is a defensive midfielder who has been one of the top players for the side since making his debut as a teenager. With a goal and an assist already this season, Montiel was also named a Liga MX All-Star at last week's MLS All-Star game, where FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander scored the game-winning goal for MLS in a 4-3 victory.
Another Liga MX All-Star who is a more veteran contributor for Pachuca is Moroccan winger Oussama Idrissi, who leads the team in assists this season.
On the defensive backline for Pachuca, Brazilian centerback Eduardo Bauermann has been the anchor of the side, playing every minute of every match this season for the Tuzos. He is joined in that back four by another reliable figure in Sergio Barreto, who has started all three matches alongside Bauermann. Barreto, 27, hails from Argentina and has made over 100 appearances for the club since joining in 2023.
In net for Pachuca is a third Liga MX All-Star and the starter for the league's side, Carlos Moreno, who is now in his sixth season with the club and has made over 140 appearances for the club. This season Moreno has made nine saves in three matches, while conceding three goals. In the Clausura earlier this year, he conceded 20 goals in 20 games, with five clean sheets.
