Soccer <\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to bet you didn\u2019t realize how close we were. Either way, you have a few days to get your affairs in order.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
San Diego FC<\/a> will host Pumas UNAM on Tuesday evening in the first match of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>. From there, you\u2019ll have either Major League Soccer (and adjacent competitions) or a World Cup<\/a> to pay attention to until early December.<\/p>\n To celebrate MLS teams getting back on the pitch, we figured we\u2019d do what everyone does before CCC play starts: Look at who\u2019s got a genuine shot at making a deep run and who\u2019s set to potentially be ritual sacrificed to an in-form LIGA MX giant taking full advantage of a team waking up from hibernation.\u00a0<\/p>\n We’ll start with the MLS team facing the most difficult path to the final\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The 2026 Champions Cup bracket is set! \ud83c\udfc6 pic.twitter.com\/0mFgCTbXgD<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) December 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Pumas UNAM (Mexico)<\/p>\n This feels like a hazing.<\/p>\n The (relatively) new kids are the only MLS side facing a LIGA MX side in Round One. If they make it past a decent-but-not-outstanding Pumas side, Toluca await them in the Round of 16. And Toluca are an absolute wagon. The reigning Apertura, Clausura and Campe\u00f3n de Campeones winners are the favorites in this competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even if they had an easier path, things are a bit weird for San Diego right now. Chucky Lozano<\/a> isn\u2019t \u201cpart of the sporting plans moving forward,”<\/a>\u00a0plus midfielder\u00a0Luca de la Torre<\/a> (24 starts, 30 appearances) and defender Paddy McNair<\/a> (21 starts, 23 appearances) are gone. They\u2019ve still got plenty of talent and a game model that lends itself to beautiful soccer, but bettering a near-perfect inaugural campaign will be a tough task.<\/p>\n If San Diego can hit the ground running in their first taste of CCC, it will be as impressive as anything else they\u2019ve accomplished so far \u2013 and they just set MLS expansion-season records for wins (19) and points (63), all before making the Western Conference Final.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Defence Force (Trinidad & Tobago)<\/p>\n Look, the questions you have to ask when taking a wild guess at a team\u2019s CCC hopes are:\u00a0<\/p>\n For Philly<\/a>, the best guesses at those answers are:\u00a0<\/p>\n The Union are the Union. You can expect them to play a high-floor game model, start some kids who turn into stars and generally find diamonds in the rough. But this is as many unknowns as we\u2019ve seen for this group in a long time.<\/p>\n Best XI-caliber center back Jakob Glesnes<\/a> is gone, Best XI-caliber left back Kai Wagner is gone, and standout forwards Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo<\/a> are gone. On top of that, midfielder Quinn Sullivan<\/a> is recovering from an ACL tear for most of 2026. That\u2019s five starters gone from last year\u2019s Supporters’ Shield-winning side.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 the game model will keep their floor high during the regular season. But if Philly didn\u2019t have the ceiling to make a run in tournament play last year, it\u2019s hard to see them suddenly having it this year. Especially when their path includes probable matchups against Club Am\u00e9rica and Inter Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Sporting San Miguelito (Panama)<\/p>\n Well. For a while there, this tournament looked like the\u00a0Galaxy<\/a>\u2019s opportunity to announce their return to life as a contender in MLS. Then star midfielder Riqui Puig<\/a> underwent another knee surgery<\/a>, and there’s suddenly some uncertainty around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n To their credit, they\u2019ve made a bunch of seemingly sharp moves this offseason. The Galaxy added proven MLS center backs Jakob Glesnes and Justin Haak<\/a>, providing big upgrades in the heart of the backline. They brought back forward Matheus Nascimento<\/a> from Botafogo, signed former Sporting KC<\/a> midfielder Erik Thommy<\/a> and, most notably, acquired\u00a0DP striker Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/a> from St. Louis CITY<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a heckuva haul. But Puig\u2019s injury means the ceiling has dropped. And that many new pieces means we probably won\u2019t see this team gel until later in the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n LA at least have a little time to get right before CCC play ratchets up a notch. They\u2019ll face Panama\u2019s Sporting San Miguelito in Round One and would move on to play Jamaica\u2019s Mount Pleasant in the Round of 16. Those aren\u2019t gimmes, but, in theory, the financial (and therefore the talent) gap makes the Galaxy heavy favorites to advance to the quarterfinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n After that\u2026 man, it would be really nice to have Puig out there.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Atl\u00e9tico Ottawa (Canada)<\/p>\n Nashville<\/a> made the biggest free-agent signing of the offseason by adding former\u00a0San Jose<\/a> winger Cristian Espinoza<\/a> on a DP deal. Espinoza has averaged 11 assists per season since coming to MLS in 2019 and, alongside Hany Mukhtar<\/a> and Sam Surridge<\/a>, will instantly elevate Nashville\u2019s attack to what will very likely be the highest level it’s ever been.<\/p>\n This team is, on paper, a legit contender in MLS in 2026. But\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n Advancing into the Round of 16 will pair them, yet again<\/em>, with Inter Miami. Since Lionel Messi<\/a> arrived in the summer of 2023, Nashville have faced the Herons 11 times across MLS, Leagues Cup<\/a>, CCC and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville have won exactly one of those games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> O&M FC (Dominican Republic)<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been paying attention to\u00a0Cincy<\/a> for a while now, you know the drill. They\u2019re going to make life difficult when you\u2019re on the ball, they\u2019re going to let stars like Evander<\/a> and K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> go to work, and they\u2019re probably going to end up winning by one goal.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tried and true formula. It\u2019s paid dividends in the regular season. But it hasn\u2019t resulted in tournament success.\u00a0<\/p>\n If that\u2019s going to change in CCC, it will start with advancing to the Round of 16 and beating a Tigres side that was just a half step behind Toluca for most of 2025. As always, they\u2019re a real contender in this competition.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t really get much easier from there, but there should at least be one or two familiar opponents. Club Am\u00e9rica are the only other LIGA MX club on their side of the bracket.<\/p>\n One last big note: Per Eliot McKinley,<\/a> Cincy have the fewest returning minutes of an MLS club in CCC besides Inter Miami. Long term, that isn\u2019t inherently a bad thing. But it does make them a bit of a mystery box as CCC play begins.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong>\u00a0Bye<\/p>\n The\u00a0Sounders<\/a> are the Sounders. They\u2019re largely running it back in 2026, which means they\u2019re deep and a real threat to go nuclear at any point. We saw it last year when they rolled to their first-ever Leagues Cup title<\/a>. There\u2019s every chance they could pull off the same run in CCC.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got a Round One bye, but it will be a gauntlet from start to finish if they\u2019re going to pull this off. You\u2019re probably looking at a tournament that starts with the Whitecaps<\/a>, continues with the winner of Cincy and Tigres, and ends with what will surely be a brutal semifinal and final matchup.<\/p>\n Helping Seattle’s case, here’s your obligatory reminder that they won the 2022 CCC in historic fashion.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Cartagin\u00e9s (Costa Rica)<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s CCC runner-up would meet Seattle in the Round of 16, provided they take care of business against Costa Rica’s Cartagin\u00e9s in Round One. Vancouver essentially have the same path as Seattle, but it seems fair to give a slight advantage to the side that came two wins away from completing a CCC and MLS Cup double in 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n That being said, the Whitecaps have some question marks after transferring midfielder Ali Ahmed<\/a> to Norwich City. Oh, and DP attacker Ryan Gauld<\/a> is out for an extended period (again; likely until April<\/a>).<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure if the\u00a0Thomas M\u00fcller<\/a> Effect will be enough for Vancouver to overcome those question marks and get that last win, but betting against Vancouver has been a losing strategy over the past year. Doubt head coach Jesper S\u00f8rensen’s ability to work magic at your own peril.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong>\u00a0Bye<\/p>\n Right. These guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s a big spot left in Inter Miami\u2019s trophy case, and it\u2019s for this competition. Since Messi arrived, they\u2019ve won Leagues Cup, MLS Cup and a Supporters\u2019 Shield. Now, they\u2019ll be hellbent on taking down their final boss.\u00a0<\/p>\n This offseason, they\u2019ve certainly acted the part of a team enacting a continental takeover. The losses of Jordi Alba<\/a> and Sergio Busquets<\/a> will hurt, but they\u2019ve added reigning Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair<\/a>, former Portland Timbers<\/a> midfielder David Ayala<\/a>, former Houston Dynamo<\/a> center back\u00a0Micael<\/a> and ex-Premier League\/LaLiga left back Sergio Reguil\u00f3n<\/a>. Oh, and they filled their open DP spot by acquiring CF Monterrey striker Germ\u00e1n Berterame<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n On paper, Inter Miami are as stacked as they\u2019ve ever been. But that’s a notable amount of change. Plus, the reigning MLS champs don\u2019t have a gentle path, even with a Round One bye. It likely starts with an improved Nashville team and continues with either Club Am\u00e9rica or the Philadelphia Union. There\u2019s no let-up at any point. And that\u2019s why my most likely team to become the next CCC winner is\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Round One opponent:<\/strong> Real Espa\u00f1a (Honduras)<\/p>\n Star forwards\u00a0Son Heung-Min<\/a>, Denis Bouanga<\/a> and LAFC have maybe the easiest path of any team in this tournament. They\u2019ll avoid LIGA MX until the quarterfinals, and a potential meeting with an MLS opponent or Toluca wouldn\u2019t be until the semifinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pretty much every key player is back, and they\u2019ve all got time to adapt to whatever tweaks new head coach Marc Dos Santos<\/a> makes to their game model. Maybe Dos Santos can help LAFC shake the issues that troubled them at times in high-stakes knockout matches under ex-manager Steve Cherundolo. Those opportunities are almost certainly on the way in 2026.<\/p>\n For the history buffs out there: LAFC were runners-up in CCC during the 2020 and 2023 tournaments. This might just be the year they get over the hump.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\n
\n