{"id":925352,"date":"2026-08-07T02:14:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T07:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/07\/seattle-sounders-visit-toluca-fc-in-historic-leagues-cup-clash-mlssoccer-com\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T02:14:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T07:14:27","slug":"seattle-sounders-visit-toluca-fc-in-historic-leagues-cup-clash-mlssoccer-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/07\/seattle-sounders-visit-toluca-fc-in-historic-leagues-cup-clash-mlssoccer-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle Sounders visit Toluca FC in historic Leagues Cup clash | MLSSoccer.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\">\n<p>  <main role=\"main\" id=\"main-content\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-label=\"Page main content\"><\/p>\n<div data-bucket-name=\"main-content-before-middle-adv\">\n<div>\n<h2>Soccer<br \/>\n          Seattle Sounders visit Toluca FC in historic Leagues Cup clash<br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/seattle-sounders-fc\/\">Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> begin their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/leagues-cup\/\">Leagues Cup<\/a> title defense on Wednesday when they visit 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-cup\/\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> winners Toluca for the tournament&#8217;s first-ever match played in Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h3>How to watch &#038; stream<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><h3>When<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/leagues-cup\/2026\/matches\/tolvssea-08-05-2026\/\">Wednesday, Aug. 5<\/a> | 10 pm ET\/7 pm PT<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><h3>Where<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Estadio Nemesio D\u00edez | Toluca, Mexico<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>In Phase One, each team plays three matches against opponents from the opposite league. The top four clubs from each league-specific table advance to the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n<p>The tournament champion will be crowned on Sept. 6. Additionally, the top three finishers qualify for the 2027 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/concacaf-champions-league\">Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Standings<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>3rd in LIGA MX Apertura<\/li>\n<li>6 points (2W-1L-0D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><strong>Last match<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After suffering back-to-back losses to Pumas in league play and Cruz Azul in the Campeones de Campeones, Toluca bounced back with a 3-1 win over Club Necaxa.<\/p>\n<p>Iv\u00e1n L\u00f3pez and Everardo L\u00f3pez found the back of the net during the victory, giving Los Diablos Rojos a launchpad as they enter Leagues Cup 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Players to watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Alexis Vega:<\/strong> The dynamic winger was named to Mexico&#8217;s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Vega already has two goals in four matches this year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jorge D\u00edaz:<\/strong>\u00a0The versatile forward has started all four of Toluca&#8217;s matches so far this season and has scored one goal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jes\u00fas Gallardo:<\/strong> The left back featured for El Tri at the World Cup, starting four of Mexico&#8217;s five games.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Federico Pereira:<\/strong>\u00a0The Uruguayan center back has been a stalwart in Los Diablos Rojos&#8217; backline.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><strong>Need to know<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Toluca are one of the top teams in the region. Not only did they win LIGA MX Apertura in 2025, but they were crowned 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup winners in May.<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Antonio Mohamed has been a key reason for that success, leading the club to five trophies since taking charge in December 2024. As has star striker Paulinho, but the Portuguese forward will be unavailable for this match due to injury.<\/p>\n<p>Now, they will become the first LIGA MX team to host a Leagues Cup match.\u00a0Expect a big crowd and plenty of on-field fireworks as the Mexican giants look to make a statement in their opening match of the tournament.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n                                <iframe data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZE5Pq_eoRF8?feature=oembed\" allowfullscreen title=\"#LeaguesCup2026 begins in 5 days \u26bd\ufe0f\ud83c\udfc6\"><\/iframe>\n                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Standings<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>9th in MLS Western Conference\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>24 points (7W-7L-3D)<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><strong>Last match<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Sounders are slumping in MLS action, with Saturday&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/mls-regular-season\/2026\/matches\/porvssea-08-01-2026\/\">2-1 defeat<\/a> at arch-rivals <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/clubs\/portland-timbers\">Portland Timbers<\/a> marking their sixth straight defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kalani-kossa-rienzi\/\">Kalani Kossa-Rienzi<\/a> gave Seattle the lead, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/kevin-kelsy\/\">Kevin Kelsy<\/a> equalized before a late winner from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/brandon-bye\/\">Brandon Bye<\/a> ensured the Timbers completed the season sweep over their Cascadia Cup foe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Players to watch<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Jackson Ragen:<\/strong> Seattle&#8217;s lone MLS All-Star this season, the center back commands a backline that&#8217;s allowed the fifth-fewest goals in the league.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jes\u00fas Ferreira:<\/strong> The former USMNT forward is in his second season in Seattle and is up to 2g\/5a in league play.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Paul Rothrock:<\/strong> Nicknamed Paulie Primetime, the Seattle native leads the club with five goals this year.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Albert Rusn\u00e1k:<\/strong>\u00a0The Slovakian Designated Player leads the Sounders with a team-best eight goal contributions (3g\/5a) in 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p><strong>Need to know<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Seattle are no strangers to Leagues Cup. In fact, as reigning champions, they know how to win in this competition better than most teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Although their MLS campaign hasn&#8217;t got off to the start that Sounders fans are used to \u2013 thanks in large part to a long injury list that includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/cristian-roldan\/\">Cristian Roldan<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/jordan-morris\/\">Jordan Morris<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/players\/pedro-de-la-vega\/\">Pedro de la Vega<\/a> and others \u2013 make no mistake: the Seattle Sounders are one of the league&#8217;s most experienced teams and can make noise in Leagues Cup.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/main><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlssoccer.com\/competitions\/leagues-cup\/news\/seattle-sounders-visit-toluca-fc-in-historic-leagues-cup-clash\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Larisa Buresh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Soccer Seattle Sounders visit Toluca FC in historic Leagues Cup clash Seattle Sounders FC begin their Leagues Cup title defense on Wednesday when they visit 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup winners Toluca for the tournament&#8217;s first-ever match played in Mexico. How to watch &#038; stream When Wednesday, Aug. 5 | 10 pm ET\/7 pm PT [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":925353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[417,2005,104945],"tags":[6594,6595],"class_list":["post-925352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-seattle","category-soccer","category-sounders","tag-seattle","tag-sounders"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}