Real Salt Lake Will Host Club América In Phase 1 Of Leagues Cup

SANDY, Utah- The official start of the 2025 MLS Season is right around the corner for Real Salt Lake, and with last year’s regular season and playoff resume as one of the league’s best teams, the Claret-and-Cobalt will participate in select interleague tournaments, including the Leagues Cup this Summer.

As a part of the seeding phase of the Leagues Cup, Real Salt Lake will host three different sides from Liga MX, Mexico’s top-flight league, at America First Field, including Club América, one of North America’s most popular and recognizable teams.

The first leg of @LeaguesCup is coming to the Riot 😤

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) February 11, 2025

Real Salt Lake vs Club América

Real Salt Lake and Club América will face off on Wednesday, July 30, from America First Field, time still TBD.

Club América entered last year’s Leagues Cup as the highest-ranked club in the competition, earning a bye straight to the knockout stage. América made their way all the way to the quarter-finals of the single elimination tournament with wins over Atlas F.C. and St. Louis City SC before falling to the Colorado Rapids in penalties.

Club América also won their 16th Liga MX title last season, four more than any other club in Mexico.

As of right now, Club América is ranked second among CONCACAF clubs, behind only the Columbus Crew of MLS, however, the margin is only five points and Real Salt Lake could very well be hosting the No. 1 ranked team in CONCACAF come July.

Real Salt Lake sits at No. 18 in the CONCACAF rankings.

Right now, Club América is atop the Liga MX standings with 16 points and no losses through six matches.

¡Rayitoooooooooo! 🫶⚡️

Brian Rodríguez pone el 3 a 0 en el marcador 🦅✨ pic.twitter.com/1aKrmKchGU

— Club América (@ClubAmerica) February 2, 2025

Real Salt Lake vs Atlético de San Luis

Real Salt Lake and Atlético de San Luis will face off on Saturday, August 2, from America First Field, time still TBD.

Atlético de San Luis finished seventh in the table during last year’s Liga MX campaign, qualifying them for the play-in round of the Clausura phase where they lost to León.

In last year’s Leagues Cup, Real Salt Lake and Atlético de San Luis were together in Pot 2, but both sides suffered poor fates in the group stage as each team finished third out of three in their respective groups, eliminating them from the competition.

This year, though it is early in the season, San Luis sits at 17th of 18 teams in the Liga MX table and has lost five of their first six matches of the season.

Todos juntos por el #ClásicoDeLa57. #ConAlmaPotosina pic.twitter.com/BHiPplmgUH

— Atlético de San Luis (@AtletideSanLuis) February 5, 2025

Real Salt Lake vs Querétaro

Real Salt Lake and Querétarowill face off on Wednesday, August 6, from America First Field, time still TBD.

Querétaro was among Mexico’s worst teams during the 2023-2024 Liga MX season, finishing in 14th place with only five wins and a goal differencial of -11, which was tied for worst in the league.

Querétaro was ranked 36th out of the 45 clubs that participated in last year’s league cup and they too were eliminated in the group stage, only earning one point in two games against FC Cincinnati and New York City FC.

Querétaro is off to a bit of a rocky start to the Liga MX season with two wins, three losses, and a draw through six matches, but at 12th place in the table, it would be an improvement from their finishing position last season.

Chequen el gol de “Tití” desde el ángulo de TV. 📺#LealtadAzulyNegro

pic.twitter.com/WlGGPAcuE3

— Gallos Blancos 🐓 (@Club_Queretaro) February 8, 2025

How Does The New Leagues Cup Format Work?

Leagues Cup 2025 will consist of the 18 Liga MX squads and the 18 MLS teams that qualified for the playoffs, with CONCACAF newcomers San Diego FC taking Vancouver’s spot.

In the seeding phase, each team will play three games against three different clubs from the other league, guaranteeing interleague matchups from the beginning of the tournament all the way through the championship round. There will be a winner and a loser determined in every matchup, meaning a tie after 90 minutes will move on to penalty kicks.

After everyone has played three matches, the top four sides from each league will move onto the knockout stage. The knockout stage consists of only one leg with no ties, increasing the stakes for the entire match.

Each game in the knockout stage, from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals to the championship game, will be MLS vs Liga MX.

Leyenda de #LigaMX. Leyenda de #MLS 💥⚽️

👨‍🏫 @Miguel_layun and @DaMarcusBeasley break down the new format of #LeaguesCup2025 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gkODwxZaDV

— Leagues Cup (@LeaguesCup) January 31, 2025

How To Watch Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake traveled to Santa Barbara, California, on Thursday, January 23, for training camp, and will wrap up their time at the Coachella Valley Invitational Today. The Claret & Cobalt will open the 2025 MLS season against former striker Chicho Arango and the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, February 22.

All Major League Soccer games are broadcasted on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.

Tanner Tripp is a sports writer for KSL Sports covering all teams across the state of Utah. Follow him on X @tanner_tripp and Instagram @tanner.tripp here.

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