Five Teams That Could Win the 2026 Leagues Cup

If it feels like soccer in North America hasn’t slowed down since the 2026 FIFA World Cup, you wouldn’t be wrong. Yet, the sport is set to kick it into an even higher gear, as 18 Major League Soccer teams join every Liga MX side this week for the start of the 2026 Leagues Cup, the summer tournament that has included the majority of North America’s two most prominent domestic leagues since 2023.

This year’s edition marks the second with 36 teams, leaving 12 MLS clubs out of the competition, and will award 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup berths to the champions, runners-up, and third-place finishers.

Each participating team will play three Phase One matches against teams from the other league, before the top four from each league advance to the knockout stages through August and September.

Here, Sports Illustrated ranks five teams that stand a strong chance of lifting this year’s Leagues Cup trophy.

5. Philadelphia Union

Could Cavan Sullivan turn more heads in Leagues Cup play? | Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union have rediscovered their form after returning from the World Cup break, looking exceptionally improved from the team that sat last in MLS heading into the break. In the first three games back, interim manager Ryan Richter has led them to three wins, with 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan and 18-year-old Neil Pierre emerging as their best players.

While the season has turned around, and the Union nowhave a legitimate shot at qualifying for the 2026 MLS Cup playoffs, the easiest trophy for them to win would be Leagues Cup. If they can get the best from Sullivan and Pierre, while capitalizing on Kai Wagner’s energetic return from Europe, they could very well grab a trophy despite underachieving in league play this season.

Phase One Opponents: Cruz Azul, Necaxa, Santos Laguna

4. Cruz Azul

The most consistent team through the 2025–26 Clausura and Apertura, Cruz Azul will look to make history as the first Liga MX team to claim the Leagues Cup in its modern iteration. While the Liga MX titans won the trophy in the inaugural soft-launch of the competition in 2019, they have yet to prevail in the expanded format.

Led by manager Joel Huiqui, they have gotten off to a fast start in the 2026 Apertura with a pair of wins and a draw in the first three games, after finishing third in both half-seasons in 2025-26. Just two months after winning their tenth Liga MX title by defeating Pumas 2–1 and further securing a Campeón de Campeones title against Toluca, another trophy seems within grasp, especially with José Paradela’s impressive seven goals and five assists in the Clausura.

Phase One Opponents: Philadelphia Union, New York City FC, Chicago Fire

3. Chicago Fire

Robert Lewandowski is off the mark. After scoring a brace in his home debut on Matchday 19, the Polish superstar is in form and ready to take on the Leagues Cup as the Fire seek a trophy for the first time in 20 years. While he’s no Lionel Messi, there’s precedent for a star midseason-signing leading a team to Leagues Cup glory, as Messi did with Inter Miami in 2023; and there’s a real chance Lewandowski could bring the Fire on a long run as well.

With manager Gregg Berhalter adjusting his tactical setup to suit Lewandowski, the Fire have started to improve, and the former FC Barcelona man is playing with immense confidence. Add in the form of MLS All-Star Philip Zinkernagel and the composed goalkeeping of Chris Brady, and there’s a strong team that might run away with the Leagues Cup.

Phase One Opponents: Necaxa, Santos Laguna, Cruz Azul

2. Vancouver Whitecaps

Thomas Müller is looking to add to his trophy collection as the most decorated German player of all-time. | Rich Lam/MLS/Getty Images

The Vancouver Whitecaps aren’t the same threat they were before selling U.S. men’s national team star Sebastian Berhalter to Middlesbrough last month. Still, they have continued to play at a high level and have one of the easier Phase One schedules, despite having to travel to Mexico to take on Tigres UANL.

On Matchday 19, the Canadian side was unlucky not to claim all three points in a 1–1 draw against LAFC, after outplaying their Western Conference foes through 90 minutes. Designated Players Thomas Müller and Ryan Gauld impressed in unrelenting pressure, as they started alongside each other for the first time.

Having made the 2025 MLS Cup final and the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup final, the Whitecaps have proven themselves in pressure-filled competitions and against elite teams in MLS and Liga MX. That experience, and the rumored arrival of a Berhalter-style replacement in the coming weeks, should allow them to take a real shot at the trophy.

Phase One Opponents: Atlanté, FC Juárez, Tigres UANL

1. Inter Miami

Lionel Messi is looking for his first silverware of 2026. | Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

No MLS team has defined itself through the Leagues Cup like Inter Miami since Messi arrived in 2023. The Argentine instantly pushed the Herons to win the first expanded edition of the tournament that summer, scoring 10 goals in the competition to claim the tournament title, Golden Boot and MVP. Last year, the Herons came close as well, before a frustrating loss in the final against the Seattle Sounders in front of a sold-out Lumen Field.

While the desire to win could dwindle after that type of success, especially considering the 2025 MLS Cup victory, the club sees immense value in proving themselves against Mexican opponents in the Leagues Cup.

The tournament comes at a perfect time for them too. Messi and Rodrigo De Paul are back after losing the 2026 World Cup final with Argentina and are now developing a threatening setup with Casemiro patrolling defensive midfield. Add in Luis Suárez’s seven goals in four MLS games, and the team is looking near its best as it approaches the competition against some of Liga MX’s weaker sides.

Phase One Opponents: Atlético San Luis, CF Monterrey, Club Puebla

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