FC Dallas will be in the South group.
FC Dallas will face LIGA MX’s Necaxa and MLS Eastern Conference opponent Charlotte FC in the inaugural edition of the highly-anticipated Leagues Cup 2023, MLS and LIGA MX announced today. The inaugural edition of Leagues Cup will take place July 21- August 19, 2023.
FC Dallas will face Necaxa for the first time since the 1998 CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup when the Dallas Burn competed in the competition now known as CONCACAF Champions League. The Burn fell to the LIGA MX side, 4-1, with a lone goal from former Burn forward Dante Washington. FC Dallas and Charlotte FC will face each other for the first time since Charlotte made its league debut in 2022.
The remaining teams are divided into 15 groups across four regions – West, Central, South and East – based on 2022 performance and their geographic regions.
Each region will have four groups, except the West, which will have three groups due to LAFC’s entrance into the Knockout Stage. Pachuca will enter the Knockout Stage in the South.
The inaugural edition of Leagues Cup will take place from July 21 to August 19, pausing league competition. All matches will air on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app, while select games are on TelevisaUnivision, FOX Sports, TSN and RDS.
West
- West 1: Tigres UANL (No. 2 LIGA MX), Portland Timbers (No. 14 MLS), San Jose Earthquakes (No. 25 MLS)
- West 2: Monterrey (No. 3 LIGA MX), Real Salt Lake (No. 13 MLS), Seattle Sounders FC (No. 20 MLS)
- West 3: LA Galaxy (No. 7 MLS), Club Leon (No. 9 LIGA MX), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (No. 16 MLS)
Central
- Central 1: América (No. 1 LIGA MX), Columbus Crew (No. 15 MLS), St. Louis CITY SC (No. 28 MLS)
- Central 2: Puebla (No. 6 LIGA MX), Minnesota United FC (No. 10 MLS), Chicago Fire FC (No. 23 MLS)
- Central 3: Chivas Guadalajara (No. 7 LIGA MX), FC Cincinnati (No. 9 MLS), Sporting Kansas City (No. 21 MLS)
- Central 4: Nashville SC (No. 8 MLS), Toluca (No. 8 LIGA MX), Colorado Rapids (No. 17 MLS)
South
- South 1: Austin FC (No. 3 MLS), Mazatlán FC (No. 13 LIGA MX), FC Juárez (No. 16 LIGA MX)
- South 2: Santos Laguna (No. 4 LIGA MX), Orlando City SC (No. 12 MLS), Houston Dynamo FC (No. 24 MLS)
- South 3: Cruz Azul (No. 5 LIGA MX), Inter Miami CF (No. 11 MLS), Atlanta United (No. 22 MLS)
- South 4: FC Dallas (No. 6 MLS), Necaxa (No. 10 LIGA MX), Charlotte FC (No. 18 MLS)
East
- East 1: Philadelphia Union (No. 1 MLS), Club Tijuana (No. 15 LIGA MX), Querétaro (No. 17 LIGA MX)
- East 2: CF Montréal (No. 2 MLS), Pumas (No. 14 LIGA MX), D.C. United (No. 27 MLS)
- East 3: New York City FC (No. 4 MLS), Atlas (No. 12 LIGA MX), Toronto FC (No. 26 MLS)
- East 4: New York Red Bulls (No. 5 MLS), Atlético de San Luis (No. 11 LIGA MX), New England Revolution (No. 19 MLS)
How groups were determined
MLS sorting (top 15): The top 15 MLS clubs – excluding the MLS Cup champion (LAFC) – were placed in their corresponding geographic region first, and then based on their position in the final 2022 Supporters’ Shield standings.
LIGA MX sorting (top 15): The top 15 LIGA MX teams, based on the combined Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 standings – excluding the LIGA MX champion (Pachuca) – were paired in reverse order with the top 15 MLS clubs.
Remaining seeds (MLS): Continuing with the competitive balance criteria, the remaining 13 MLS clubs were placed in the groups, again based first on their geographic region, and then based on their position in the final 2022 Supporters’ Shield standings.
Remaining seeds (LIGA MX): With MLS clubs placed into groups, the South and East regions have one remaining slot each. Based on the combined Clausura 2022 and Apertura 2022 standings, the last two remaining LIGA MX clubs – FC Juarez and Querétaro – were placed in the open positions in these two regions to complete the groups.