In this edition of the Hudson River Blue Roundtable, Andrew Leigh, Matthew Mangam, and Abe Shire look back on Phase One of the 2025 Leagues Cup, which wrapped up last night with New York City FC eliminated after finishing in 15th Place.
NYCFC complied a record of 1W-0D-2L, losing Game 1 to Club Puebla 3-0, winning Game 2 over Club León 3-0, and losing Game 3 to Deportivo Toluca 2-1.
This Roundtable follows up on the Leagues Cup preview published on July 27.
Do we like Leagues Cup?
Hudson River Blue: Gut check: Now that Leagues Cup Phase One is over, and New York City FC and another 13 MLS teams are eliminated, how are you feeling about the tournament?
Matthew Mangam: There've been some pretty good games, but I still don’t care too much about Leagues Cup. All the games are in the United States. Putting some games in Mexico or Canada would definitely make it more interesting, especially for the fan bases.
Andrew Leigh: This year it doesn’t feel significant or memorable or like it will “move the needle” in any way, and I’m not just saying that because New York City went out quickly. The 2023 version was all new and lasted the entire month and included Messi’s debut, and it’s felt like a steady erosion of interest and excitement for it since then, with 2025 not changing that, even with the new format.
Abe Shire: Not great. I wasn’t a big fan of people having to root against other MLS teams.
HRB: What do you think of the new format now that we've made it through our first Phase One? Do any of you wish that six or eight teams would advance, adding another round but giving more opportunity?
MM: I still think the new format is too demanding. The top four teams advancing means you basically have to be perfect, which is what we’re seeing currently with pretty much all MLS teams already eliminated. I think six teams advancing is the perfect number.
AS: I would actually go with eight teams to advance. It’s a flawed and cutthroat format. Asking a team to win two or three games over the course of one week to advance? It’s a lot.
AL: While it’s been an improvement to only have MLS teams playing against Liga MX teams, I don’t think the format is just right. We ended up with too many meaningless games given how easy it is to fall out of contention with only eight teams escaping Phase One.
Abe Shire
The best games so far
HRB: What was your favorite game so far? Abe, you said you were looking forward to Seattle Sounders vs Cruz Azul as a sort of Battle Royale, but it turned into a 7-0 blowout for Seattle. Do any other matches jump out at any of you?
AS: I’ll go with Inter Miami when they beat Atlas 2-1. Messi assisted both goals, defender Marcelo Weigandt and attacking midfielder Telasco Segovia scored, and Rodrigo de Paul made his Inter Miami debut. It had everything.
AL: I was vindicated in picking Club América-Minnesota United as a “game to watch” because it was a 3-3 shootout that was highly entertaining, but I’ll also give a shout to Inter Miami CF-Necaxa, a 2-2 draw won by Miami on penalties that included an early Messi injury, each team getting reduced to 10 players, and each team scoring super late goals after the 80th minute to send things to PKs.
MM: Miami versus Necaxa was crazy. Necaxa took a 2-1 lead in the 81st minute, but a goal from Jordi Alba 12 minutes into stoppage time sent it to penalties, which Miami won 5-4 for the two points.
HRB: What was your favorite NYCFC game so far? Going into this, Abe, Mark, and Matthew were excited to see James Rodríguez and Club León. Did it live up to expectations? Andrew, you answered Toluca, which was the most tense and exciting.
MM: It was super cool to see James Rodríguez. It was even cooler to see Matt Freese save his penalty and continue to prove himself to the world.
AL: The Toluca game felt the most like a true Concacaf encounter, the kind you’re used to if you’ve watched the United States play Mexico at international level with any regularity.
It was a mess, there was a fight, it had controversy thanks to VAR – and also had some brief moments of great quality and skill, mainly from Toluca but even a few times from NYCFC. I stand by my choice even though the result went the way of the red team from Liga MX and their many fans.
AS: The Club León game didn’t live up to expectations, but I’m with Matthew – I enjoyed Matt Freese's heroics.
Andrew Leigh
Leagues Cup vibes
HRB: Let’s talk about atmosphere. We thought the double-header at Sports Illustrated Stadium featuring NYCFC and León, followed by CF Montréal and Deportivo Toluca, would be sizzling, but that venue just can’t draw a crowd. The NYCFC vs Toluca game at Yankee Stadium was another matter: Toluca brought the vibes. What did you notice covering these games?
MM: I only covered both games at Sports Illustrated, but I can confidently say the crowd for the Club León game was better than the Puebla one. That’s pretty much because tons of Colombians came to see James Rodríguez.
AS: I can’t stop thinking about the crowd at the Toluca game. The Toluca fans were the 12th man. That’s what the Leagues Cup should feel like. You might not see another crowd like this at Yankee Stadium for a while.
AL: The Toluca crowd was lively, creating easily the best atmosphere of the three NYCFC matches. NYCFC fans were plentiful and loud too being back home in the Bronx, but those in red were there in serious numbers for the Liga MX side. Decent that the announced crowd was nearly 20,000 people on a Tuesday night.
HRB: In the previous Roundtable, we discussed what players we wanted to see get minutes: Máximo Carrizo, Sebastiano Musu, and Seymour Reid all came up. We saw 30’ from Carrizo, 0’ from Musu, and a whole lot of Reid.
AS: I understand why Carrizo and Musu didn’t get minutes against Puebla, but León and Toluca were chances to experiment, when there was little hope to advance. Reid’s minutes made sense, but we missed an opportunity with Carrizo.
MM: I really wish we saw Musu. I felt he could’ve come off the bench late in the second half against León, but he wasn’t even included in the squad for that game.
AL: At least my pick, Máximo Carrizo, got a few minutes, though it was in the game that Pascal Jansen somewhat punted against Puebla when he rested his overworked starters like Maxi Moralez and Alonso Martínez. Reid benefited from Mounsef Bakrar’s departure and the desire to give Martínez some rest, but looked as rough around the edges as you’d expect from a 17-year-old with limited professional experience.
Mark Radigan
Leagues Cup is Nico Fernández's preseason
HRB: Another player we saw a lot was Nico Fernández. He made all three starts, putting in a combined 145’. What do you think of the new DP?
AL: Underwhelmed thus far. He didn’t do anything in Leagues Cup save for one positive moment, dribbling around some León defenders in the build-up to the goal scored by Agustín Ojeda. Held silent in his starts against Puebla and Toluca, and so far, he’s looked his absolute best while playing against tired FC Dallas legs in the heat of the Texas night during his debut as a sub back in the last MLS league game.
AS: I haven’t seen enough of Nico against MLS teams, so I’m going to judge him over the final stretch of the season.
MM: Nico showed what we expected of him against León but also had a quiet performance in the defeat to Puebla. He was decent against Toluca, but remember this is technically his preseason. I’m excited to see more of him as he continues to get settled.
HRB: Let’s revisit your predictions. Most predicted a win against Club Puebla, and we know how that turned out. Abe, you said that NYCFC will “fall to Toluca on a controversial VAR call.” Did that come to you in a vision?
AS: It didn’t, but people would probably believe me if I said so.
AL: I got the exact results wrong, but was right in thinking they wouldn’t advance to the knockouts, though that’s not the most out-on-a-limb prediction to make given how difficult it is to advance this year.
MM: The Puebla loss was a massive letdown; my hopes were slightly lifted after León, but I knew Toluca would be a difficult match.
Matthew Mangam
Will we keep watching Leagues Cup?
HRB: There are three rounds left to play in this edition of Leagues Cup. Will you be paying attention? If so, what teams grab you?
MM: I won’t be looking at any particular teams, but I’ll put a game on if I’m bored and want to watch some soccer. I’ll definitely watch the final, though.
AL: I want to see if Seattle Sounders, the only team with three regulation wins from three Phase One games played, runs the table against Liga MX opposition. Also curious to see if a team like Toluca, who looked pretty impressive in Phase One, can become the first Liga MX side to lift this trophy.
AS: I’m not rooting for any team, but I’ll keep an eye on Toluca. They have a lot of firepower, and their fans are all in.
Andrew Leigh
Matthew Mangam
HRB: Let’s end on another gut check. Leagues Cup, thumbs up or thumbs down?
AL: My thumb remains pointed down on Leagues Cup, where it’s been fixed since the tournament came around and coincided with reduced MLS participation in the US Open Cup. I think the changes made this year are marginal improvements, but the tournament isn’t serious until at a minimum splits hosting duties between the United States and Mexico.
MM: Thumbs down.
AS: Say what you want to say about Leagues Cup, it still offers three spots in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. I’m giving it a thumbs up.
