The Verde Report: Mexican Teams (and Messi?) Await Austin FC in First-Ever Leagues Cup

The Leagues Cup trophy on tour at Q2 Stadium (courtesy of Austin FC)

Starting this week – and for the first time ever – Major League Soccer is putting its long-term commitments on hold for a steamy, monthlong summer fling with its love-hate counterpart to the south, Mexico's Liga MX.

In what's been so eloquently dubbed the Leagues Cup, representatives from both MLS and Liga MX will compete amongst each other in a brand-new, World Cup-style competition featuring a group stage and a knockout round over the next four weeks.

For Austin FC, it means another chance at a trophy as well as an opportunity to make a better impression beyond the U.S. borders than was made in the CONCACAF Champions League back in March. And, if the chips fall in just the right way, it could lead to a date with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in the very near future.

"I know that the players are excited for this. And you know, I'm just grateful that I'm in the league now when it's actually happening," said defender Jon Gallagher, who made his MLS All-Star Game debut representing Austin FC on Wednesday. "You know, fans will always debate which is the better league. And now we get a chance to actually see both MLS teams and Liga MX teams go against each other."

The tournament begins with all 47 total clubs divided into 15 groups of three (with defending league champs LAFC and C.F. Pachuca automatically advanced to the knockout stage). Fourteen of the 15 groups comprise two MLS clubs and one Mexican side ... except Austin FC's. The Verde and Black open the group stage Friday night against Mazatlán FC, then follow that up on Saturday the 29th against FC Juárez. Both matches – plus a clash between Mazatlán and Juárez on Tuesday the 25th – will take place at Q2 Stadium.

Both Mazatlán, founded in 2020, and Juárez, established 2015, are, like Austin FC, relative infants in the North American soccer landscape. However, unlike ATXFC, neither club has so far been able to crack the top half of their league's end-of-season table. By any objective measure, they are among the weakest of the Mexican top-flight sides. But ATX coach Josh Wolff knows better to take any Liga MX club lightly.

"I don't think those words go well together, 'weak Mexican team,'" Wolff said. "We'll have to do a good deep dive into who they are, what they're about, but there's no way we look at those teams as being weak."

In what is admittedly a massive "if," if Austin FC and Inter Miami both win their groups and their first knockout round games, they would meet in the Round of 16, presumably at Q2 Stadium. The only other chance of Messi making an Austin appearance in the year 2023 is in the even unlikelier scenario of ATXFC and Miami meeting in the MLS Cup Final.

With four wins and a draw in its last six matches, Austin FC enters the inaugural Leagues Cup with legitimate momentum, as well as expectations. However, injuries have begun to pile up again as Dani Pereira and Sebastián Driussi both exited the club's previous match with knocks. While Driussi's did not seem serious, Pereira's sprained shoulder could keep him sidelined, alongside center back Alex Ring and winger Emiliano Rigoni, who've both missed recent matches with injuries.

"It'll be challenging," Wolff said. "For us the responsibility is to win our group and move through and make the most of our opportunity."