Friday, August 1 | 7:30 p.m. PT
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LAFC welcomes Liga MX powerhouse C.F. Pachuca to BMO Stadium Friday night for a prime-time clash of leagues, countries, and club histories in Phase One of Leagues Cup 2025.
After one match, LAFC has earned one point in Leagues Cup, the latest annual competition that features all 18 clubs from Liga MX and 18 teams from MLS, battling to determine a single champion of North America’s two top leagues. A heavily rotated Black & Gold squad earned its point with a 1-1 draw with Mazatlán F.C. Tuesday night, then dropped the ensuing penalty shootout, 11-10—handing the visitors from Sinaloa an additional point. “You fall asleep once defensively and you're punished and then you lose on penalties,” manager Steve Cherundolo said. “It's a bitter pill for us to swallow, but we'll get over this and move on ... There was a lot of good tonight too.”
Only four Liga MX teams and four MLS teams will advance to the knockout stages of Leagues Cup based on points earned in Phase One, when each of the 36 invited clubs plays three matches against teams from the opposite league.
A victory over Pachuca Friday night would give LAFC a chance to be among those four advancing MLS teams, while a defeat or draw would likely mean an early exit for the Black & Gold.
In Pachuca’s Leagues Cup Opener, the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup winners earned three points by defeating San Diego FC, 3-2, placing Pachuca in position to advance if it can earn a result at BMO Stadium Friday night. But that’s no easy task. LAFC is 12W-3L-3D at home in all competitions in 2025, and 7W-2L-2D all-time in Leagues Cup, including a 2W-1L-1D mark against Liga MX clubs.
PACHUCA PREP
Established in 1892, Pachuca is the oldest football club in Mexico. Nicknamed Los Tuzos (The Gophers) in honor of the miners who created it, Pachuca has won seven Liga MX titles and six Concacaf Champions Cup trophies.
Like LAFC, Pachuca competed recently in the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, where it was eliminated in the group stage after falling to RB Salzburg, Real Madrid, and Al-Hilal.
Three Pachuca players – defender Alonso Aceves and midfielders Elias Montiel and Alán Bautista – represented the club at the MLS All-Star Game last week.
Through three matchdays in Liga MX’s Apertura 2025 competition, Los Tuzos are in first place with a record of 3W-0L-0D, scoring seven goals and conceding just two. Six-foot-three striker Jhonder Cádiz leads the club with two goals.
On Tuesday night, 20-year-old forward Alexei Dominguez, a product of Pachuca’s celebrated youth academy, scored two goals and assisted on another in his club’s Leagues Cup opener in San Diego. For 88 minutes, goalie Carlos Moreno held a clean sheet against the Western Conference leaders before two late San Diego goals made the final score 3-2.
"It's a team that can hurt us, a team that can score against us, but I also see vulnerabilities," head coach Steve Cherundolo said Thursday afternoon. "I also see moments that LAFC can hurt Pachuca, and so we will treat this game with the utmost respect and try to win it."
AMAYA’S EXPERIENCE
LAFC midfielder Frankie Amaya played three matches for Liga MX club Toluca in Leagues Cup 2024, giving the SoCal native an interesting perspective on the competition now that he’s back in MLS.
“I think it's a little bit different for a Mexican team,” said Ayala, who put in a 79-minute shift against Mazatlán. “It’s harder in some ways. They're always playing away from home. Obviously the whole tournament’s here in the United States, and I think they kinda have a little bit of a disadvantage ... I think that's how they look at it, but they see it as a good competition.”
“It should be a learning experience for all sides,” Cherundolo added. “The MLS style is a little different than Liga MX, and I think both sides can learn from each other. We at LAFC have learned from our clashes so far with teams from Liga MX. It's been very positive for us, and I think every game will get both countries and leagues closer to the best leagues in the world.”
LAFC CAN WIN IF
Young goalkeeper David Ochoa turns in another strong performance in place of veteran Hugo Lloris, who is in France this week addressing his U.S. residency status. The 24-year-old Ochoa, who spent the 2022-2023 season with Liga MX club Atlético San Luis, saved three of Mazatlán’s four shots on target in Tuesday’s match and provided quality distribution from his penalty area.
PACHUCA CAN WIN IF
Its depth makes a difference. Liga MX’s salary structure allows top clubs like Pachuca to rotate their starters or bring in second-half substitutes with little to no dropoff in performance.
Even if elite attackers Luis Quiñones (78 career goal contributions in Liga MX) and Victor Guzmán (87 goal contributions) do not start on Friday night, they will likely play a role in the outcome.
