The Columbus Crew welcomes LIGA MX side Toluca on Tuesday, July 29th at Lower.com Field. The match will be the first game of The Crew’s Leagues Cup title defense of 2025. In last year’s tournament, the Black & Gold lifted the coveted interleague trophy without ever facing off with a LIGA MX squad. That will not be possible this year.

The two leagues have changed the format to ensure more cross-league matchups. The midsummer tournament will look and feel slightly different than what we have become accustomed to. 

Let’s get into it.

Format Changes

The top nine teams from each MLS conference from the 2024 season, along with all 18 LIGA MX teams, will participate in this year’s Leagues Cup. This will create a more exclusive and consequential atmosphere for the tournament.

The other big change for this year is the discarding of the group stage. Instead of the sometimes awkward three-team groups, the 2025 Leagues Cup will start with each team playing three cross-league matches, referred to as “Phase One.” The results of these games will determine who advances to the knockout stage of the competition.

During this phase, each league will have its own respected table. Each win earns a team 3 points, a shootout victory is worth 2 points, and a regulation draw followed by a shootout loss is worth 1 point. Like the past two years, there are no draws in this competition.

The top four teams in each league after Phase One earn a berth in the quarterfinals, where they will again take on a team from the opposite league. The quarterfinal match-ups are determined by Phase One results (MLS 1 v LIGA MX 4, MLS 2 v LIGA MX 3…)

The Leagues Cup Champions, runners-up up and third-place teams will earn berths to the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

The Columbus Crew’s Path

The Crew’s path to the knockout stage will not be easy, with so few spots available, every point in Phase One of the competition will be crucial.

The first match-up against Toluca has the potential to be the biggest game in the whole tournament.

Toluca won the 2025 Clausura. (both the league standings and the playoffs) In the Clausura finals, they defeated Club America, who had won the previous three LIGA MX tournaments.

Toluca would go on to beat Club America again in the Campeón de Campeones. (Apertura Champions v. Clausura Champions)

Toluca is led by da ynamic forward duo, of Alexis Vega and Paulinho. USMNT fans may remember Vega from the 2025 Gold Cup. Paulinho was a part of a three-player tie for the Clausura Golden Boot with 12 goals.

After that gigantic matchup, The Crew will take on Puebla on Friday. Puebla finished 17th in last year’s Clausura standings.

Columbus’s last Phase One match will be against Leon on Tuesday, August 5th. 

All games in Phase One will be played at Lower.com Field. If the Crew advance to the knockout stage, they will resume their MLS schedule and play the Leagues Cup knockout matches in the middle of the week.

How to Watch

All Leagues Cup matches will air on Apple’s MLS Season Pass, with select games shown on TelevisaUnivision’s various networks, FOX Sports, TSN, and RDS.

The Columbus Crew v. Toluca kicks off at 7:00 PM EST