The Philadelphia Union can still earn a 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup spot via their Leagues Cup performance, a task they'll look to complete in Saturday's Third-Place Game against Liga MX side CF Monterrey.
How to watch and stream
When
- Saturday, August 19 | 6 pm ET/3 pm PT
Where
- Subaru Park | Chester, Pennsylvania
If Philadelphia win at Subaru Park, they'll qualify for next year's continental club competition as a Round One team – hoping to build off CCC semifinal performances from 2021 and 2023. Further, a Union victory ensures Leagues Cup's top three finishers would be solely MLS teams as Nashville SC host Inter Miami CF in the Final later Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Monterrey are the last Mexican team standing in Leagues Cup and have already booked a 2024 CCC spot by virtue of their performance in the 2022-23 Liga MX aggregate table. That leaves bragging rights, prize money and pride as primary drivers for Rayados.
- 3-1 win vs. Club Tijuana (Group Stage)
- 5-1 win vs. Querétaro FC (Group Stage)
- 0-0 draw vs. D.C. United, win on PKs (Round of 32)
- 1-1 draw vs. New York Red Bulls, win on PKs (Round of 16)
- 2-1 win vs. Querétaro FC (Quarterfinal)
- 4-1 loss vs. Inter Miami CF (Semifinal)
Philadelphia tried to stop the Lionel Messi show in Tuesday's semifinal, but were overrun by Inter Miami's new-look squad in a 4-1 defeat. Standout goalkeeper Andre Blake had an uncharacteristically down night and Philly's finishing was poor, even though Dániel Gazdag returned following a knee injury. Perhaps striker Julián Carranza (hamstring) will be healthy enough to start and bring final-third sharpness.
Pursuing a bounce-back result, head coach Jim Curtin's team will look to defeat a third Liga MX team during their Leagues Cup campaign. They thrashed Club Tijuana and Querétaro FC by a combined 8-2 scoreline in the Group Stage, but needed a 101st-minute winner in the quarterfinal rematch against Querétaro to eke out a 2-1 victory.
Philadelphia, one of MLS's top teams over the past half-decade, will need a collective push to beat Monterrey. And with 2024 CCC motivation (they could still qualify on MLS merit), there's added incentive to finish strong.
- 3-0 win at Real Salt Lake (Group Stage)
- 4-2 win at Seattle Sounders FC (Group Stage)
- 1-0 win at Portland Timbers (Round of 32)
- 1-0 win vs. Tigres UANL (Round of 16)
- 3-2 win at LAFC (Quarterfinal)
- 2-0 loss at Nashville SC (Semifinal)
Monterrey looked virtually unstoppable during their Leagues Cup campaign, beating four MLS teams on the road to reach the semifinals. Then Rayados ran into Nashville SC and dropped a 2-0 result at GEODIS Park, where injuries and tired legs arguably caught up to them.
But a team of Monterrey's quality doesn't stay down for long, boasting more than enough high-end talent to cause Philadelphia fits. Whether it's striker Rogelio Funes Mori, attacking midfielder Sergio Canales or winger Maximiliano Meza, the Union's defense will have their hands full.
Nashville may have provided a counter-attacking blueprint for how to punish Monterrey's defense, which is typically anchored by El Tri defenders Héctor Moreno and Jesús Gallardo. Philadelphia have counter-attacking and stingy defense in their DNA, providing a path to humbling one of Concacaf's premier teams.
