Overview
- Play opened Tuesday, Aug. 4 with Cincinnati, Charlotte and Columbus winning in regulation, Mexican sides FC Juárez and Atlante also claiming victories, and Tigres earning two points after a penalty shootout win over Real Salt Lake.
- Organizers expanded the field to 36 teams and split clubs into separate MLS and Liga MX tables, with every group match decided after 90 minutes and a points system that rewards regulation wins more heavily than shootout wins.
- Only four group-stage matches will be hosted in Mexico—Toluca twice, América once and Tigres once—so most fixtures remain in the U.S., a limited concession meant to ease Liga MX travel complaints.
- Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass is the primary global outlet for the tournament with select U.S. windows on FOX Sports, concentrating broadcast access behind a paywalled streaming service.
- Inter Miami is scheduled to face Atlético San Luis on Aug. 5 at the Nu Stadium with multiple reports saying Lionel Messi is likely to start, a test of star availability and fitness under the compressed, high-stakes group format.