A guide to Leagues Cup and CITY SC’s first match against FC Dallas

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis CITY SC will host FC Dallas this Saturday to kick off its 2024 Leagues Cup campaign.

This will be the second time St. Louis has participated in the Leagues Cup. Their last outing resulted in losses to Columbus Crew and Club América, with the former going on to win the 2023 MLS Cup.

Shortly after he arrived in the U.S., Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF won the 2023 Leagues Cup in a thrilling penalty shootout.

Leagues Cup 2024 Format

The Leagues Cup 2024 features all 47 first-division clubs in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. The competition is played in a World Cup-style tournament and is the very first two-league tournament sanctioned by Concacaf.

Within the month of competition, there will be 77 matches played at various MLS stadiums throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The top three teams in the tournament will receive automatic bids into the Concacaf Champions Cup with a chance to represent the Confederation at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Group Stage:

There will be 15 groups with three clubs in each. The clubs are divided into three tiers based on Leagues Cup rankings, and each group will be assigned a club from each tier. For more information, click here.

The two best-performing teams from each group will advance to the Round of 32.

Columbus Crew, the winner of the 2023 MLS Cup, and Club América, the club with the most points across Clausura 2023 and Apertura 2023, will by the group stage and receive automatic spots in the Round of 32.

St. Louis will face FC Dallas and FC Juárez in the Group Stage.

Knockout Rounds:

Once the group stage concludes, the tournament will transition to single-match elimination. Beginning with the Round of 32, teams will battle through the knockout stages until four remain. The final four will compete for a spot in the final, with the losers of those semifinal matches facing off in a third-place match.

The 2024 Leagues Cup Final will be held on Sunday, August 25.

Both clubs in the Leagues Cup Final, as well as the third-place winner, will automatically qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup. The winner, however, receives a spot in the Round of 16.

First Up: FC Dallas

For their first test, St. Louis will face off against a familiar opponent in FC Dallas.

FC Dallas currently holds the No. 11 spot with 30 points. The Toros have won three of their last five matches in MLS play, averaging over three goals in each win. Against CITY SC, Dallas holds a 2-1-1 overall record in all competitions.

In the last meeting between these two, Dallas shut out St. Louis 2-0 at Toyota Stadium. They are led by forward Petar Musa, who has notched 13 goals this season and is tied for fourth in goals scored in the MLS.

In last year’s Leagues Cup, FC Dallas made it as far as the Round of 16.

St. Louis’ Leagues Cup roster features some of the newer additions that recently arrived in the gateway city. Forward Cedric Teuchert, midfielder Marcel Hartel, and defender Jake Girdwood-reich are all listed as active and will likely see decent playing time during the group stage.

“I will bring hopefully positive vibes in the team to go forward, to be successful in the end,” said midfielder Marcel Hartel in a press conference.

One name that stands out is Rasmus Alm. Alm was injured in June when CITY faced Inter Miami CF, the defending Leagues Cup Champions. He was set to miss six to eight weeks due to his knee injury, but has been running drills on the side during training as of late.

Bottom Line: St. Louis has yet to prove they can be successful in tournament play. Despite the regular season success last year, CITY SC failed to win a match in any tournament-style competition. This season started off with a bang after CITY SC defeated Houston Dynamo 2-1 in the first leg of round one of the Concacaf Champions Cup. It was a small spark that lit a disappointingly dim flame for the remainder of the year. But as these new arrivals familiarize themselves more and more with CITY culture, we could start to see the new life that Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel hoped they would bring. It’s still early, but tournaments like Leagues Cup can have a strong impact on a club’s chemistry.

Match-Day Plans:

At 5 p.m., Lou Fusz Plaza will open for a block party featuring DJ entertainment from Tatiana Rose, as well as two performances by Mini Mizzou, an ensemble of of the Mizzou Marching Band.

At 6 p.m., for the first time, fans will have a unique opportunity to greet players as they arrive via bus and walk through the plaza into the stadium.

Gates to CITYPARK open at 6:30 p.m. with kick-off set for 8 p.m.

Tickets are available at www.stlcitysc.com.

For more on St. Louis CITY SC, click here.

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