The Seattle Sounders will host Club Puebla in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals either Aug. 19 or 20. Puebla took the No. 4 spot in the Liga MX table after beating New York City 3-0 and CF Montreal 2-1, which were sandwiched around a 3-1 loss to the Columbus Crew. In Liga MX play, they’ve started the Apertura 1-2-0 after finishing 17th of 18 teams in the 2024 Clausura.
Coming into the final day of Phase One, there was an entirely plausible scenario where the Sounders would have to play their quarterfinal on the road despite claiming the top seed. FC Juárez had a chance to jump into second in the Liga MX table by beating the New York Red Bulls, which would have pushed Tigres into the No. 4 spot. Tigres were one of six Liga MX teams who were granted “hosting” rights based on their play last season. If they had drawn the Sounders, the game would have likely been played a “neutral” MLS facility in the southern United States.
That scenario was avoided, though, when the New York Red Bulls beat Juárez in a penalty shootout, allowing Puebla to claim the No. 4 spot and leaving Juárez eliminated.
If the Sounders advance out of the quarterfinals, they’ll face the winner of Pachuca-LA Galaxy, who knocked out the Portland Timbers and moved into the No. 3 MLS spot after beating Santos Laguna 4-0 on Thursday. The Sounders would host if they play Pachuca, but would need to play at LA, who have hosting rights throughout the tournament thanks to winning MLS Cup last year.
The Sounders would host the final against any team on the other side of the bracket: Toluca, Tigres, Inter Miami or Orlando City.
