Concacaf Champions Cup begins: Which MLS club could make a run?

It's hard to believe, but Concacaf Champions Cup has officially started, with a trio of Round One, Leg 1 matchups getting underway on Tuesday evening. This year, there are nine MLS representatives, with San Diego FC becoming the first to take the field when they beat Pumas UNAM at 4-1 SnapDragon Stadium.

As the continental tournament gets underway, here's a look at all the MLS participants to gauge their chances of making a run.

LA Galaxy

The case for: The Galaxy looked like they were having the type of offseason that gave hope for a bounce-back campaign as recently as a couple weeks ago. They took a couple of big swings to address their biggest needs, trading for Jakob Glesnes and signing Justin Haak to completely remake their central defense. Those are high-level additions that should theoretically set them up to better control games and concede fewer goals than they did in 2025.

The case against: Then came the news of Riqui Puig's injury setback, which will keep him sidelined for a second straight season. Whatever chance the Galaxy had at making noise in CCC was probably contingent on Puig returning and getting back to his previous MVP-level form. Now, their chances seem to hinge on their offseason defensive reinforcements making a huge impact right away. But even if that's enough to keep them competitive in some of these games, is a Marco Reus and João Klauss-led attack going to be enough to go toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in Liga MX and MLS?

It's possible, it just feels like asking for a lot of new pieces to click at a very high level all at once, while they're integrating all these new players on the fly.

Verdict: Very unlikely to make a run

San Diego FC

The case for: San Diego were arguably the biggest surprise in the league last year, and they do have the top-end talent that can make a difference in tournament play with guys like Anders Dreyer and Jeppe Tverskov.

The case against: They also have one of the most difficult paths of any MLS club. Like they did last year, though, they made things look pretty easy in the first leg against Pumas, with four second-half goals to run away with the result and take a commanding 4-1 lead into Leg 2. But even if they advance, their reward is facing a Toluca side in the Round of 16 that's among the favorites to win the whole tournament. Throw in the offseason drama surrounding Chucky Lozano, and it feels like the deck is stacked against Mikey Varas' side.

Verdict: Very unlikely to make a run

Philadelphia Union

The case for: Philly had much more turnover this offseason than usual, making them one of the trickiest clubs to assess heading into CCC and the regular season. But they're also one of the savviest clubs in the league when it comes to roster building and have one of the league's best youth development systems. They have a proven track record of staying competitive, even in years where their roster feels like it shouldn't be.

The case against: They seem like an obvious candidate to take a step back considering all their offseason departures, which included at least four cornerstone players in Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo. Like the Galaxy, it's just hard to peg them as a CCC frontrunner when they have so many new pieces to acclimate.

Verdict: Very unlikely to make a run

Nashville SC

The case for: Nashville made one of the best moves of the offseason when they were able to land Cristian Espinoza in free agency. Not only has the Argentine been underratedly one of the best playmakers in MLS the last few years while toiling away for San Jose, but he also addresses a clear need for the Coyotes. They desperately needed some dynamism out wide to complement the duo of Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge, and Espinoza has that in spades.

The case against: Espinoza is only one guy and they still have to prove that his arrival will move the needle as much as it feels like he could. If he doesn't, then there's not much reason to believe they'll be significantly different than they were last year, which was good, not great.

Verdict: Decent chance to make a run

FC Cincinnati

The case for: Cincy are solidified as one of the best teams in the East at this point. They also have two of the best players on the field in any game they play in Evander and Kévin Denkey. They played a lot of one-goal games last year, which can be a dangerous way to live. But they won most of them, and that gives them a lot of experience playing in tight games and pressure moments, which are both requirements to take results in CCC.

The case against: It felt like they were never as dominant as they should have been last year, given their loaded roster. Winning a lot of one-goal games is also something that's hard to repeat year over year. If they end up in those situations again this year, they're leaving a lot up to variance that might not go their way this year.

Verdict: Decent chance to make a run

Vancouver Whitecaps

The case for: The 'Caps made a magical run all the way to the CCC final last year, only to see it end with an unceremonious 5-0 blowout at Cruz Azul. Still, that run was when they truly established themselves as one of the best teams in MLS, which they proved again when they made a run all the way to MLS Cup 2025. They'll have that experience to lean on as they try to replicate the feat in 2026.

The case against: They did lose Ali Ahmed to Norwich City and Ryan Gauld again to injury. They showed they can play without Gauld last year, but the loss of Ahmed could be a sneakily big one.

Verdict: Decent chance to make a run

Seattle Sounders

The case for: They're the only MLS club to win the modern incarnation of the tournament (famously), and they still have the same coach and a few key players who contributed to that run in 2022. Moreover, there's just a lengthy track record of their level elevating in tournament play, especially in CCC. They won't have Pedro de la Vega at the start or Obed Vargas at all, but this is a plenty stacked enough roster to make a patented Sounders run. They also have a first-round bye this year (famously), which means they don't have to expend any energy or resources before the Round of 16.

The case against: They have among the more difficult paths and have some uncertainty at an important position with Vargas's departure to Atlético Madrid. Hassani Dotson is a good option to take over that role on paper, but any sort of acclimation period there could create issues in the short-term.

Verdict: As good a chance to make a run as anybody

LAFC

The case for: They have a truly demonic force of nature with the Son Heung-min-Denis Bouanga duo. Those guys were absolutely unstoppable down the stretch last year and into the playoffs. If they play anywhere near that level, they're just fundamentally very difficult to stop.

The case against: They are adjusting to a new coach in Marc dos Santos. That's about it, there's really not much of a case against.

Verdict: Really should make a run

Inter Miami CF

The case for: They have the most insane roster in MLS history, built around the No. 1 literal best player to ever play the game, and now the best striker in Concacaf. They won MLS Cup last year, and their roster this year is notably, significantly better.

The case against: None

Verdict: Really should win the whole thing. Actively embarrassing for both the club and city if they don't win the whole thing.

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