FC Cincinnati takes on powerful Monterrey to start Leagues Cup

As the 2025 Major League Soccer season nears the final quarter of its regular-season schedule, FC Cincinnati will get another dose of big-time tournament experience.

FC Cincinnati will begin play in the annual Leagues Cup tournament July 31, hosting Mexican side CF Monterrey at TQL Stadium with a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be the first of three games in eight days that the Orange and Blue will play against teams from Mexico’s premier league, Liga MX.

Three spots in the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup are up for grabs in this tournament as well as the cup trophy itself. The tournament has a new format this season that creates more urgency for all the teams. A loss to Monterrey will make it a lot more difficult for the Orange and Blue to get past the group stage even if they win their next two.

Cincinnati, coming off a 0-0 draw at Inter Miami, will be in the Leagues Cup for the third time and played Monterrey in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last season.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of the Champions Cup to better understand some of the top teams, which certainly Monterrey is one of those teams,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said. “The approach is let's see if we can have a strong start with our performance tomorrow and see if we can get out and do a good spot to hopefully advance in the competition. So I think everybody sees the challenges with the format of advancing, but our expectation is to do that, and the only way that's possible is if we start strong. It will certainly be a very difficult start, so we're looking forward to it.”

How does the 2025 Leagues Cup work?

All 18 teams from Liga MX are in the field with 18 MLS teams. Those are the MLS playoff qualifiers from 2024, except for the expansion side San Diego FC, which replaces the Vancouver Whitecaps, as Vancouver competed in the 2025 Champions Cup.

Each club plays three matches against teams from the opposite league. Rankings and regions determine the pairings. After Monterrey, Cincy will host FC Juarez 5:30 p.m. Aug. 3 and Chivas de Guadalajara 7 p.m. Aug. 7. Charlotte and the New York Red Bulls will play the same three LMX teams, with NYRB coming here to play Monterrey 8:30 p.m. Aug. 7 at TQL Stadium.

Like recent years, a Leagues Cup group-stage game cannot end in a draw. A tie after 90 minutes results in a penalty-kick shootout, with the winner earning two points and the loser one, instead of the standard three and zero.

All 18 teams from each league will be ranked as one group, and the top four from each league advance to the quarterfinals, with one MLS team facing one Liga MX team in that round. Standard tiebreakers, starting with goal differential, will determine the eight quarterfinalists and seeding.

Because only four teams out of 18 in each league will advance to the quarterfinals, it’s possible that an MLS club will have to win all three matches to have a chance. That theory took a hit July 29 after the first six games of the tournament, when none of the MLS clubs won in regulation. Three of them lost in regulation, two others lost in PKs and one won in PKs. Six more MLS teams will play their first game July 30, then Cincy and five others July 31.

Either way, Noonan said he and the players can’t get caught up in scoreboard-watching and will focus on playing Monterrey. Then they will regroup and see where they’re at heading into the Juarez game.

“We can't look too much past this and we won't look past this because nothing past this matters,” Noonan said. “If we don't have a good performance, yes, it becomes more challenging to advance, but I think if we have the right approach to the game and we perform in a good level, we position ourselves to win a game, and that's the priority.”

CF Monterrey is a challenging opponent

Cincy and Monterrey played in the Champions Cup in 2024, with former FC Cincinnati star Brandon Vazquez helping Rayados win both games over his former club by scores of 2-1 and 1-0.  

Monterrey is coming off a successful showing in the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, going 1-0-2 in the group stage with draws against powerhouses Inter Milan and River Plate (Argentina) and a 4-0 win over Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan). Then, they lost 2-1 to German power Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.  

Monterrey finished seventh in Liga MX in the recently completed 2024-25 season with a 8-5-4 record. In the new season that started earlier this month, Monterrey is 2-1-0.

Germán Berterame, a 26-year-old striker and member of the Mexican national team, has all four of the club’s goals after scoring three of the club’s six markers in the Club World Cup. He has 77 goals in eight seasons in Liga MX.

Noonan said he is a challenge to defend because he has speed and moves well and deceptively in space with good timing.

Monterrey’s best-known player is Sergio Ramos, a 39-year-old defender who played 16 seasons with Real Madrid. He scored a goal against Inter Milan in the Club World Cup and has more than 100 goals in his career.

“With the ball, they've got playmakers all over the field,” Noonan said. “Guys on the back line, certainly with Ramos leading both, you could see a vocal presence, but also with his play. How they're able to play under pressure, passing range, balls over distance, passes under pressure. It starts with the keeper, (he’s) excellent under pressure. They're not afraid to play. And then with teams that have stepped up, once they've broken that pressure, how dynamic they are moving to goal and how quickly they can attack.”

Looking ahead, Juarez was 6-5-6 last season and currently 0-1-2. Guadalajara was 5-6-6 and currently 1-1-0. Guadalajara has Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, the 37-year-old striker who starred for Manchester United and L.A. Galaxy. He has not played a game yet in the club’s current Liga MX campaign and has scored only three goals since joining his hometown team in 2024.

Ender Echenique could make FC Cincinnati debut

Ender Echenique, FC Cincinnati’s new U22 signing, has been training with the team since July 24, the first day he was eligible to do so once the current transfer window opened.

The 21-year-old had been playing for Caracas F.C. of Venezuela’s Primera División, scoring four goals and logging two assists in 12 appearances this season. He made his professional debut with Aragua F.C. at just 16 years old. Echenique joins the Orange and Blue as a U22 Initiative Player and will take up an International Roster Spot. He said he mainly plays on the right wing and considers himself an aggressive attacker.

Noonan said it’s too soon to tell when Echenique will make his debut in a match. It will depend on how his fitness is and how he acclimates with the team and the system.

“I’m very excited to finally be here,” Echenique said through an interpreter. “It’s a team that, obviously, they don't need very much at all, but I'm excited to add myself to the group and add my talents and get working with the team. I know the calendar is very packed. The team will need to rotate. So I'm here to help the team however I can, but it's about picking up and learning with the team.”

More about the 2025 Leagues Cup format and schedule

The quarterfinals will take place midweek on Aug. 19-20, followed by the semifinals, also midweek, on Aug. 26-27. The final and third-place match are on Aug. 31 to determine the three qualifiers for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

FC Cincinnati could potentially host any of its knockout matches depending on who they play. Sites are determined by the Leagues Cup rankings which incorporate the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield standings. Some games involving Liga MX teams will be at neutral MLS sites.