Minnesota United vs. Queretaro FC
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Allianz Field
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Weather: 75 degrees, party sunny, 9 mph south wind
What: The third annual Leagues Cup has all 18 teams in Mexico’s Liga MX and 18 MLS teams that qualified for the tournament based in making the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
MNUFC will play three Mexican teams in “Phase One.” After Queretaro, the Loons will play Club America in Houston on Saturday and host Atletico de San Luis in St. Paul next Wednesday.
How: The four teams with the most points in both Liga MX and MLS will move on to the knockout quarterfinal round. Three points awarded for regulation wins. If it’s a draw after 90 minutes, each team receives one point and the winner of a shootout gets an additional point.
Context: The Loons are ranked 17th out of the 36 clubs in the tournament. Queretaro is 31st, America is ninth and San Luis is 23rd.
View: Minnesota should prioritize its two home games, with a daunting match against America — the reigning Liga MX champions — coming at in a muggy Houston at the weekend. Fans of the Mexican giants will certainly make that a hostile environment.
Six points in wins over Queretaro and San Luis might not be enough to get through, but trying to go for it against America will spread a smaller squat too thin and jeopardize energy levels against San Luis.
Quote: “We will, for sure, approach every game with a real seriousness,” head coach Eric Ramsay said. “I think the fact that we were able to go and win (Saturday) was really helpful in that sense because I feel like we’re able to put to one side (MLS) play, really try and take the team a step further over the course of the coming days.”
Form: MNUFC is 1-1-1 in its last three matches but is on the upswing after a 2-1 comeback win at St. Louis on Saturday. Queretaro has lost all three of its games to start the Liga MX Apertura season, with a minus-five goal differential.
Update: New this year: Each club will play three matches against opponents from the other league. This was needed because it was odd for MNUFC to play MLS teams in previous Leagues Cups.
Look-back: Loons are 2-0-1 against Liga MX since the tournament started in 2023. Minnesota beat Necaza on the back of Dayne St. Clair’s 16 saves last season; it was a Leagues Cup record. But United failed to get out of its group with a loss to Seattle. In 2023, MNUFC advanced to the next round and topped Toluca in a shootout in the round of 16 but got smoked 5-0 to Nashville in the quarterfinals.
Stats: With two penalty kicks in the win at St. Louis, striker Kelvin Yeboah has five goals in six matches across all competitions in July.
“As always, I try not to ride the highs too high and the lows too low,” Yeboah said about his surge. “I try to stay at that center in my roach to the games, and that keeps my head cool.”
Prediction: Queretaro has an added day of rest after a 2-0 loss to Pumas on Friday, but travel to the U.S., their poor start to Liga MX play and an away match in Minnesota will mean a Loons victory: 1-0.
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