Just days after grinding out a hard-fought scoreless draw at Lumen Field against Cruz Azul in Leg One of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, the Seattle Sounders were eliminated from the tournament following a 4-1 loss in the return fixture in Mexico City on March 11.
From there, Cruz Azul went on to defeat Club América and Tigres UANL before securing their seventh CCC title in club history against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
It was a difficult way for the Sounders to go out, especially after winning it all in their prior participation in the tournament. But, a chance at redemption is in store for the Rave Green when the team faces Cruz Azul in Phase One of Leagues Cup on July 31st (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, Apple TV+, FS1, UniMás, TUDN, TSN, Televisa, El Rey 1360AM).
“This is a really good team,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Looking forward to a little bit of a rematch.”
While Cruz Azul comes into the tournament with new coach Nicolás Larcamón and a refreshed roster, the matchup is expected to mirror the intensity from their CCC clash.
Cruz Azul will be without Mexico National Team player Alexis Gutiérrez who recently made the move to Club América, but have added new talent to fill in the gaps, including former Club Necaxa midfielder José Paradela. Players like Ángel Sepúlveda also remain, who made a strong showing in CCC after collecting the most goals in the tournament (9).
“These are the games that we want to play, and these are the types of teams and players we want to go up against,” said midfielder Albert Rusnák.
The Slovak international described Cruz Azul as one of the hardest teams he’s dealt with since coming to MLS.
“They’re really good with the ball. They’re hard to play without the ball. They’re aggressive,” said Rusnák. “It’s going to be high paced, a lot of tackles, a lot of second balls, so it’s going to be a challenging game.”
With an opponent like Cruz Azul, the Sounders will need to take advantage of any mistakes made from the Liga MX side while utilizing their own strengths to create chances in the attack.
“We obviously have a style of play. We like to possess the ball. We’re good in transition,” said Schmetzer. “And they obviously like to keep the ball. Sometimes they take risks, so we’ll try to press higher on the field at the right moments and again, see if we can get a couple.”
Thursday is expected to be more than just the Sounders’ opening match of Leagues Cup. It is another chance for the team to prove they can compete with the best-of-the-best all while laying the groundwork for what is ahead.
“[Cruz Azul] ended up winning the Champions Cup. So, I think that gives us a little bit more motivation and a little bit more drive that we want to beat them even more,” said Rusnák. “If we can beat them, then it will set us up [well] for the remainder of Leagues Cup, but also for the rest of the season.”
