The quarterfinals highlight a key issue for Liga MX teams, which have seen even more painful penalty shootouts.

Before Saturday night’s matches, Cruz Azul and Santos Laguna were eliminated from the tournament after defeats on the penalty spot. In the quarterfinals, only Club América and Mazatlán remained in the Leagues Cup to raise the Mexican flag.

The round began with Los Cañoneros visiting Philadelphia to face Union. The match seemed to be going in the Sinaloa club’s favour when Tai Baribo received two yellow cards within five minutes of being sent off before half-time. However, Mikael Uhre had enough time to give the home side a surprise lead before half-time. Mazatlán responded within 15 minutes of the second half through Jesús Escoboza, but they could not score a winning goal before the final whistle.

When the semi-finals went to penalties, Josue Colman missed the first penalty for the Liga MX side, while Union scored all three goals. Alan Torres missed a second for Mazatlán, but Samuel Adeniran’s effort was saved by the post, saving the Mexican club. Despite that small glimmer of hope, Jesus Blanco scored the next penalty to send Union through by the narrowest of goals.

Club América made a late breakthrough against St. Louis City in the previous round, but after a goalless draw with Rapid, fans witnessed a second Liga MX shootout of the evening.

Las Águilas came out on top in the shootout when Rafael Navarro was unable to convert his attempt. Just one penalty away from the semi-finals, defender Igor Lichnovsky’s shot was saved by former Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen. In the sudden numbness, both teams converted their next four attempts before América goalkeeper Luís Malagon failed to convert.

América was the third consecutive Liga MX team to be eliminated by the Colorado club, with Toluca and Juárez facing a similar fate.

This result means that both Liga MX teams are eliminated from the 2024 Leagues Cup, confirming that the fourth winner will be an MLS team, following in the footsteps of Inter Miami, who won the competition last summer.

These four semi-finalists are:

Columbus Crew
Philadelphia Union
LAFC United
Colorado Rapids

Who will win the Leagues Cup 2024, let us know!