The start of the 2026 regular season is getting set to begin later this weekend across Major League Soccer. But there are other competitions involving MLS clubs this year that have yet to be finalized, including the Leagues Cup.
A new report from the Dallas Morning News states that the final details will be coming out within the next week. For FC Dallas the big news is that they’ll host games against Chivas and Queretaro, while going on the road to face Toluca.
Storied Mexican club Chivas de Guadalajara is set to travel to North Texas to face FC Dallas in the 2026 Leagues Cup, a person with direct knowledge of the scheduling told The Dallas Morning News.
Querétaro will also visit FCD, the person told The News. The schedule includes a road match for FC Dallas at Toluca, the reigning champion of Mexican soccer.
For the first time in the competition’s history, Liga MX teams will host matches in Mexico as the Leagues Cup enters its fourth season.
The League Cup will kickoff following the finish of the FIFA World Cup on August 4 and will run through the beginning of September.
The free stuff tells you what happened. A paid subscription tells you why it happened, what it means for FC Dallas, and what’s coming next—before anyone else catches up.
Quick BDS Take
I’ll wait to really break down the actual group for FC Dallas when the full schedule is announced next week, but there are a couple of big things from this report that stand out.
Home games
While FC Dallas will get two home games, it will come at weird time when Toyota Stadium is in its transition finishing the East Stand while closing the West Stand. The DMN’s report does not go into where the games will be hosted, as sources to Big D Soccer told us earlier in the year that we should possibly expect FC Dallas to not play Leagues Cup games at Toyota Stadium in 2026.
It is possible the construction has moved along in the schedule in a way that games can happen in August? Maybe.
I do wonder with a big name like Chivas coming into town if the club will attempt to move a game down to the Cotton Bowl for bigger visibility. To me, that seems like a smart play if they can work it out.
Road games
Again, I won’t go into the reported opponent here (yikes, that is a tough draw), but this is a good move forward for the Leagues Cup to see MLS teams hit the road. If this tournament was ever going to evolve into something truly meaningful for both leagues, this is a correct step in that direction.
The bigger question on my mind will be whether or not Liga MX sides get additional home games after the Group Stage. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see how the full schedule is laid out when it comes out.
