The Leagues Cup has released the Phase 1 fixtures for the Sounders, who will begin their Leagues Cup title defense. The Sounders will play defending Liga MX Apertura champions Toluca, as well as Querétaro and Chivas. While Querétaro and Chivas will travel to Lumen Field, the Toluca game will be away at their home ground, Nemesio Díez Stadium. Seattle traveling to Toluca marks the first Leagues Cup match where the club travels to Mexico.
The Toluca away game will be on Wednesday, August 5, and the Lumen Field games will be on Sunday, August 9 and Wednesday, August 12 against Queretaro and Chivas respectively.
Toluca’s Nemesio Díez Stadium is a box-shaped compact venue that is very high in elevation at about 8750 feet (~2,667 meters) above sea level, significantly higher than any MLS stadium. For comparison, Colorado’s Dick’s Sporting Goods Park is about 5,280 feet and RSL’s America First Field is 4,850 above sea level.
Photo: Club Deportivo Toluca (via Instagram)
Known as “El Infierno,” translating to “The Hell,” the 30k seater stadium is known for its close-quarters pitch-to-stands setup and intense atmosphere. This will be the first ever meeting between the Sounders and Toluca.
While the Sounders will have a very tough first traveling fixture, Chivas will also be no easy test. The only time the Sounders and Chivas met competitively was the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, which the Sounders lost 3-1 on aggregate. Specifically, the most recent meeting was on March 14, 2018, where the Sounders lost 3-0 at the Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, despite winning 1-0 in the home leg.
While there are no true easy matches in football, the Querétaro match is, on paper, the least challenging game for the Sounders. Querétaro placed 12th in the most current Liga MX Apertura, after also finishing 12th in the 2024/25 Clausura. Earlier in the 2024/25 Apertura season, Querétaro placed second-to-last. This Leagues Cup match will also be the first time Seattle and Querétaro have played each other.
