Charlotte FC hosts Cruz Azul at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday in their final group stage match of Leagues Cup 2024. The Mexican side are top of the table early in the Liga MX season and will be playing their first match of the tournament.
Essentially, it is an elimination match for CLTFC. The team needs to win – either outright or in a penalty shootout – to keep their knockout round hopes alive.
Match: Charlotte FC vs Cruz Azul (Leagues Cup Group Stage)
When: Wednesday, July 31
Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Kickoff: 8:00 p.m. ET
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Previous Matches:
Philadelphia Union 1 – 0 Charlotte FC (Leagues Cup | July 27)
Cruz Azul 1 – 1 Toluca (Liga MX Apertura | July 20)
Group Standings: Top two advance to Round of 32
1. Philadelphia Union – 3 points, 1 GP
T-2. Charlotte FC – 0 points, 1 GP
T-2. Cruz Azul – 0 points, 0 GP
CLEARING UP THE TIEBREAKER CONFUSION
After Charlotte FC’s loss at Philadelphia to open the group stage, the team’s knockout round qualification scenarios became more complicated.
With only three teams in the group, the likelihood of ties (and thus tiebreakers) increases. Additionally, because of the three-team groups, the final group stage match cannot be played simultaneously as it would in a four-team group. So, CLTFC takes on Cruz Azul first on Wednesday before Cruz Azul travels to Philadelphia for the group's final match.
So, let’s dive into the scenarios facing Charlotte FC heading into Wednesday’s match. Remember: only the top two go through, and the third place team is eliminated.
1. Charlotte FC Wins by Multiple Goals
In order to guarantee a place in the knockout rounds (without relying on and waiting for a certain result in the Cruz Azul vs Philadelphia match), CLTFC has only one possibility: a multi-goal win.
Should The Crown beat their Mexican opponent by two or more goals on Wednesday, they will finish in either first or second place in the group. The result on Saturday won’t matter, and fans can celebrate a berth in the Round of 32 at the final whistle.
If you care to dive into the weeds, you can see the reasoning below. Otherwise, skip ahead for the next scenarios.
CLTFC wins by two-plus goals over Cruz Azul. Charlotte’s final total is 3 points with AT WORST a +1 goal differential.
FOUR results could happen on Saturday:
Philadelphia wins. Cruz Azul has 0 points and is eliminated.
Philadelphia and Cruz Azul draw // Philadelphia wins shootout. Cruz Azul has 1 point and is eliminated.
Philadelphia and Cruz Azul draw // Cruz Azul wins shootout. Cruz Azul has 2 points and is eliminated.
Cruz Azul wins by any score. All three teams have 3 points. The first tiebreaker is goal differential. With the loss, Philadelphia’s goal differential is AT BEST +0, meaning CLTFC advances with the better goal differential.
Phew, okay. Let’s look at the other scenarios.
2. Charlotte FC Wins by One Goal // Charlotte FC Draws and Wins a Penalty Shootout
If either of the above wins happen, CLTFC will still have a chance to qualify for the Round of 32. However, they will have to wait for the result from Saturday’s match between Philadelphia and Cruz Azul to confirm their qualification.
In this potential future, there are far too many scenarios to break down all of them here. The only “easy” scenario is a Philadelphia win in regulation by any score, which would put Charlotte FC through in second place.
Any other result on Saturday would take some math to determine the team eliminated.
3. Charlotte FC Loses // Charlotte FC Draws and Loses a Penalty Shootout
This is the easiest scenario to understand, but it’s obviously the least desirable. Should Charlotte FC lose in any fashion on Wednesday, they will be eliminated from the tournament.
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THE OPPONENT
Cruz Azul has started the Liga MX Apertura season on fire. One of the traditional giants of the Mexican first division, they have reeled off some impressive results.
Despite a red card in their season opener against Mazatlan, they hung on for a 1-0 win. Then, they crushed Monterrey (4-0) and Club Tijuana (3-0) before a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Toluca before the Liga MX season broke for Leagues Cup.
So, overall, this is a strong Cruz Azul side. Arguably, they are even stronger than they were in 2023, when CLTFC took them down in the Round of 32 in a dramatic penalty shootout in Texas.
With his weekly Ingredients of the Match, Caleb Adams has more insight into how Charlotte will approach the match tactically against a relatively unfamiliar opponent.
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THE SEASON SO FAR
So far, CLTFC has made their third season their best season. Head Coach Dean Smith has the team in 6th place in the Eastern Conference through 25 of 34 regular season matches and chasing down the top four spots (which come with a first-round home field advantage).
Recently, the team went on an impressive run on the road. They took down Supporter’s Shield contenders FC Cincinnati 3-1, drew defending champions Columbus Crew 1-1, and then drew Austin FC 2-2, all in the space of eight days.
Now, the focus has shifted to Leagues Cup and an opportunity to bring home a first-ever trophy for the Club. After a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia in their group stage opener, the team is facing a must-win home matchup against Cruz Azul.
Charlotte FC vs Cruz Azul | July 31 | Leagues Cup
Cruz Azul comes to The Fortress to take on Charlotte FC in Leagues Cup 2024 on July 31st at 8:00 p.m.
