Interim head coach Ryan Richter and defender Kai Wagner spoke to the media ahead of Philadelphia Union’s first Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul.
Philadelphia Union Interim Head Coach Ryan Richter has won his first two matches in charge!
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union
Union ready to push for a trophy in Leagues Cup
Philly enters the 2026 Leagues Cup ready to show they could go on a cup run after three wins in a row in MLS play. To do so, they will need to show well against Liga MX sides, Cruz Azul, Necaxa, and Santos Laguna.
Both Richter and Wagner talked about this being a different experience, with the major possibility of these three games feeling like away games even though they’re at home.
With Leagues Cup sandwiched into an already hectic return to play after the World Cup break, squad rotation will need to be utilized in the month of August. Richter spoke about using all 30 players on the Leagues Cup roster; however, not right away.
Going through phase one of the tournament, Richter and Wagner emphasized taking things one game at a time with the intent of winning. This means we will likely see the best XI in Leagues Cup as long as the Union is winning. If chances to make the knockouts fade, then players 17-30 will get looks in these games.
Richter echoes that could also be a good thing, as it could lead to finding out a lot about players and how they matchup against quality opponents. Some of those opponents come in the form of former Union players, such as Julian Carranza. Kai Wagner spoke about how that can be an extra motivator, especially in a tournament setting.
Kai Wagner celebrates his assist in his first game back with the Philadelphia Union
Image Provided / Philadelphia Union
How Leagues Cup works
For those not used to this USA-Mexico-Canada competition, here’s a bit about how Leagues Cup works.
18 MLS teams and all the teams in Liga MX make up a 36-team field. MLS teams and Liga MX sides face off in three phase one matches to determine who makes the quarterfinals. Teams rack up points to determine who goes through: three points for a win, one point for a draw, and two points for a PK shootout win (there are no draws in Leagues Cup). The standings see the top four Liga MX and MLS teams move on to the knockout phase.
For the Union, they are saying they are going to go for it all at this tournament, but that could be based on how the team performs early on. In this format, teams that lose their first match fall to being long shots to make it to the top four in their table. For Philly to truly go on the cup run they want, they’ll need to get points off of Mexican giant Cruz Azul tonight.
Tigres UANL midfielder Juan Brunetta (11) plays the ball against Real Salt Lake midfield Diego Luna (10) during the second half of the Leagues Cup Phase One match at America First Field.
Rob Gray
Philadelphia Union vs Cruz Azul tonight at 8 pm!
The Union plays match one of their three-games-in-seven-days journey that is Leagues Cup phase one tonight against Cruz Azul. Energy and intensity in these matches are the call to action from coach Richter to his players, especially against a high-quality team like Cruz Azul.
Adjusting to Cruz Azul’s shape, as they like to change throughout the game, is vital to the outcome of this one. The Union needs to be organized on the field, ready to adjust on the fly to meet their level. Ricther pointed to players like Wagner as key to making those changes on the fly as a key to victory.
The final rallying cry from the two in the press was that the team and fans need to rally together to get the most out of Leagues Cup. Players need to fight for one another on the field; be the underdogs that can get a shock result. While fans need to bring the energy that has helped the Union go on their most recent win streak in MLS.
Don’t miss the action tonight at 8 pm EST on Apple TV!
Keywords
Philadelphia Union,
Union,
Leagues Cup,
MLS,
Cruz Azul,
Ryan richter,
Kai Wagner