Union look to clinch their Leagues Cup group with a win vs. Querétaro

The Union weren't entirely convincing despite a 3-1 win in their Leagues Cup opener vs. Tijuana, but the team can advance to the final 32 with a result Wednesday.

Union head coach Jim Curtain hugs goalkeeper Andre Blake after the Philadelphia Union defeated Tijuana at the Leagues Cup Saturday at Subaru Park.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Sapna Bansil

Published July 25, 2023, 4:49 p.m. ET

The Union got the three points they coveted Saturday night, when they opened play in the Leagues Cup with a 3-1 victory over Tijuana.

But there was much about their performance that felt underwhelming, even by their own admission. After their opponents from Mexico’s Liga MX received two red cards and played with only nine men for most of the second half, the Union still needed sparkling saves from goalie Andre Blake and a late insurance goal from Julián Carranza to secure what should have been a more comfortable win.

“I think everybody saw how we came out of the half was not was not good, was not the Union,” starting left back Kai Wagner said. “We were just watching film … and I think everybody agreed on one point: that it was not enough; it was not good from us. And now we just have to do it better.”

The Union will look to elevate their play as the group stage of the Leagues Cup continues Wednesday against Querétaro at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). With a victory, the Union would win their three-team group and advance to the knockout stages of the revamped 47-team intercontinental tournament, which, for the first time, features every MLS and Liga MX team.

“We’re in a position now where we control our own destiny, and with a good performance — which we know we’re capable of at home — we win this group,” Union manager Jim Curtin said. “So that’s our goal, that’s our primary focus.”

While the Union have two-thirds of their MLS schedule, the early-season Concacaf Champions League tournament, an MLS Open Cup game, and one Leagues Cup game under their belts, Querétaro enters having played only two matches in Liga MX’s Apertura, which began in July.

With a decided edge in fitness, MLS teams had gone 4-3 through Monday in Leagues Cup games featuring one American team and one Mexican team. (There are no ties, as games that are level after 90 minutes go to a penalty shootout.) The most notable result came Friday, when Lionel Messi buried a stoppage-time free kick that lifted Inter Miami over Cruz Azul in the Argentine superstar’s MLS debut.

“The MLS teams look a little bit more fit, probably, look a little bit [like] they play better with each other already, they have a better connection and stuff like this,” Wagner said. “But we also see that the Mexican teams, they don’t need a long season, and they can also be dangerous.”

Particularly after their performance Saturday, Curtin insisted the Union are not overlooking a veteran Querétaro side.

“We have a very difficult opponent in Querétaro, who has, when you look at their roster, a very experienced team — so many guys with 200, 300, even 400-plus games in Liga MX at a high level,” Curtin said. “So they have a very intelligent, good attacking team, good defending team.”

The Union’s victory over Tijuana saw the return of centerback Damion Lowe, who missed five games while competing at the Concacaf Gold Cup with the Jamaican national team from June 24-July 12, as well as a sixth game on July 15 against New York City FC because of an infection.

Lowe came on Saturday as a substitute for Jakob Glesnes in the 79th minute but could play a bigger role against Querétaro on Wednesday, as Curtin will consider counteracting the Mexican side’s 4-4-2 formation by playing three centerbacks.

“Damion’s certainly a guy that we have in mind for selection because of his skill set, being strong in the air, being that third centerback that we can add to the group,” Curtin said. “Certainly, [he] will play a big role [Wednesday], and it was very good to get him back after a sickness where he missed six training days. To get him back and get him those 15 minutes at the end of the game, just to get used to the speed of play again, was valuable.”

The final game of the East 1 group, featuring Tijuana and Querétaro, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Subaru Park. The top two finishers in the group will move on to round of 32, which will be held Aug. 2-4. The Union have home field advantage through the semifinals of the Leagues Cup, should they advance that far.