SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. CLUB DEPORTIVO GUADALAJARA - 2026 LEAGUES CUP - PHASE ONE - ROYAL BROUGHAM PARK, OCCIDENTAL AVENUE, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. The Chivas of Guadalajara travel to The Evergreen for the first time since 2018 for a Leagues Cup tie. Yeh, it’s gonna be loud-like.

What: Leagues Cup, phase one, Seattle Sounders FC v. Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

Where: Royal Brougham Park, Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

When: 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Wednesday 12 August 2026 CE.

At Stake: A bent-up tin pot, likely a boatload of cash, and a chance to suffer yet more injury to our squad. It’s also another opportunity to compete against a superior opponent, as we did with Toluca, Tigres, Vancouver, LA Galaxy, LAFC, and Philadelphia this season.

Correction: CONCACAF does, in fact, sanction Leagues Cup. At least according to the Leagues Cup website, which is kind of like a sugared breakfast cereal company saying that their product is ‘part of a nutritious breakfast’ neglecting to mention that the nutrition doesn’t come from the cereal. As far as the United States FA (US Soccer) or FMF (Mexico FA) support for the tournament, I wasn’t able to confirm either support or lack thereof from either source.

Where to Watch: Apple TV.

Where to Listen: El Rey 1360 AM.

What a difference a good result makes. That should lighten things up in the Sounders dressing room a bit.

I was absolutely chuffed at the team’s overall performance, the victory itself, the three goals and three assists, and the quality performances of some of our youngers in the crucible of an extremely high-pressure situation. Well done, lads. And bloody well done ECS keeping up their spirits.

That was my partisan, fan analysis. A more objective study says that we should win that match. Yet another reason to be glad for the result we achieved. The Queretaro squad is not of the same quality that ours is. I don’t say that to be disrespectful, as it’s often just a matter of resources and full commitment of management and ownership of football clubs that permit the evolution of an organisation to consistently compete at the highest levels.

But all of that is about Sunday last. What I’m about to write is about Wednesday and how we should best deliver a proper welcome to our latest guests, CD Guadalajara, also known as Chivas.

We’ve only played them twice in competitive play. It was the CONCACAF Champions League in 2018 in a two-match tie. We won in Seattle 1:0, and were battered at the Jalisco, 3:0. Chivas advanced 3:1 on aggregate, end of story.

I’d imagine the composition of both squads is likely very different now. So the question remains: What is going to happen when we play them midweek?

And for me, it’s a mixed bag. In terms of estimated value of players, their squad is worth over twice ours. So that’s not good. That’s Toluca redux, minus the additional difficulties of playing on the road in any of the many, many, so many countries that rightfully hate the shite out of the United States government. This is just an objective truth. Back to the football: In a more focused analysis, it has to be said that the Chivas are struggling to score goals. They have heaps of talent and bags of technique, pace, and skill, but in this early stage of the Liga MX Apertura and Leagues Cup, this has not translated to heaps of goals. Football can be like that sometimes, as we have recently been made soberingly aware.

So I’d say it could go either way. Sounders FC have grit, effort, and resolve, the mystique of Royal Brougham Park, and the deafening support of ECS and its sub-groups. Will it be enough? I for one hope it will be, even if my cynical side sees our success in any tournament as further reason for ownership to delay purchasing impact players that could help us into the stratosphere of international club competitions.

In the long view, we have some sorting out to do in our own house to get back to the level that we are used to enjoying. In the present, there’s a cup tie midweek against a worthy and skilful opponent.

Round up your mates and get ye out to the ground. Link up with ours and make a deafening noise that will rattle the heavens, and possibly set off the seismic sensors again. If ye cannae make it to the ground, it’s pubs and dwellings for stories and tellings, houses and flats for pints and cats, and sometimes, boats and ships for pie and chips.

It’s Leagues Cup football, such as it is, under the Wednesday night lights at Royal Brougham Park. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

Andres Cantor is depicted here yelling ¡GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!, for the purposes of displaying a visual approximation of my level of excitement this Sunday when

young Sebastian Gomez bashed in Paul Rothrock’s curling cross from the left on a one-timer.

Fucking glorious. Good on the both of yous. Image Credit: Yahoo

The Good News

Sounders got a better result against Dallas this season compared to Chivas, and only fared marginally worse than Chivas in matchups with Toluca and LAFC. The Chivas have also struggled to score goals in their three Liga MX Apertura and two Leagues Cup contests (0.60 goals/match). So despite other evidence suggesting that Chivas would turn us over, this says that we could be in with a shout. So there is hope for us, although should we find ourselves unable to hold the football for any meaningful amount of time and unable to seriously threaten the Chivas’ goal, as was the case against Toluca, that suggests a more unpleasant result.

Nothing builds confidence like a win, and Sounders gave us that this Sunday with a convincing 3:0 win over Queretaro. When you feel good, you play better. Maybe that newfound confidence, combined with discipline, grit, and skill, could be enough to get a result midweek against an admittedly superior opponent.

Our youngers looked skilful, pacy, and sharp on Sunday. Here’s to several more heaping helpings of that.

Musovski and Rusnak each hit a goal against Queretaro, and maybe that gets both of them going again. That would be a beautiful sight to see.

The Bad News

The Chivas’ goalkeeper, Raul Rangel, is currently first-choice for Mexico and played in all five of El Tri’s matches at the 2026 World Cup Finals. His estimated transfer value is €8M, which is roughly 8x the transfer value of Andrew Thomas, Stefan Frei, and Max Anchor added together.

Armando Gonzalez, has 29 goals in 68 matches for Guadalajara. Roberto Alverado has 36 goals in 172 appearances. Angel Sepulveda has only four goals in 24 appearances for Chivas, but hit 30 goals in 92 matches for Cruz Azul. Suffice it to say that this lot know how to football, and that our defence will have their hands full marking them.

The aggregate estimated transfer value of Chivas’ entire squad (€108.33M) is over 2x the aggregate estimated transfer value of our squad (€44.13M). Toluca’s is also more than 2x greater (€92.5M), and they pumped us for three goals in a match where we rarely had the football. You get the idea.

The Chivas defence (1.00 goals conceded/match, sample size 5 matches) is slightly more stingy than ours (1.26 goals conceded/match, sample size 23 matches). The margins are narrow, but it could be enough the decide the match one way or the other.

The Side I Would Select

The odds of us advancing in this tournament are astronomically small. Let’s use this match, against a very skilful opponent, as an opportunity to see what we have in the cupboard. In addition, our first-choice players in the squad are likely in need of a bit of rest. So we should rest as many of them as we can.

GK     Frei

LB     Kingston

LCH    Lopez

RCH    Hawkins

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Brunell

RDM   O’Neill

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Ferreira

RF     Gomez

CF     Musovski

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

The team selected for Sunday’s match was very, very convincing against Queretaro. My best guess is that he’s gonna roll with his guys from last time out. After all, that team got a win.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Lopez

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM   Kingston

RDM   Alex

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Gomez

CF     Musovski

Intangibles

SEA aggregate squad estimated transfer value: €44.13M

GDL aggregate squad estimated transfer value: €108.33M

SEA 2026 season transfer fees paid: €0

GDL 2026-27 season transfer fees paid: €7.4M

General notes on personnel

Guadalajara transfers IN:

Carillo (Santos Laguna) €4.8M

Castaneda (Tijuana) €2.6M

Wilke (Fortaleza CEIF) end of loan

Mendez (Tapatio) undisclosed & also end of loan (Necaxa)

Barajas (San Luis) (Monterey Bay) end of loans

Liceaga - reserves

Cowell (New York RB) end of loan

Guadalajara transfers OUT:

Leonardo Sepulveda (Leones Negros) undisclosed 

Gutierrez (Toluca) loan

Guzman (Toluca) undisclosed

Padilla (Tijuana) undisclosed

Gilberto Sepulveda (Juarez) loan

Garcia (Tapatio) undisclosed

Comparison against common opponents

TOL 3:0 SEA LC

GDL 0:2 TOL

(against TOL: SEA 0-0-1 -3, GDL 0-0-1 -2) marginal edge GDL

LAFC 1:0 SEA

LAFC 1:1 GDL LC

(against LAFC: SEA 0-0-1 -1, GDL 0-1-0 0), marginal edge GDL

SEA 2:1 DAL

GDL 0:1 DAL* LC *@San Jose, CA

(against DAL: SEA 1-0-0 +1, GDL 0-0-1 -1) edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

The Chivas as they lined up in their 0:1 Leagues Cup defeat against the Dallas at San Jose’s Coleman Avenue football ground on 8 August.

GOALKEEPER

Raul Rangel, 26

Mexico (19/0)

Notable Clubs: Tapatio (63/0), Guadalajara (93/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €8M

Notes: Full name: Jose Raul Rangel Aguilar. Developed by Guadalajara. Won a Liga de Expansion MX with Tapatio. Won a CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations league with Mexico.

DEFENCE

Miguel Gomez, 23

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Tapatio (91/3), Guadalajara (38/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Full name: Miguel Alejandro Gomez Ortiz. Developed by Guadalajara. Won 2x Liga de Expansion MX and a Campeon de Campeones with Tapatio. Won a Central American and Caribbean Games with Mexico U-23s. Has played for Mexico (3/0) at youth levels.

Luis Romo, 31

Mexico (67/5)

Notable Clubs: Queretaro (48/4), Cruz Azul (77/9), Monterrey (90/5), Guadalajara (44/3)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Full name: Luis Francisco Romo Barron. Developed by Cruz Azul and Queretaro. Won a Liga MX title with Cruz Azul. Won a CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League with Mexico. 2x named to Liga MX Best XI. Named Liga MX Guardianes Most Valuable Player in 2021. Named Liga MX Best Defensive Midfielder 2020-21. Shared honours for top Liga MX Apertura 2024 assist provider (6 assists).

Diego Campillo, 24

Mexico (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Tapatio (77/2), Zacatecas (14/0), Juarez (48/3), Guadalajara (36/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €5.5M

Notes: Full name: Diego Campillo del Campo. Won a Liga de Expansion MX and Campeon de Campeones with Tapatio. Named to Liga MX 2026 Clausura Best XI.

MIDFIELD

Fernando Gonzalez, 32

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Guadalajara (144/1), Coras (38/1), Zacatepec (50/1), Necaxa (84/2), Club America (39/0), Leon (12/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Full name: Fernando Ruben Gonzalez Pineda. Developed by Guadalajara. Won a Copa MX and Supercopa MX with Necaxa. Won a Campeon de Campeones with Club America.

Bryan Gonzalez, 23

Mexico (2/0)

Notable Clubs: Pachuca (92/6), Guadalajara (43/6)

Estimated Transfer Value: €7.5M

Notes: Full name: Bryan Alonso Gonzalez Olivan. Won a Liga MX title and CONCACAF Champions Cup with Pachuca. Won a CONCACAF U-17 Championship with Mexico U-17s. Won a Central American and Caribbean Games football tournament and a Pan American Games Bronze Medal with Mexico U-23s. Named to CONCACAF Champions Cup Best XI 2024. Named Liga MX Best Full-back 2025-26.

Angel Sepulveda, 35

Mexico (12/3)

Notable Clubs: Morelia (62/9), Atlante (29/6), Queretaro (171/34), Guadalajara (24/4), Necaxa (29/2), Tijuana (19/2), Cruz Azul (92/30)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Full name: Angel Baltazar Sepulveda Sanchez. Won a Copa MX with Queretaro. Won a CONCACAF Champions Cup with Cruz Azul. Won a CONCACAF Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League with Mexico. Named to Liga MX Best XI Apertura 2024. Named Best Player CONCACAF Champions Cup 2025. Won Golden Boot (9 goals) for CONCACAF Champions Cup 2025. Named to CONCACAF Champions Cup Best XI 2025.

Omar Govea, 30

Mexico (5/1)

Notable Clubs: Mouscron (33/4), Royal Antwerp (15/0), Zulte Waregem (55/4), Voluntari (10/1), Monterrey (50/0), Guadalajara (44/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Full name: Omar Nicolas Govea Garcia. Developed by San Luis and Club America.

Richard Ledezma, 25

Mexico (3/1)

Notable Clubs: PSV Eindhoven (40/2), New York City FC (23/0), Guadalajara (42/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Developed by Real Salt Lake. Won a Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield with PSV Eindhoven. Named to Liga MX Best XI Clausura 2026.

FORWARD

Armando Gonzalez, 23

Mexico (8/1)

Notable Clubs: Tapatio (7/0), Guadalajara (68/29)

Estimated Transfer Value: €15M

Notes: Full name: Armando Gonzalez Alba. Developed by Real Aguascalientes and Guadalajara. Shared Liga MX Golden Boot Apertura 2025 (12 goals). Named 2x Liga MX Most Valuable Player. Named 2x Liga MX Best XI.

Roberto Alvarado, 27

Mexico (72/5)

Notable Clubs: Celaya (50/8), Pachuca (9/1), Necaxa (26/2), Cruz Azul (120/16), Guadalajara (172/36)

Estimated Transfer Value: €10M

Notes: Roberto Carlos Alvarado Hernandez. Developed by Xidoo and Celaya. Won a CONCACAF Champions League with Pachuca. Won a Copa MX with Necaxa. Won a Liga MX title, Copa MX, Supercopa MX, and a Leagues Cup with Cruz Azul. Won 3x CONCACAF Gold Cup and a CONCACAF Nations League with Mexico.

Familiar Faces

None.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Anchor, Shour*, Hawkins, Kim, Kossa-Rienzi, Lopez, Nouhou, O’Neill*, Ragen, Alex, Sailor, Sandnes*, Brunell, Carli*, Dotson, Gaffney*, Sebastian Gomez, Kingston, Rusnak, Bronnik*, De Rosario, Ferreira, Musovski, Rothrock.

*Designates players from the Sounders FC Reserves and Sounders FC Academy that have played matches with the Reserves.

Guadalajara from:

Rangel, Whalley, Romero, Campillo, Castillo, Romo, Aguirre, Tapias, Bryan Gonzalez, Ledezma, Miguel Gomez, Gabriel Rey, Chavez, Govea, Calderon, Inda, Fernando Gonzales, Gutierrez, Alvarez, Castaneda, Sandoval, Carillo, Perez, Alvarado, Camberos, Armando Gonzalez, Marin, Sepulveda, Hernandez, Aguayo.

Injury List

(best guess from old info for GDA, best guess from old info and a possibly unreliable narrator for SEA)

Sounders FC -

OUT: De la Vega (quadriceps), Arriola (unknown), Gomez Andrade (calf), Cristian (quadriceps), Morris (quadriceps), Petkovic (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Dotson (hamstring).

Guadalajara -

OUT: no information

MATCHDAY DECISION: no information

Discipline

(from counting up the bookings myself)

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Anchor is carrying a booking.

Guadalajara: No players suspended. Fernando Gonzales and Aguirre are carrying bookings.

Fun Fact

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of our 3:0 victory over the Queretaro was mention of our support play. Paul Rothrock assisted on both Sebastian Gomez’s first ever goal (in any competition) with the Sounders — a decisive one-time blast off a curling cross on the deck — and also on Danny Musovski’s 41st minute goal that put us up 2:0 before half-time. Gomez, further adding to his already splendid day, provided the deft touch to set up Rusnak’s sweet right-foot finish across his body from the edge of the box. That’s some fine work, it deserves our recognition, and I award full marks for it.