Santos Laguna will open its Leagues Cup 2026 run on Thursday against New York City FC at Sports Illustrated Stadium, and the match begins a three-game stretch that could decide whether the club moves on to the next round. The team trained this afternoon at Red Bull Training Facilities as it prepared for the first official meeting between the sides.
Before the trip, Renato Paiva said the team has been growing match by match and that the tournament arrives at a good time because the short rhythm of games can help turn training-ground work into results. Mauricio Cuevas sounded just as focused on the task ahead, saying he has felt something different since his first day at Santos Laguna and wants to challenge himself while growing as a player there.
Cuevas also put the opener in plain terms: the group expects to try to win every match it plays. That line mattered because he tied it to the first three matches in Liga MX, a reminder that Santos Laguna is carrying both the promise of a fresh competition and the weight of an uneven start before it got there. For a team that needs points quickly, the Leagues Cup is not just another set of dates. It is the first chance to reset the conversation.
Santos Laguna said it will enter Leagues Cup 2026 with the objective of fighting for qualification to the next round, and the schedule leaves little room for mistakes. After New York City FC, it will face Chicago Fire FC on Sunday, August 9 at SeatGeek Stadium, then close against Philadelphia Union on Thursday, August 13 at Subaru Park. The first step is also the most revealing one, because Thursday will show whether the growth Paiva sees in training can hold up when Santos Laguna starts playing for points that matter immediately.
For Cuevas, the stage is personal as well as collective. He has said he feels different in this group and wants to grow inside it, but the opener will demand more than comfort or intent. It will demand a result, and Santos Laguna’s tournament will be judged from the first whistle in Sports Illustrated Stadium.
