Major League Soccer play has officially paused, and Philadelphia Union is set to begin their 2024 Leagues Cup campaign against Charlotte FC on Saturday night. Don't miss the action starting at 8PM on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
In 2023, Leagues Cup’s inaugural year, Head Coach Jim Curtin’s squad had a successful run, finishing third overall. They fell only to Inter Miami, the eventual winners, in a semifinal matchup at home. Despite a tough stretch to start to the summer, Philadelphia Union has finally built some much-needed momentum, just in time to push toward another strong Leagues Cup showing.
“I think momentum is very important to the team – we’ve started to look good and we’ve scored a lot of goals, so I think it gives us power to succeed at the end of the season and at Leagues Cup,” striker Tai Baribo said of their recent six-point swing.
“The environment has been much better, of course. But also, it's good to say that also when we were losing, everybody was not depressed. Of course, everybody was sad because we didn't win, but nobody lost faith. So, we stayed with our faith, we believed in ourselves, and of course, the environment is good when we win.”
Charlotte FC is an oppenent they’ve already faced twice this season; their first meeting finished in a 0-0 draw on the road at Bank of America Stadium during Memorial Day weekend, but when Philly hosted Head Coach Dean Smith’s side at Subaru Park, the visitors got the best of them to claim a 2-0 win, leaving Subaru Park with three points in tow.
Favorably for Philadelphia, this is the first time that the team will face Charlotte with three-time Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in net, and the team is as close to healthy as it’s been in months. The only players expected to miss the match are Nate Harriel and Jack McGlynn, who are together in France representing the stars and stripes at the Paris Olympics.
While prep for their two group stage opponents will likely look different as Charlotte FC is a far more familiar opponent than Liga MX’s Cruz Azul, the team’s focus is locked only on the first of the two.
"First of all, we focus on Charlotte because we play against Charlotte first. After this, we'll be focused on Cruz Azul, and we only know Giakoumakis who used to play for Atlanta, but I think it's not the time to focus on them,” Baribo said.
“Now we focus on Charlotte. We know the opponent, their plan, we know they are a good team, and we’re prepared for them.”
