"By The Numbers presented by Compass Minerals" is a season-long series that gives a statistical preview of every Sporting match. To visit the series archive, click here.
With wins over Chicago in their opening matches of Leagues Cup 2024, Sporting Kansas City and Deportivo Toluca FC have both advanced to the Round of 32 ahead of their showdown on Monday at Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. CT as Sporting and Toluca play for the top spot in West Region Group 4. Tickets for the contest are included for Season Ticket Members and available online via SeatGeek.
Sporting and Toluca are no strangers despite playing in different leagues, having met three times over the last half-decade. As anticipation builds toward Monday, we take a statistical look at the matchup in our newest edition of By The Numbers, presented by Compass Minerals.
Head-to-Head
- Sporting and Toluca have both advanced to the Leagues Cup Round of 32 after beating Chicago Fire FC in their tournament openers.
- With a loss against Toluca on Monday, Sporting will visit the Columbus Crew on Friday, Aug. 9.
- With a win against Toluca on Monday, Sporting will play the winner of West Region Group 8 (date TBD). The Group 8 winner will also be decided Monday when Houston Dynamo FC hosts Real Salt Lake at 8 p.m. CT. Sporting’s matchup scenarios with a win over Toluca are detailed below.
- SKC will visit RSL in the Round of 32 if RSL wins/draws in regulation.
- SKC will visit Houston in the Round of 32 if Houston wins by multiple goals.
- SKC will visit RSL if Houston wins by one goal and RSL scores.
- SKC will visit RSL if Houston wins 1-0 and RSL has zero yellow/red cards.
- SKC will host Atlas FC if Houston wins 1-0 and RSL has multiple yellow cards or a red card.
- A random draw will determine if RSL or Atlas wins Group 8 if Houston wins 1-0 and RSL has one yellow card and no red cards.
Sporting Kansas City
- 2024 MLS record: 6-14-6, 24 points (12th in West | 41 GF, 52 GA)
- 2024 home record (all competitions): 7-5-4 (34 GF, 28 GA)
- Last five matches (all competitions): 3-1-1 (W-W-L-T-W)
- Leagues Cup opener: Won 2-1 vs. Chicago Fire FC
- Sporting has a 5-2-1 record in its last eight matches across all competitions since June 29.
- Sporting has scored 14 goals from set pieces this season in all competitions (10 in MLS, three in the Open Cup and one in Leagues Cup). That accounts for 27.4% of the club’s goal scoring (14 of 51).
- Sporting has scored multiple goals in 12 of 16 home matches this season across all competitions.
- Sporting has a 10-7-5 home record in international competitions, including an 8-4-2 record at Children's Mercy Park.
- Sporting is 3-3-0 in competitive matches against Mexican opposition at Children’s Mercy Park. This record includes shutout wins over Cruz Azul (2013-14 CCL quarterfinals), Toluca (2019 CCL round of 16) and Chivas (Leagues Cup 2023) as well as multi-goal defeats to Monterrey (2019 CCL semifinals), Club Leon (Leagues Cup 2021) and Toluca (Leagues Cup 2024).
- Sporting owns a 15-17-10 record in 42 international matches all-time, scoring 58 goals (1.38 per game) and conceding 71 goals (1.69 per game).
- Sporting’s best finishes in an international competition came in 2002 and 2019 when the club reached the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup and Concacaf Champions League, respectively.
- Forward Willy Agada leads Sporting with 11 goals this season in all competitions—nine in the MLS regular season, one in the Open Cup and one in Leagues Cup.
- Agada has scored in each of his last three matches across all competitions, including the winner in Sporting’s 2-1 Leagues Cup victory over Chicago on July 28.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia is the only player to start in each of Sporting’s last eight matches since June 29, playing every minute during that stretch.
- Defender Dany Rosero leads Sporting’s current roster with 45 international club appearances, 42 of which have come in South America.
Deportivo Toluca FC
- 2024 LIGA MX record: 2-0-2, 8 points (5th | 7 GF, 3 GA)
- 2024 away record (all competitions): 1-0-2 (4 GF, 2 GA)
- Last five matches (all competitions): 3-0-2 (T-W-W-T-W)
- Leagues Cup opener: Won 3-1 at Chicago Fire FC
- Toluca won its Leagues Cup 2024 opener with a 3-1 victory at Chicago Fire FC on Thursday. After Georgios Koutsias gave Chicago an early lead, Jesus Angulo equalized and Marcel Ruiz scored on both sides of halftime to give Toluca the win and eliminate Chicago from the tournament.
- Toluca is 4-0-1 in five Leagues Cup matches (all against MLS opponents) since 2023, scoring 17 goals during that stretch (3.4 per match).
- Toluca’s first Leagues Cup appearance in 2023 saw the club earn three straight road victories over MLS opponents—winning 4-3 over Nashville, 4-1 over Colorado and 4-1 over Sporting—before falling at Minnesota United FC on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw in the Round of 16.
- Toluca has opened the LIGA MX Apertura season with an unbeaten 2-0-2 record, winning home matches against Juarez (July 13) and Mazatlan (July 17) and drawing away games at Guadalajara (July 6) and Cruz Azul (July 20).
- Toluca has not trailed in 360 minutes of LIGA MX action this season.
- During the 2023-24 LIGA MX campaign, Toluca finished 12th in the Apertura fall season (5-6-6 record) before appointing current head coach Renato Paiva and jumping to third in the Clausura spring season (9-3-5 record).
- Toluca is playing for its third major championship in an international competition, having won the Concacaf Champions Cup in 1968 and 2003.
- Toluca is playing for its first major title of any kind since winning the LIGA MX Clausura in May 2010.
- Toluca manager Renato Paiva is trying to win his third major trophy as a head coach and his first with Toluca. He won the 2021 Ecuadorian Serie A with Independiente del Valle and the 2023 Campeonato Baiano with Bahia in Brazil.
- Before beating Nashville, Colorado and Sporting in Leagues Cup 2023, Toluca had been winless (0-2-2) in its previous four competitive matches against MLS opponents since 2014.
- Forward Paulinho is tied for third on the LIGA MX scoring charts with three goals in the early stages of the 2024 Apertura season. Three other Toluca players have scored one league goal this season: Brian Garcia, Ernesto Vega and Uruguay international Maximiliano Araujo.
- Goalkeeper Tiago Volpi has scored 15 goals in 88 appearances for Toluca across all competitions, each from the penalty spot. Including penalty kick shootouts, Volpi has converted 16 of 18 penalty kicks he has taken for the club since joining in 2022.
Milestones and Miscellany
- Forward Johnny Russell ranks third in club history with 66 goals in all competitions, one shy of tying Dom Dwyer for second on the all-time chart.
- Forward Daniel Salloi has 99 goal contributions (59 goals, 40 assists) for Sporting in all competitions, fourth most in club history.
- Forward Alan Pulido has 35 goals for Sporting in all competitions, tied with Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi for ninth in club history and six behind Kei Kamara in eighth.
- Forward Khiry Shelton is one shy of his 100th start for Sporting in all competitions.
- Midfielder Memo Rodriguez is one shy of his 250th professional club appearance.
