The 30-player rosters for the 2021 Leagues Cup were unveiled today, one week ahead of the 2021 edition beginning next Tuesday, Aug. 10, when Sporting Kansas City hosts LIGA MX giants Club Leon in a 7 p.m. CT showdown at Children's Mercy Park. Tickets for the match are available at SeatGeek.com and fans can catch the action live nationally on ESPN2 and TUDN.
Currently occupying second place in the Western Conference, Sporting will host a formidable Club Leon side that boasts three LIGA MX All-Stars set to compete in the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target on Aug. 25 as well as an Argentine youth international who represented his country at the Summer Olympics last month.
At the forefront, Club Leon wields a trio of LIGA MX standouts in Ángel Mena, Luis Montes and William Tesillo, all of whom helped the club to the 2020 Apertura title last December.
Mena, a prolific winger, amassed 17 goals for Leon during the 2020-21 LIGA MX season and has 50 goals for the team in all competitions since the start of 2019. He recently appeared in five matches for Ecuador at the 2021 Copa America in Brazil.
Montes, 35, has enjoyed a brilliant 15-year career in LIGA MX. He has bagged upwards of 50 goals in well over 250 appearances for Leon, where he has won three league titles since 2013.
Tesillo, a versatile defender, has been an ever-present fixture for Leon over the last three seasons. The Colombian international started six of seven appearances at the 2021 Copa America as Colombia earned a third-place finish in the tournament.
Argentine Santiago Colombatto joined Leon in January and started nine of 10 appearances for the club during the 2021 Clausura. He featured in two group stage matches for Argentina in the Men's Olympic Tournament in Japan on July 22 and 28.
LEAGUES CUP ROSTERS
SPORTING KANSAS CITY
Goalkeepers: Kendall McIntosh, Tim Melia, John Pulskamp, Brooks Thompson
Defenders: Amadou Dia, Andreu Fontas, Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, Jaylin Lindsey, Luis Martins, Kayden Pierre, Roberto Puncec, Kaveh Rad, Graham Smith
Midfielders: Gianluca Busio, Ozzie Cisneros, Cameron Duke, Roger Espinoza, Wilson Harris, Felipe Hernandez, Gadi Kinda, Ilie Sanchez, Rémi Walter
Forwards: Grayson Barber, Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell, Daniel Salloi, Khiry Shelton, Graham Zusi
Manager: Peter Vermes
CLUB LEÓN
Goalkeepers: Rodolfo Cota, Iván Vázquez, Bernardo Aguilar, Irving Martínez
Defenders: Andres Mosquera, William Tesillo, Jaine Barreiro, Ramiro Gonzalez, Oscar Villa
Midfielders: David Ramírez, Iván Rodríguez, Gil Burón, Osvaldo Rodríguez, Santiago Colombatto, Luis Montes, Fidel Ambriz, Jean Meneses, Ángel Mena, Elías Hernández, Jesse Zamudio, Pablo Rangel, Héctor Uribe, Moisés Juárez, Saúl Zamora
Forwards: Omar Fernández, Víctor Dávila, Emmanuel Gigliotti, Santiago Ormeño, Iván Hernández, Armando León
Manager: Ariel Holan
The 2021 Leagues Cup will be played entirely in the United States, kicking off with the quarterfinal round from Aug. 10-12. The semifinals are slated for Sept. 14-15 before the competition concludes in Las Vegas with the final on Sept. 22 at Allegiant Stadium.
The high-profile competition will feature LIGA MX clubs Leon, Tigres, Pumas and Santos Laguna as well as MLS sides Sporting Kansas City, Orlando City SC, Seattle Sounders FC and New York City FC.
