Leagues Cup: NYCFC Needs Penalty Kicks To Beat Queretaro FC At Stadium

 

The scene between NYCFC and Queretaro FC. Photo by Jason Schott.

New York City Football Club and Mexican side Queretato FC played a scoreless 90 minutes before that went to penalty kicks, which NYCFC won, 4-3, on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium in Group Stage Matchday 1 of the 2024 Leagues Cup.

NYCFC got a shutout from goalkeeper Luis Barraza, who was making his first start in all competitions this season, and he made five saves in the 90 minutes before turning away two penalty kicks in the shootout.

NYCFC scored on all four of its chances, as Alonso Martinez got it started, followed by Thiago Martins, Maxi Moralez, and Jovan Mijatovic.

This was the first time NYCFC won a shootout in Leagues Cup, after they lost their only other instance, in 2021 in a Quarterfinals matchup with Pumas UNAM, which NYCFC dropped, 3-2.

NYCFC's next Leagues Cup Group Stage match will be on Monday, August 5, at 8:10 p.m. when they hit the road to take on FC Cincinnati.

About the Leagues Cup: Founded last year, it is a World-Cup style tournament, in which all 47 clubs in Major League Soccer and LIGA MX compete, with each league pausing their regular seasons. It began this past Friday, and will run until Sunday, August 25, and feature 77 games at stadiums throughout the United States and Canada. It is a Concacaf sanctioned tournament, which will qualify the top three finishers for the Concacaf Champions Cup. Inter Miami CF of the MLS was the first-ever Leagues Cup champion.