Your Tuesday Kickoff: Breaking down the biggest night of Leagues Cup yet | MLSSoccer.com

A two-minute disaster! An upset up north! And that’s kind of it. There were only two games but still, let’s Leagues Cup.

What happened?: Querétaro did enough to earn a penalty shootout, and goalkeeper Fernando Tapia saved two kicks to send Querétaro into the quarterfinal. They’ll face the winner of Philadelphia and New York.

So, did we learn anything?: Even if New England had advanced in this one, I think it’s fair to say the vibes were off. They probably weren’t going to get much further. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Revs.

On the opposite side, it’s been an impressive run for Querétaro. They were one of the worst teams in Liga MX last year, and now they’re one of the few Liga MX teams left in the tournament.

What happened?: Houston took an early lead, seemed to be in relative control of the situation and then suddenly were absolutely not in control of the situation at all. Patrick Agyemang, a 22-year-old SuperDraft pick with one career start, broke through in the 80th minute. Immediately following the goal, Houston straight-up kicked it in their own net. Like. That’s not even a bit. Go check the tweet at the bottom of the newsletter. Houston turned around and, under no serious pressure, sent the ball backward and sent themselves out of the tournament. Humidity does remarkable things to people.

Charlotte will take on Inter Miami on Friday with a spot in the semifinal on the line. 

So, did we learn anything?: Houston just wilted here. Rough night. 

As for Charlotte, full credit to them for swimming through the Houston air and making it out alive. They’ve had a remarkable tournament so far and should be proud of a quarterfinal run. Pride doesn’t stop Lionel Messi, though. Good luck to them.

This is the best night of the tournament so far. Maybe the best night of soccer for the year so far? Every game is outstanding in its own special way. And we got a bonus game thrown in for good measure. Let’s talk it out with some help with our world-famous watchability meter, The Plusometer ©*.

(*The closer to 50 the more likely the game is to be extremely entertaining)

Club América vs. Nashville SC | 8:00 pm ET

Let’s try this again. The world wasn’t ready for this one last night. I get it. To review…

Oh man, the universe delivered a classic Daily Kickoff special in a single-elimination game. And by that, I mean that enjoying Philadelphia-New York games takes a very refined MLS pallet. Expect constant car crashes in midfield and somewhere around 60% pass completion for both teams. It’s the Beautiful Game… from a certain point of view. Usually, that style means one very small moment will make the difference.

Toluca vs. Minnesota United | 8 pm ET

Y’all ever see one of those monster movies where a second, just as big Kaiju comes in and starts throwing haymakers and destroying buildings?

LAFC vs. Real Salt Lake | 10 pm ET