RSL Returns to Utah for Trio of Leagues Cup Home Matches;
Five Home Games from August 4-19, Including Three Liga MX Contests;
Tickets Remain Available via www.RSL.com/Tickets
SANDY, Utah (Monday, August 3, 2026) – This week, Real Salt Lake (8W-6L-3T, 27 points, 5th West MLS / 9th Shield) returns home for competitive action for the first time since mid-May, kicking off its 2026 Leagues Cup participation with a Tuesday night match (8:00p MT kickoff) against Liga MX power Tigres UANL. RSL arrives back on the Wasatch Front for five home games in its next 15 days, with three Leagues Cup contests and two MLS regular-season tilts through August 19. Across all competitions, RSL boasts an 8-1-0 (W-L-T) mark on Utah soil in 2026, outscoring visitors 22-9, with the lone setback coming on April 22 in an 0-2 loss to Inter Miami CF.
RSL drew 1-1 at St. Louis CITY SC on Saturday night, with 2026 Golden Boot leader Sergi Solans scoring his seventh goal of the season, on an exquisite assist from newcomer Saba Lobjanidze, who has now lodged two assists in just 74 minutes of action across three appearances since arriving from Atlanta United FC on July 1.
While the draw snapped a two-game losing streak in RSL’s post-World Cup slate following losses at LAFC on July 22 and at Portland on July 25, the Club is forced to carry an active seven-game winless streak away from home into its next road match, August 22 at Orlando. Tuesday’s match is the fourth amidst a critical stretch of 11 games in 44 days for RSL across both MLS and Leagues Cup contests that began with last week’s road losses at LAFC and Portland.
Tuesday’s RSL Leagues Cup contest on Apple TV features Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth on the primary English-language call, with Jorge Perez-Navarro and Marcelo Balboa providing the Spanish-language analysis. For Fox Sports, Tony Husband and Ross Smith will provide commentary. Simultaneously, the KSL Radio team of David James and Jay Nolly return to the mic, with Nelson Moran – now in his 22nd RSL season as RSL’s Spanish radio voice – conducting the Spanish call on KBMG Latino 106.3 FM.
GAME NOTES for Tuesday’s RSL v Tigres UANL Match Available Online
The Adobe PDF version of the 2026 RSL Game Guide in advance of Tuesday’s Leagues Cup contest between Real Salt Lake and Tigres UANL can be found HERE. Media members looking to receive the document as an attachment or have further questions are asked to please contact RSL Communications via email at RSLcommunications@RSL.com.
Despite the recent spate of winless matches, RSL remains in fifth place in a tightly-packed MLS Western Conference with 17 games remaining in its 22nd all-time MLS season, with Tuesday’s match three weeks removed from a 4-1 home exhibition win over English Championship side Burnley FC. The first of at least four international clubs to arrive on the Wasatch Front during a 30-day midsummer span, Burnley was denied early by a sixth-minute penalty-kick save from 2025/26 “Iron Man” and Captain Rafael Cabral, later buoyed by a brace from rookie FW Sergi Solans, the Club’s co-Golden Boot leader with Utah native and teenage MLS All-Star Zavier Gozo, who also added a goal and an assist on the night. Iconic RSL player Diego Luna converted a late penalty to determine the final margin, with Burnley becoming the 33rd different international opponent to compete on Utah soil against Real Salt Lake, which now boasts an all-time 18W-10L-7T mark against international visitors.
Real Salt Lake Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni has now managed the Club in 202 matches across all competitions, registering 83 wins, 72 losses and 47 draws in MLS, Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, Open Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup and international friendly contests since late August, 2021. The former U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup standout (2002, 2006), MLS Cup Champion (2010) as a player, and former Colorado Rapids manager (2014-16) has averaged 1.60 points per game with RSL in his 202 matches at the helm. Only Cup-winning former manager Jason Kreis (2007-13) – now the Club’s President of Soccer – boasts more games, more wins and a higher PPG average than Mastroeni in RSL’s 22 seasons.
During the Mastroeni era, resilience, grit and determination have served as trademarks for RSL, with the Club suffering back-to-back losses on just 20 occasions in those 202 games. Saturday at St. Louis marked the latest opportunity for the Claret-and-Cobalt to display its “xDAWG” mentality as it earned the result at Energizer Park, previously winning 35 and drawing 17 times in “bounce-back” games following a loss in Mastroeni’s five-plus seasons in Utah.
LEAGUES CUP ON THE HORIZON
Starting on Tuesday, RSL now welcomes three Liga MX opponents to visit Sandy, Utah, for Phase One of Leagues Cup 2026, with perennial title contender Tigres UANL arriving on August 4 (8:00p MT kickoff), later joined by both Atlante CF (Saturday, August 8) and FC Juarez (Tuesday, August 11) to compete on the Wasatch Front, where the Utah side boasts an all-time 6W-6L-5T record against Mexican visitors, who have outscored the Claret-and-Cobalt 24-21 over the years on their collective visits.
Real Salt Lake enters the tourney ranked as the 30th overall side out of 36 participants based on its 2025 performance and standings results, with RSL fifth of the six teams in the West 1 pod, which also includes MLS sides Vancouver and Minnesota, in addition to RSL’s three Liga MX opponents. Further information on each match can be found at www.RSL.com or www.LeaguesCup.com.
RSL’s history with TIGRES UANL is the most extensive of any Liga MX opponent, with RSL and Tigres squaring off for a fifth occasion later this year. Tigres ousted RSL from the Concacaf Champions League back in 2016, winning 2-0 at home before drawing 1-1 in Sandy.
In July, 2019, RSL fell 0-1 to Tigres at home in what was then called the Leagues Cup “Showcase,” a match that is known for a cat running on the field in what was former RSL Head Coach Mike Petke’s final match with the Club. Tigres first visited Utah back in 2008, arriving for a friendly as part of the Xango Cup, RSL winning the game at Rice-Eccles, 1-0. Former RSL centerback Carlos Salcedo arrived in Utah from the Tigres academy more than a decade ago, while RSL sold former goalkeeper Lalo Fernandez to Tigres at a similar juncture.
ATLANTE FC – In recent months, Atlante secured its return to Liga MX by acquiring Mazatlán’s franchise, taking its place in the league. The club now moves to Mexico City yet again, with the famed Estadio Azteca becoming its new home. Mazatlan was formerly known as Monarcas Morelia before relocation in 2020 – entering this summer’s tourney as the second of three visitors to the Beehive State, arriving for the second Phase One match on Saturday, August 8 (kickoff time TBD). Interestingly, back in July, 2006, Morelia did defeat RSL by a 3-1 scoreline at its former Rice-Eccles Stadium home.
FC JUAREZ also makes its maiden visit to Utah as part of the 2026 Leagues Cup, RSL hosting another first-time opponent. Juarez was founded as a second-division side in 2015, ascending to Liga MX in 2019 as a replacement for Lobos BUAP. Former RSL Academy, Real Monarchs and RSL forward and Park City, Utah native Sebastian “Bofo” Saucedo played 17 games for FC Juarez from 2023-25, scoring one goal.
Now in its fourth edition, Leagues Cup 2026 will once again award three spots in the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup, where the winner will represent the region at FIFA international club competitions, with the Leagues Cup 2026 champion earning a direct berth to the Round of 16.
A year ago, RSL drew with both Club América and Atlético San Luis at home before winning against Queretaro, splitting the shootout tiebreakers in the first two matches. RSL Captain and GK Rafa Cabral enjoyed perhaps his signature moment in the dramatic penalty-kick session against Las Aguilas, denying several attempts from the spot after América scored deep into second-half stoppage time to force the draw.
Three days later against Atlético San Luis, RSL saw late dramatics from former MF Braian Ojeda force the tiebreaker, the Claret-and-Cobalt conceding the extra point in the group standings against 2026 newcomer Juan Manuel Sanabria’s former side.
In the group stage finale, RSL defeated Queretaro by a narrow 1-0 scoreline in a match dominated by RSL, which conceded just a lone shot on goal over the 90 minutes, Ojeda again providing the match-winner.
Running from August 4 through September 6, Leagues Cup 2026 will feature 36 clubs – all 18 LIGA MX teams and 18 qualified MLS clubs. All 54 matches during Phase One along with the Quarterfinals will deliver LIGA MX vs. MLS matchups and feature defending Leagues Cup champion Seattle Sounders, top-rated LIGA MX Club Toluca, 2025 MLS Cup Champion Inter Miami, as well as 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup winner Cruz Azul and runner-up Vancouver Whitecaps.
RSL Next Match: 8/4 @ America First Field
RSL takes on Tigres in the Leagues Cup! Secure your seats for an unforgettable match at America First Field.
