Juarez It could not be confirmed this Thursday as the big surprise of the Leagues Cup By letting the pass to about a quarter-finals that had at hand after drawing 1-1 with New York Red Bulls and lose 5-3 in a penalty shootout. The Braves did not start as applicants in the tournament with the new format, in which only four MLS and four teams of the MX League advance.
Nor did they highlight at the beginning of Opening 2025 with two draws and a defeat in three days that placed him penultimate, but the team led by the Uruguayan Martín Varini had worn in the Leagues Cup with a 1-4 against the Charlotte and a 2-2 with extra point in the penalties against Cincinnati. However, Juarez could not reach the challenge, although he tried in all ways in the second half. The beneficiary was Puebla, who will be in the phase of the best eight.
Aware that the Red Bulls only earned an unlikely win to enter the qualifiers, Sandro Schwarz again gave free rein to the rotations: he booked key players like Emil Forsberg and Carlos Colonel and bet on a very young eleven, including the Costa Rican Andy Rojas. Juarez did have a much more favorable scenario, but it was hard for him to impose himself in a place in a lot of shock and high pressures on both sides.
It was a first half of Ramplón and very little inspired. The first occasion of Mexicans did not reach until the 23rd minute with an innocent shot by the Colombian Oscar Estupiñán. His compatriot Jesús Murillo did not reach rest. The Juarez defense retired very frustrated by injury in the 33rd minute. That was the most relevant image of a tremendously poor first part.
Murillo (Juárez) ended up injured
Better started the second. A foul for the Red Bulls in the 47 served by the Chilean Marcelo Morales headed it Dylan Nealis to open the score against a visiting defense too shy. The goal left the Juarez out and the Braves immediately reacted with a stupiñán who tested AJ Marcucci’s reflexes. Rodolfo Pizarro and Raymundo Fulgencio also entered.
Nealis celebrates 1-0 for New York with your classmates
But also the Red Bulls moved the bench with their main offensive dynamite in case the golet miracle came: Emil Forsberg, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Mohammed Sofo. In the 65th minute the Juarez had a very clear counterattack, but Madson’s shot lacked a fang and did not disturb Marcucci.
The Mexicans followed the attack, now already in a total siege, but they did not find the track of the draw: Jairo Torres stayed halfway between a shot and a center, Homer Martínez incomprehensibly erredly missed a Franco auction inside the area, Estupiñán ran into a huge Marcucci … his dream was stuffed, but in the 87th minute he appeared stupiñán, the best of the Juare who sent the meeting to penalties.
Technical file
1 – New York Red Bulls: Aj Marcucci; Noah Eile, Dylan Nealis, Tim Parker; Peter Stud, Daniel Edelman (Emil Forsberg, M.61), Andy Rojas (Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, M.61), Wiki Carmona (Mohammed Sofo, M.61), Marcelo Morales; Julian Hall (Serge Ngoma, M.76) and Wiktor Bogacz (Adri Mehmeti, m.76).
1 – Juárez: Sebastián Jurado; Jesús Murillo (José García, M.33), Alejandro Mayorga, Denzell García, Moisés Mosquera; Homer Martínez, Guilherme Castilho (Rodolfo Pizarro, m.55); Óscar Estupiñán, Ricardinho (Ángel Zaldívar, M.74), José Luis Rodríguez (Raymundo Fulgencio, m.55); and Madson (Jairo Torres, m.74).
Goals: 1-0, Nealis (m. 47); 1-1, Estupiñán (m. 87)
Penalty: 1-0, Choupo-Moting (goal); 1-1, Estupiñán (goal); 2-1, Eile (goal); 2-1, Pizarro (Marcucci stops but repeats himself in anticipating and catches again); 3-1, Morales (goal); 3-2, García (goal); 4-2, Parker (goal); 4-3, Fulgencio (goal); 5-3, Forsberg (goal).
Referee: Víctor Cáceres. He admonished Morales in the Red Bulls.
Incidents: The third day of the Leagues Cup played at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison (New Jersey).
Only the extra point was worth it to be in the quarterfinals and Juarez stayed with honey on his lips. Pizarro, key in the team’s reaction in the second half, failed twice: Marcucci guessed his first shot and, repetition in advance, also stopped the Mexican again, which meant the elimination of Juarez.
