First Leagues Cup Match for Colorado- Rapids vs Santos Preview

Commerce City, CO— The Rapids take a break from MLS with their first match in Leagues Cup. Colorado took home third place in the last edition of the League Cup. They will look to continue their good run of form against Liga MX opponents as they face Santos Laguna. Santos will be one of three Liga MX teams that Colorado will play in the group stage. The Leagues Cup format has changed from last year’s edition. The Rapids will be guaranteed to play against teams from Mexico all the way into the quarter-finals, as the competition wants to push more MLS vs Liga MX storylines. This could benefit Colorado if they continue to be killers for teams in Mexico, eliminating all four opponents last season. Let’s take a look at the matchup.

When: Thursday, July 31st @ 7:30 p.m. MST

Where: DICK’s Sporting Goods Park

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

Late Heartbreak in Philly

The Rapids gave themselves a chance to snatch a result at one of the hardest places to play in the league. Rafa Navarro gave the visitors a lead against the run of play late in the first half. A textbook counterattack led by the Brazilian found Cole Bassett. His shot ricocheted off the bar and fell to Rafa, who headed home. Despite only having one shot on target for the entire game, Colorado took a lead into halftime. Unfortunately for the Rapids, soccer has two halves, and Colorado did not turn up for the second.

Philadelphia continued their dominance in the second half and finally cashed in on three second-half goals. Tai Baribo got the equalizer, and Michael Uhre took until the 89th and 95th minutes to grab his brace. It was deserved for the hosts, who had some comprehensive stats to come out of this match. Philly had 27 shots, 11 on target, and 4.0 expected goals. Colorado could only muster five shots, one on target, and 0.5 expected goals. It would have been a miracle for the Rapids to get anything from this match. But they were only a few minutes away from getting that miracle. Something has to be said about the defensive work rate that the team had to have to stay in this match for as long as they did. Zack Steffen had another spectacular performance, and still had three go past him. Colorado did it to themselves, however.

A very frustrated Cole Bassett was upfront about his perspective on the game. Colorado stopped playing in the second half. The team only managed one total shot in the second half. It took until the 93rd minute to get it. Colorado was in a favorable position going into that second half. Philadelphia had to push for goals. The Rapids could use their desperation against them and be dangerous on the counterattack. They were abysmal in doing this. Philadelphia was allowed to attack without consequences. If Colorado posed any threat of hitting on the break, we could’ve seen a result from this match. But they failed to do so, putting more pressure on the defense, which only bent but then broke late. 

New Leagues Cup Format

It will be a different format for Leagues Cup this season. There is no group stage, and instead, each team plays three teams from the opposite league, while only being matched up in a group with other teams in their league. After the initial three matches in “Phase One”, only the top four from either league move on to the knockout stage. This is very different from the last two editions, and it is much harder to move on. To be top four out of 18 teams will more than likely require at least seven of the nine available points from your first three games. Each game will feel like life or death for Colorado. 

Lineup Prediction

Steffen / Cannon, Maxsø (c), Murphy, Vines / C. Bassett, Larraz / C. Harris, Mihailović, Ku-DiPietro / Navarro

It feels like Chris Armas has decided on a formation, and it’s back to the 4-2-3-1 that was the most used in 2024. It has been good to see Cole Bassett back in his preferred position, and allows for Djordje Mihailović to stay central. I would expect to see this formation and similar personnel for all of Leagues Cup, at least for the portion of Leagues Cup where Colorado still has a chance to go through.

Leagues Cup is brutal this year. It may not end up like this, but it feels like one loss is all that is needed to lose any chance of going through to the knockout stage. If Colorado does lose this match against Santos, I would not be surprised to see a lot of rotation to keep the squad fresh for MLS play after Leagues Cup. The Rapids are scheduled to travel to Minnesota just three days after their last Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul. Unless either Colorado or Minnesota moves on, that is a congested schedule that would enjoy seeing some rotation. 

This allows for rotation guys or new signings to make some appearances for Colorado. We could see the debuts for Noah Cobb or possibly Rob Holding during Leagues Cup, allowing them to get invaluable time with the team before MLS play. We could see players like Keegan Rosenberry, Darren Yapi, Wayne Frederick, or any number of Rapids 2 guys play some minutes if Leagues Cup goes south for Colorado. It could be an excellent opportunity for Colorado if things don’t go well. 

A New Role for Calvin Harris: Its Benefits and Pitfalls

Calvin Harris has only recently seen himself make the starting lineup, coinciding with the team’s recent use of the 4-2-3-1 formation. He has made his mark in the six matches he has started this season, all within the last seven games. Harris has racked up three goals in those games and has joined Darren Yapi as the joint third-highest goalscorer on the team. Despite this recent goalscoring form, Calvin Harris has been tasked with carrying out some of the most defensive winger play in the league. 

Chris Armas has utilized Calvin Harris as a defensive winger, especially in tougher road matchups. In the games against New England and, more recently, Philadelphia, he looked more like a wing-back than an outright winger. Harris had been tasked with joining the defensive line, creating a five-back during defensive stretches of the game. The general idea behind this move is to help cover the wide areas for Colorado. Against Philly, this idea makes sense, as one of the best fullbacks in the league is bombing down that flank; some help for Reggie Cannon could be beneficial. It can help give Colorado stability in defense, and the tactic becomes more prevalent when the team is trying to see out a result.

The issue with this look is not hard to find. In those matches, the Rapids could not hold onto their lead. Calvin Harris was actually at fault for one of the goals that New England needed to come back from 3-0 down. Colorado did not see out the result in Philadelphia, and that match showed how this tactic can be hurtful in the long run. When Calvin Harris is pinned deep, defending along the backline, the team tends to stop playing. Colorado gave up three goals in both of their attempts to see out a result, and a lot of that blame falls on the team’s inability to continue to be dangerous with a lead. A big reason for this trend is due to Harris’s positioning, pulling a dangerous counterattack threat away from a dangerous spot and sticking him alongside a backline, trying to stay afloat with attack after attack. 

It is never easy to keep a lead in this league, especially away from home. But to get only three total shots in both second halves against New England and Philly is a recipe for losing leads. The team tends to stop playing once Harris gets more defensive. Keeping him forward would allow the team to be more dangerous and create more opportunities to widen the lead or just to keep the ball and give the defense a break. An extra body along the backline has its benefits, but none have been evident in the few times we have seen it. 

Third-Ever Matchup With Santos

What will become a common theme for many of Colorado’s Leagues Cup opponents, Santos isn’t a very common matchup for the Rapids. The teams have only ever played each other twice, both times coming in the 2011 Concacaf Champions League group stage. Santos were victorious in both games, winning 4-1 and 2-0. Colorado will look to change that in their first meeting in over 14 years. 

Luckily for the Rapids, Santos has been poor lately. In Liga MX’s 2024/2025 Clasura season, which is Liga MX’s second of two annual tournaments, Santos were dead last. They have only one win out of three games in the 2025/2026 Apertura campaign, which is the first of the two tournaments. The six-time Liga MX champions haven’t won the league since 2018, and have gone through seven different managers since 2021. 

In their first three games of the season, they have used a 5-3-2 look. I would expect a similar look in Colorado. On paper, this looks to be a defensive style coming from new manager Fernando Ortiz. However, the 5-3-2 and most five-back systems are very dependent on the wing-backs, and could show some offensive threat through how far these wing-backs make their way up the field.  The danger man for this Santos side is forward Ramiro Sordo, who, despite Santos’s poor start, has two goals in three matches. The usual winger has been put up top in recent matches and played in the center in their most recent matchup with Puebla. Wherever Ortiz decides to play Sordo, Colorado will have to look out for him on Thursday.

Prediction: Colorado is able to continue their good form against Liga MX opponents and get the much-needed win at home. Colorado takes it 2-1.

Photo Credit: Spencer Baldwin

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