Children's Mercy Park to Host Liga MX Friendly

While Sporting Kansas City looks set to not be playing a friendly against a foreign opponent in 2016, there looks like there will be a friendly at Children's Mercy Park this summer. Sporting announced today that Liga MX sides Pachuca and Santos Laguna will be playing a friendly at CMP on Tuesday, June 21st.

The match up will feature a pair of Mexican sides that have traditionally come to the US to play competitive games in the CONCACAF Champions League. In fact, this will actually be Santos' fourth trip to Kansas City in their history for a game. Back when Sporting KC were the Wizards they hosted Santos Laguna in three different competitions, the 2001 Copa Mercanorte, the 2002 CONCACAF Champions Cup (precursor to the CCL), and the 2009 SuperLiga. Santos holds a 2-1 record in those three games. Pachuca on the other hand has never played in Kansas City as far as I can tell.

The pair of teams could be down a few of their higher profile players for the game though as the friendly takes place on the same day as one of the Copa America Centenario semifinals. Combined the two teams have nine players that have made their countries' preliminary roster for the competition. Pachuca has two players from Colombia, Stefan Medina and Oscar Murillo, one from the US, Omar Gonzalez, and two from Mexico, Rodolfo Pizarro and Hirving Lozano. Santos meanwhile has two from Mexico, Nestor Araujo and Jesus Molina, one from Argetina, Agustin Marchesin, and one from Chile, Bryan Rabello.