Cosmos to face Liga MX's Santos Laguna at Hinchliffe Stadium

More international soccer is coming to the New York City metro area.

The Cosmos today announced that they will be hosting Liga MX side Santos Laguna in an international friendly. The game will take place on Sunday, June 28 at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, New Jersey. The first-ever meeting between the USL League One side and the Mexican pros will kick off at 5:00 pm ET.

"From a sporting perspective, this is exactly the type of challenge we want for our players," said Giuseppe Rossi, Head of Soccer for the New York Cosmos, in the official announcement confirming the friendly. "Santos Laguna is a respected organization with a strong footballing identity and a history of competing at a high level. Matches like this allow us to test ourselves against quality opposition and provide valuable experience. We're excited to face a club of Santos Laguna's caliber and put on a great match for our supporters."

World Cup boom?

The friendly will come right in the middle of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, taking place one day after Panama and England clash at NYNJ Stadium (MetLife Stadium) in one of the final group-stage matches.

Liga MX sides have been busy scheduling games to take place during this window when their league is paused for the tournament.

One week prior to Santos Laguna coming to Hinchliffe, the team will visit USL League Two side Annapolis Blues at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

Elsewhere, USL Championship side New Mexico United will host Atlante FC on July 1st. While Mexico might have a head start, MLS is also getting in on the summer friendly action. It was recently announced FC Cincinnati will host English club Burnley FC at TQL Stadium on Friday, July 10.

All in all, these friendlies can serve multiple purposes. First, off-season Liga MX teams can both get training in while also making a profit by playing in front of fans abroad. For the USL teams, the additional match-day revenue is a huge upsell.

There's also the fact that the Cosmos have a long break between home matches. After their USL Cup match against Hartford Athletic on Saturday, June 6, the team will be away from home until July 4, when they host Greenville Triumph in USL League One play.

This international match slides nicely into a hole in the schedule. One that was exacerbated by the folding of South Georgia Tormenta FC, who were scheduled to visit Hinchliffe on June 24 for a match.

According to the Cosmos Chief Executive Officer Erik Stover, this is something the team is hoping becomes a yearly event against other foreign teams.

"This is the first international friendly match we will host at Hinchliffe Stadium, and we see it as the beginning of something special," Stover said in the Santos Laguna announcement. "Our goal is to host several matches like this each year — bringing different cultures, communities, and supporters together through the game while giving fans the opportunity to experience high-level international soccer right here in North Jersey."

Return to tradition

Throughout their history, the Cosmos have had a longstanding tradition of facing international teams. In the announcement shared with press, Stover noted how this is a return to form for the organization.

"This will mark the first time the Cosmos host a Mexican club in an international friendly since Club Veracruz visited Cosmos Country (Hofstra Stadium) on June 24, 1973," Stover said.

The team's first season in 1971 included four games against European and South American foes. Once Pelé joined the team in 1975, that number quintupled.

The 2010s relaunch of the Cosmos continued that international flair, but many of these games were on the road, including a set of preseason matches in England in 2013, and a rare match between an American club and the Cuban national team in Havana during 2014.

The last time the Cosmos hosted a foreign team, not including the behind-closed-doors preseason match played this year against Canadian Premier League side FC Supra du Québec (behind closed doors), was in 2019. During the team's exile from professional soccer following the shuttering the North American Soccer League, the Cosmos hosted then-2.Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium on the Manhattan campus of Columbia University.

Of note, the Cosmos have already played a Liga MX side this year. The team's first pre-season match was an unannounced, behind-closed-doors friendly against Club Tijuana, which the home side won 4-1.

Hinchliffe has also hosted international matches in recent years. In January 2025, Ecuadorian side Barcelona SC visited the stadium during a pre-season tour and faced off against Brooklyn amateurs Osner's FC, winning 2-0.