The tournament’s breakneck pace continues for more than a week, with seven match days of at least five games each between July 31 and Aug. 8. This endless summer of soccer won’t conclude until the Aug. 31 Leagues Cup final, after which teams on both sides of the Mexican border will turn their attention back to their respective domestic leagues.

The defending Major League Soccer champs begin the tournament, which pits MLS teams versus Mexico’s Liga MX clubs in the first three rounds, Thursday at home.

After the FIFA Club World Cup ushered in yet another major tournament into the game’s crowded ecosystem, and less than one year away from an expanded 48-team men’s World Cup, it appears that there’s no turning back.