Welp...Cibao FC had a 2-0 lead, pissed it away in 2 minutes, and were one important last-minute clearance by their goalkeeper away from losing the whole thing. So they need to avoid losing by 2+ goals on Thursday to Central FC, who are home and dry. 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Santa Tecla [SLV1 or SLV2] 4. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 5. Plaza Amador [PAN1 or PAN2] 6. Alianza [SLV1 or SLV2] 7. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 8. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 9. Tauro FC [PAN1, PAN2, PAN3 or PAN4] 10. Águila [SLV3] 11. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 12. Platense [HON3] 13. Olimpia [HON4] 14. Santos de Guápiles [CRC4] 15. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU] 16. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU] 17. Central FC (TRI) [CFU]
¡HISTÓRICO! Cibao FC knocked off two-time defending champions Central FC on their own turf 1-0 to reach the continental stage for the first time; even better, they'll now play San Juan Jabloteh (who held Portmore 2-2 and top the group on GD) for the CFU crown and the direct berth in the CCL. 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Santa Tecla [SLV1 or SLV2] 4. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 5. Plaza Amador [PAN1 or PAN2] 6. Alianza [SLV1 or SLV2] 7. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 8. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 9. Tauro FC [PAN1, PAN2, PAN3 or PAN4] 10. Águila [SLV3] 11. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 12. Platense [HON3] 13. Olimpia [HON4] 14. Santos de Guápiles [CRC4] 15. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU1 or CFU2] 16. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU3 or CFU4] 17. Central FC (TRI) [CFU3 or CFU4] 18. Cibao FC (DOM) [CFU1 or CFU2]
The Panamanian Clausura final is set... 🏆GRAN FINAL de este Clausura 2017⚽️ @ArabeUnido_ 🆚 @TauroFC🏟 Rommel Fernández📆 Sábado 27 de Mayo⏰ 8:00 P.M. pic.twitter.com/IqdxqbUX3S— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) May 21, 2017 Thus, Árabe Unido and Tauro will face off for Panama's berth in the CCL, while the extra berth trickles down to Chorrillo FC (har har). Btw, we now have our 16 participants in the inaugural CONCACAF League. So why the list of 19? Because we still need 3 more "graduations", all of which will happen tomorrow. Finally, I was looking for our resident expert but hadn't noticed the name change: @edcalvi any idea when Guatemala will kiss n' make up with FIFA? 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Santa Tecla [SLV1 or SLV2] 4. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 5. Plaza Amador [PAN3] 6. Alianza [SLV1 or SLV2] 7. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 8. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 9. Tauro FC [PAN1 or PAN2] 10. Águila [SLV3] 11. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 12. Platense [HON3] 13. Olimpia [HON4] 14. Santos de Guápiles [CRC4] 15. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU1 or CFU2] 16. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU3 or CFU4] 17. Central FC (TRI) [CFU3 or CFU4] 18. Cibao FC (DOM) [CFU1 or CFU2] 19. Chorrillo FC [PAN4]
So what two countries have clubs that will start in the CCL or CL that aren't known yet? I don't see a Canadian club listed.
Correction: we'll know SLV1 and CFU1 today - still waiting on Panama to schedule its Clausura final. Keeping in mind that we only have 15 direct qualifiers for the CCL (with the CL winner joining them later), we still need the top seeds from El Salvador, Panama and the Caribbean; one more team from Mexico (Toluca or Chivas); and the Canadian champion. For the latter, either Toronto FC defends its crown on June 27, or we'll have to wait for an August 9 playoff between TFC and the 2017 Voyageurs' Cup winner @ BMO Field.
In El Salvador, Santa Tecla made a mockery of the hostile crowd at the Cuscatlán, handing Alianza a 4-0 beatdown to clinch the bicampeonato and El Salvador's CCL berth. 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 11. Santa Tecla [SLV1] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 4. Plaza Amador [PAN3] 5. Alianza [SLV2] 6. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 7. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 8. Tauro FC [PAN1 or PAN2] 9. Águila [SLV3] 10. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 11. Platense [HON3] 12. Olimpia [HON4] 13. Santos de Guápiles [CRC4] 14. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU1 or CFU2] 15. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU3 or CFU4] 16. Central FC (TRI) [CFU3 or CFU4] 17. Cibao FC (DOM) [CFU1 or CFU2] 18. Chorrillo FC [PAN4]
Chivas hung on to the table for dear life...but they outperformed Toluca in the regular season, finished dead-even on aggregate in the semifinals and advance to both the Clausura final and their first-ever CCL on their own merits. To be honest, it will be exciting to see the first CCL(-ish) with both Chivas and América participating. Meanwhile, history was made in the Caribbean... Grande eres @CibaoFC ....Campeón del Caribe...— Balompié Dominicano (@balompiedom) May 22, 2017 Cibao FC knocked off @SJJ 1-0 in his own house, and now we have a Dominican club qualifying straight to the CCL proper. Someone pinch me 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 11. Santa Tecla [SLV1] 12. Chivas de Guadalajara [MEX] 13. Cibao FC (DOM) [CFU1] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 4. Plaza Amador [PAN3] 5. Alianza [SLV2] 6. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 7. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 8. Tauro FC [PAN1 or PAN2] 9. Águila [SLV3] 10. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 11. Platense [HON3] 12. Olimpia [HON4] 13. Santos de Guápiles [CRC4] 14. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU2] 15. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU3] 16. Central FC (TRI) [CFU4] 17. Chorrillo FC [PAN4]
Cibao is seventh out of ten in points per game in the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol. Here's their Twitter: https://twitter.com/cibaofc Did any CFU club other than Puerto Rico Islanders advance from a CCL Group Stage? In the CCC with 8 clubs, the CFU got 1 club. If Cibao has to face an American or Mexican club in the Round of 16, who would be the easiest opponent?
Nope, just the Islanders. W Connection would've done the same in 2009 if it weren't for Comunicaciones beating Pumas on Matchday 6... Assuming that Mexican and US teams will be in one pot and everyone else in another? Colorado's probably the least daunting prospect, although I'd love to see Cibao FC vs. New York Red Bulls.
So I've been wanting to point out since the announcement of the new formats for the CCL and CL next season that CONCACAF's done a 16-team final round before, in the 2002 and 2003 editions of the old CONCACAF Champions Cup. I think it's worth spelling out the primary difference between then and now: those tournaments were spread out over the calendar year, starting in February and ending in September-October. The next CCL, however, will cram all four rounds into one semester (February through May), making it easier to follow and maintain public and media interest.
According to Wikpedia, in 2003 the Semifinals ended on May 14 and the first leg of the Final was over four months later on September 17. In 2002 there was a big gap between the Quarterfinals, which ended on April 24, and the Semifinals, which started on August 7.
How awesome would it be if the Ferrari and the chicas met in the final Paul?...and of course America would win! @#Vela @DGreat @sidspaceman Y'all would enjoy that wouldn't ya
Where would we be without you, Central American press? Many thanks to Costa Rica's La Nación for spilling the beans on the format for the CONCACAF League. Let's start with the pots for next Wednesday's draw (at 8:00 p.m. US Eastern): Pot 1 LD Alajuelense (CRC) Belmopan Bandits (BLZ) San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) Honduras Progreso (HON) Real Estelí (NCA) TBA (PAN) * Plaza Amador (PAN) Alianza (SLV) Pot 2 Santos de Guápiles (GUA-CRC) Portmore United (JAM) Central FC (TRI) Platense (HON) Olimpia (GUA-HON) Walter Ferretti (NCA) Chorrillo FC (GUA-PAN) Águila (SLV) The Pot 1 teams will get drawn against a Pot 2 opponent for the Round of 16, with the Pot 1 side hosting the second leg. Teams from the same association can't face each other; mind you, given the redistribution of berths that happened, the three teams marked as GUA- are Guatemalan for the purposes of this draw and can be drawn against an opponent from their respective countries. And I guess an All-Caribbean series (San Juan Jabloteh - Portmore United) isn't out of the question either. The R16 series will be numbered 1 through 8, and the winners of the odd-numbered series will host the second leg in the quarterfinals, which will presumably be 1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, 5 vs. 6 and 7 vs. 8. From there, the semifinalists will be ranked based on their performance in the previous rounds (I'm guessing the standard points, GD, GF, then away goals scored) and play off 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3, with the higher seed hosting the second leg in this round and in the Final. * The loser of Saturday's final between Tauro FC and Árabe Unido
Central America is wrapped up: Tauro bested Árabe Unido 1-0 to jump straight into the CCL, while the latter will join Pot 1 for the CL draw. Finaliza la Gran Final y el TAURO FC ES EL CAMPEÓN@TauroFC 1-0 @ArabeUnido_ Gol: Armando Polo pic.twitter.com/sFqYtFyurW— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) May 28, 2017 Now the only things left to determine are 1) the Canadian representative, either in June or in the August 9 playoff, and 2) how I'm going to sneak into the CL draw. Ideas/media accreditation welcome... 2018 CCL Qualifiers 1. FC Dallas [USA] 2. Colorado Rapids [USA] 3. New York Red Bulls [USA] 4. Tigres UANL [MEX] 5. Club América [MEX] 6. Seattle Sounders [USA] 7. Deportivo Saprissa [CRC1] 8. Club Tijuana [MEX] 9. Motagua [HON1] 10. Herediano [CRC2] 11. Santa Tecla [SLV1] 12. Chivas de Guadalajara [MEX] 13. Cibao FC (DOM) [CFU1] 14. Tauro FC [PAN1] 2017 CL Qualifiers 1. Árabe Unido [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Real Estelí [NCA] 3. Belmopan Bandits [BLZ] 4. Plaza Amador [PAN3] 5. Alianza [SLV2] 6. Walter Ferretti [NCA] 7. LD Alajuelense [CRC3] 8. Águila [SLV3] 9. Honduras Progreso [HON2] 10. Platense [HON3] 11. Olimpia (HON) [GUA1] 12. Santos de Guápiles (CRC) [GUA2] 13. San Juan Jabloteh (TRI) [CFU2] 14. Portmore United (JAM) [CFU3] 15. Central FC (TRI) [CFU4] 16. Chorrillo FC (PAN) [GUA3]
With Mexico sending Chivas, America, Tigres and Xolos what happens to the Apertura winners right before the 2018 CCL? They should fix that gap by 2019. Perhaps only send the 2017 Apertura and 2018 Clausura winners and then both finalists of the 2018 Apertura. And how does it all tie in with Libertadores/Sudamericana?
2018 Apertura is part of 2018/19 season. Best teams of 2018/19 season qualify to (2019/)2020 CCL. That's how it should be. At least that is how Africa and Asia do. 2016/17 is qualifying season for 2018 competitions.
I'm not certain they want to fix the gap, as it allows them to potentially send the Apertura winner to the Copa Libertadores (assuming they qualified via the regular season or Copa MX) in the gap year before their CCL participation.