Hi everyone, With CONCACAF's club championship now partitioned into two tournaments, every federation has to face the question of how much of a gap they want to permit between their teams qualifying for the continental stage and said teams actually playing there. While there have been no indications of calendar adjustment in Mexico or Central America, Canada already squared things away with Toronto FC getting only one CCL ticket for winning both the 2016 and 2017 Voyageurs' Cups. For its part, the US decided to split its four berths in the 2019 CCL among two seasons, with the MLS Cup and US Open Cup winners for 2017 and 2018 getting the nod at the expense of the Supporters' Shield and "MLS opposite conference regular season" winners. The latter has us starting this thread now, since the semifinals of the 2017 US Open Cup are set (times U.S. Eastern, home team first). Wednesday, August 9: Sporting Kansas City vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, August 15: FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls, 8:00 p.m. On September 20, the winner of the second semifinal will either travel to KC or host San Jose with the first 2019 CONCACAF Champions League berth on the line. As for the 2018 CONCACAF League, technically the first qualifier will be the Nicaraguan Apertura winner, since they have no option of directly reaching the CCL; the Belizean Opening Season winner will still have to top the full-year table to guarantee continental play, while the winners in the rest of the Central American leagues will have their respective country's CCL berth in sight.
Worth noting that Nicaragua has changed its format this year, adopting Honduras's setup: regular season --> 3 v. 6 and 4 v. 5 play-in round --> winners join the 1st and 2nd place teams from the regular season in the semifinals.
The first berth in the 2019 CONCACAF Champions League will be decided on September 20 at 9:00 p.m. (US Eastern), when Sporting Kansas City host the New York Red Bulls in the US Open Cup final. Tough luck, Cincinnati, but all good things must come to an end
Quick reminder to all that the above will take place this upcoming Wednesday, to be shown on ESPN2 in the US.
I don't remember a team I root for winning a tournament for the first time. The Red Bulls could do that.
And we have our first team in! The Red Bulls nearly pulled themselves out of the hole with a late flurry, but could only halve the deficit in injury time as Sporting Kansas City brought home their fourth US Open Cup 2-1 to guarantee their return to the continental stage. 2019 CCL Qualifiers 1. Sporting Kansas City [USA]
The MLS regular season wraps up on Sunday (all games at 4:00 p.m., US Eastern) - and while the main story will be San Jose, FC Dallas and RSL in a three-horse race for that last playoff berth, there are also CCL implications at play. "But why, if the Supporters' Shield doesn't matter this time (and Toronto already won it)?" That's the point: the question to be resolved on Sunday is who will be in line to get the hand-me-down berth should Toronto FC (or Vancouver or Sporting KC, for that matter) win the 2017 MLS Cup Final. In a complete departure from the recent trend, not a single Western Conference team is in the conversation: New York City FC, the endangered Columbus Crew, the Chicago Fire and Atlanta United are the last contenders for second place in the full-year table. The first two play each other; and with NYCFC currently holding that second place in the table, all they have to do is win to seal the deal. Atlanta will host Toronto FC, while Chicago head down to Houston. The equation for each, as well as the Crew, is: win and hope that the contenders ahead of them all fail to do the same. In the particular scenario of ATL winning and NYCFC tying, they would be even on points and wins, so Atlanta would jump the Pigeons on GD. And if Columbus win and Chicago tie (presuming Atlanta also fail to win), Columbus would jump the Fire on wins.
This was posted last month on MLSsoccer.com https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...hampions-league-qualifiers-are-determined-mls
I stand corrected - so if TFC, KC or Vancouver win, we'll have to inaugurate the first-ever "two-year table" here to figure out the hand-me-down situation.
Btw, this also means that LAFC have absolutely no shot at a hand-me-down berth no matter how well they do out the gates.
@Paul Calixte What forum(s) are you a moderator of? You're not listed at https://www.bigsoccer.com/forums/concacaf.23/moderators
And another step closer... Surprising to see a Nicaraguan final with Estelí nowhere in sight...not so much to see Diriangén miss out
Also worth noting that the semifinals are set in Panama (home team for second leg listed first): Tauro vs Chorrillo FC Plaza Amador vs. Árabe Unido
1,200 personas asistieron y disfrutaron el partido de ida de semifinales en el 🏟 Armando Dely Valdés entre @ArabeUnido_ 0-1 @cdplazaamador. #YoSoyLPF pic.twitter.com/bT0rlZdcjh— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) November 20, 2017 1,043 fanáticos asistieron y disfrutaron el partido de ida de semifinales en el 🏟 Maracaná entre @ChorrilloFC 0-0 @TauroFC. #YoSoyLPF pic.twitter.com/Rel8BLTUJn— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) November 20, 2017
Time for a round-up! Focusing on leagues where teams are two or fewer steps away from qualifying for the continental stage... NORTH AMERICA Canada - Nothin' doin' until the 2018 Voyageurs' Cup. The only thing to report is that FC Edmonton will be noticeably absent, as they have gone on hiatus in the midst of uncertainty over the NASL's future. CLUB STATEMENT | Tom and Dave Fath, owners of FC Edmonton, announced today that #FCEd is leaving the @naslofficial and discontinuing professional franchise operations effective immediately. #NASLRead: https://t.co/FPnLlo8FR0 pic.twitter.com/981Vv6zuRb— FC Edmonton (@FCEdmontonNow) November 24, 2017 USA - The second legs of the 2017 MLS Cup semifinals will take place in midweek, as Toronto FC host the Columbus Crew on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (US Eastern) and Seattle Sounders receive the Houston Dynamo on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. Seattle sit on a comfy 2-0 lead, while TFC and the Crew are even at 0-0...and with away goals counting, a second tie with goals favors #SavetheCrew . Btw, given how the full-season table finished up, the winner of the Eastern Conference will play the Final at home; coincidentally, Columbus and Toronto are the last two hosts of the MLS Cup Final. Mexico - The 2017 Apertura semifinals are set: CF Monterrey vs. Monarcas Morelia Tigres UANL vs. Club América Curiously, Monterrey were the only ones to reach this stage without having to rely on their superior position in the regular season table (the tiebreaker after aggregate goals and away goals). Also worth noting that there is plenty of CCL pedigree among this group, with the rayados and América holding five titles between them (Champions League era), while Tigres have finished runner-up twice now. CENTRAL AMERICA Belize - Belmopan Bandits and Verdes won the first leg of their respective semifinals by 6, so they're 99.9% certain to contest the Opening Season Final. Should the Bandits win it all, they'd be on the inside track to return to the CONCACAF League by vying for full-year table supremacy. Guatemala - They're just now getting to the play-in round of the postseason (3rd through 6th place involved)...and their federation's still suspended from FIFA. El Salvador - Their Apertura is at the quarterfinal stage, and who knows if any of the rebels will be allowed to qualify for CONCACAF tournaments. Honduras - Currently at the play-in round (same as Guatemala), and the league skipped the weekend for presidential elections. Nicaragua - The first leg of the Apertura final ended 1-1, so Walter Ferretti will host Managua FC in a de facto one-off on Saturday. Costa Rica - The Apertura...wait, why did they stop calling it Torneo de Invierno? Man, Costa Rica are losing their "we're not like the rest of Central America" touch I digress...the Apertura is in the second round, and regular-season winners Herediano started off of the wrong foot: Panama - Árabe Unido exacted revenge on Plaza Amador, beating them 1-0 in their own house to even the series on aggregate and best them on penalties to reach the Apertura Final. On Saturday, they will take on Chorrillo FC (2-1 winners over Tauro) for the trophy. CARIBBEAN - Nothing to report for now. Mind you, if Montagliani goes through with his ONE CONCACAF vision, the new League of Nations should render the Copa Centroamericana and the Caribbean Cup obsolete...leaving the CFU Club Champions Cup as the last remaining senior men's football competition to be managed on a sub-regional basis.
According to the the regulations for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, Mexico's not making any changes to its qualification calendar...meaning that Tigres' plucking América naked in the Volcán this evening is good for México's first entry in the 2019 edition. In addition, we have our first two participants in next year's CONCACAF League...technically, since Panama have a CCL berth on offer. Mind you, Chorrillo was the last team into the playoffs, so it will be an uphill climb to try and reach the CCL outright through the full-year table. Minuto 87. GOOL de Luis Hurtado. @ArabeUnido_ 1-5 @ChorrilloFC. #YoSoyLPF— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) December 3, 2017 La entrega del 🏆 al CAMPEÓN del Apertura 2017. ¡FELICIDADES @ChorrilloFC! #YoSoyLPF pic.twitter.com/SMqUg5h1E2— LPF TIGO (@LPFpanama) December 3, 2017 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2023173244359834 2019 CCL Qualifiers 1. Sporting Kansas City [USA] 2. Tigres UANL [MEX] 2018 CL Qualifiers 1. Chorrillo FC [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Walter Ferretti [NCA]
Always fun when a final ends up being a derby, and that's exactly what we'll have in Mexico: the rayados ran over Morelia 4-0 (5-0 agg.) to vie for the Liga MX Apertura title against Tigres and join their archrivals on the continental stage. 2019 CCL Qualifiers 1. Sporting Kansas City [USA] 2. Tigres UANL [MEX] 3. CF Monterrey [MEX] 2018 CL Qualifiers 1. Chorrillo FC [PAN1 or PAN2] 2. Walter Ferretti [NCA]
So Toronto FC capped off the best season ever for an MLS side by winning the MLS Cup Final over Seattle Sounders...thereby vacating the USA1 berth. The best U.S. side in the regular season table, New York City FC, will start next season with the inside track; unless they stumble out the gates, the 2018 Supporters' Shield race will have Champions League implications after all. Elsewhere in CONCACAF: - Antigua awaits the winner of Petapa and Municipal (the latter holding a 2-1 edge from the first leg of their semifinal) in the Guatemalan Apertura Final. - Many thanks to Twitter for being the only means of getting information out of Belize the same day: Verdes FC win the Premier League of Belize (PLB) 2017-2018 Opening Season Championship ⚽️🏆Verdes FC-2, Belmopan Bandits SC-2 aggregate-goal total. Verdes FC win on away game goal tiebreaker (Game 2 result: Bandits-2, Verdes-1) #Belize #soccer #fútbol #football #PLB 🇧🇿— Scott Parker ツ (@parkers3) December 10, 2017 Golazoooo Verdes vs Belmopan Bandits 1st leg Finals #PremiereLeagueofBelize pic.twitter.com/xd009y3SBS— Rob Trujillo (@RobBze26) December 5, 2017 (from the first leg) So Verdes must now attempt to overcome a five-point deficit to the Bandits in the Closing Season's regular stage to claim the CONCACAF League berth outright. - The Salvadoran Apertura semifinals wrap up tomorrow, with Isidro Metapán holding a 1-0 lead over Santa Tecla and FAS squared up 1-1 with Alianza. Btw, someone should really tell Google that the playoff tiebreaker there is league position, i.e. how the hell did Santa Tecla win their quarterfinal on away goals if they didn't score any? - The higher seeds held serve in the play-in round of the Honduran Apertura playoffs, leaving us the following home-and-away semifinals: Marathón vs. Real España Motagua vs. Olimpia I'd mention something about security really needing to be on their A-game, but...man, the political situation there doesn't help at all. Finally, the Costa Rican Apertura semifinal group will conclude over the next week.
The next two Central American teams to reach the continental stage will emerge this Sunday out of two finals: the second leg of the Apertura final in Guatemala between Antigua GFC and Municipal, and the Salvadoran Apertura final pitting Alianza against Santa Tecla.
Honduras is going through some civil unrest after their recent presidential election. In the game against Real Espana and Marathon there was a controversial penalty call. The Marathon fans lost it after the call and started to break the fence that separates the fans from the field. Real Espana fans joined in the chaos so that game as well as the Motagua vs Olimpia game were postponed. http://www.diez.hn/liganacionaldeho...-partido-real_españa-marathon-estadio_morazan