Yes, but then "Chaco" Gimenez hit an absolute screamer in extra time: Dynamo fans must still be scarred. Should be an interesting second leg. Nice goal by Acosta. Would Dallas play the final somewhere else? Not an ideal venue right now with the construction.
CCL rules require teams to play in their home venue unless their home venue is deemed to not meet CONCACAF's "standards".
I asked this question earlier but I don't remember if anyone answered. How is US Soccer determining the teams that will play in the CCL starting in early 2019? Is it with the teams that complete the 2017 MLS season?
nothing changes for 2019, but for 2020 it sucks to be USOC champ and non-SS conference champ in 2018 and 2019 as they won't be in the CCL. I'm dumb.. 2017 and 2018 USOC champ and non-SS conference champ (I believe those are the two) won't get a CCL spot in 2019.
It's just lack of oxygen. Your body has to produce more blood cells to transport the oxygen to the muscles. But you're right, traveling the day of seems to work as you don't feel the effect of oxygen deprivation for at least 24 hours. I don't think anybody knows why.
There have been good strong, even competitive first halves in away legs to Mexican sides. A couple teams even went up going into the half. Every single one gave up a boat in the second half. MLS teams do not have enough depth defensively to go long in Mexico and hold out leads, even multi-goal leads. At some point some kid is going to be thrust in there late in the match and tasked to contain one of their big scorers because the starters will be worn down from chasing all game long. It's going to take either a monumental effort,... or blood thinners...
Did MLS lose spots? E2A: Silly me... there are two sets of reps and this is how the USSF is splitting the difference... why not just have a playoff? So Seattle and Dallas are safe then...
Cautiously optimistic that Dallas will buck the trend and avoid going into Mexico with the typical MLS "bunker down" mentality and may actually look to take the game to a Pachuca team that has no choice but to press the attack; otherwise, it'll be the same-old same-old drubbing that so many other MLS teams have experienced.
All of the teams that qualified in 2016 will play in the 2018 portion of the 2017/18 CCL.. The modified qualification will be for this year and next.
Does that meet CONCACAF standards though... assuming that CONCACAF would like to actually make some cash out of it... ' ...not exactly the inflection that I would have liked but it will do...
Regardless of the away goal, FCD still has the upper hand here. And they're doing it minus Diaz which is remarkable. The altitude and potentially vitriolic fanbase can be factors but if this Dallas squad has shown me anything, it's that they seem to excel under pressure unlike in years past. I'm sure players like Kellyn Acosta and Matt Hedges have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Until the scorelines says so, Pachuca simply does not have the advantage. I'm sure Pareja learned the hard way last year what bunkering in will do and this year's club is even better. The best defense is to just keep attacking because from what I saw last night, Pachuca was at its weakest when its opponent was playing the same game they were. For Dallas, just go into Mexico with no fear and they'll make the CL Final. These guys aren't afraid to lose so their goal is to show they aren't afraid to win, either.
Note: That was MLS' first ever victory against a Liga MX team in the semifinal of the CCL in its current format (which started in 08-09). [Montreal and Real Salt Lake beat Costa Rican opposition in their semifinal marches in 2010-2011 and 2014-2015.] We can talk about we would have preferred not to concede the away goal or to have won by more. Truth be told, that was a victory over a Liga MX power in a game that really mattered. Pachuca didn't put a "B" lineup out there, and Dallas beat 'em. Pachuca should still be favored to go thru on aggregate, but that was an important win by FCD. We should all remind ourselves that FCD has actually won a road game against Liga MX opposition in the CCL. They were also the first to do that when they beat Pumas in the 2011-2012 edition. What we all fear is that the MLS team will essentially be eliminated in these first legs. That didn't happen here with FCD. They stood toe-to-toe with Pachuca and have given themselves a chance in the second leg. They CAN do this.
Kansas City actually has the first home/home knockout of a LigaMX team (Santos Laguna) which came in the CCC.
Which was a different format as Clint explained earlier. Different competition with LigaMX clubs not necessarily taking their opponents seriously. FCD's win over Pachuca was more important in that regard.
They renovated the suites up top as well as the actual stadium club and were doing what looked like minor work again last night. The game itself was packed solid on the other side, doubt they'd have filled the whole place, but it was a good crowd with the limited space.
In fact, the game was technically a "sell out." It should be noted that apparently the construction on the suites is essentially done, and that side should be open for the MLS season opener this weekend. They "fubared" it by a week. I think its easy to come up with a conspiracy theory on this one. Yup. Until entry into the Club World Cup was on the line, Liga MX clubs didn't really care all that much about the competition. Not until the semifinal/final anyway. Since the format change in 2008/2009, 24 of the 36 semifinalists have been from Liga MX. 7 of the semifinalists have been from MLS, 4 have been from Costa Rica, and then there's the magical run of the Puerto Rico Islanders in 08-09. Yup. A worthy accomplishment in the quarterfinals. They got summarily trashed by Morelia in the semifinals, which made everybody other than Kansas City fans immediately forget about it.
Teams did beat Liga MX clubs in the CCC. When DCU won the title in 1998, they beat two Liga MX teams to do so. Semifinal against Leon and Final against Toluca. Different format, though. Both were one-legged affairs in DC. That has meaning. My point was simply that in the new CCL format, this is the first win by an MLS team over a Liga MX team in the semifinals.
I don't recall there being an official announcement, but Garth Lagerwey mentioned the 2 from 17 and 2 from 18 qualifying for 19 when he was discussing the new format after it was announced. I think I'm the one that came up with the specific spots, so my bad on that. http://www.sounderatheart.com/2017/1/26/14395836/concacaf-champions-league-qualification-2019 Garth was also the one that leaked the CCL format change when he said the Sounders wouldn't be playing until 2018, so...
But that's not their HOME VENUE .... so if Dallas would have just played a match or two ANYWHERE else ... they could move it? Sheesh.