Tuesday result: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Semifinals First Leg Tuesday, April 25 Tigres UANL (MEX) 2-1 Club Leon (MEX) Wednesday, April 26 Philadelphia Union (USA) 1-1 Los Angeles FC (USA) Second Leg Tuesday, May 2 Los Angeles FC (USA) 3-0 Philadelphia Union (USA) LAFC advances on aggregate, 4-1 Wednesday, May 3 Club Leon (MEX) v. Tigres UANL (MEX) 9:00 pm Finals start on May 31.
I've always viewed Mbaizo as an impetuous and selfish player. Fast, great crosser of the ball, huge potential, but a danger to your own team. The yellow he took in the first half was amazingly stupid. That was going to be great third of the game in which PHU had a fighting chance. What a shame for Curtain. The injury to Jose Martinez really hurt PHU. They did not have their customary control of the middle.
Wednesday result: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Semifinals First Leg Tuesday, April 25 Tigres UANL (MEX) 2-1 Club Leon (MEX) Wednesday, April 26 Philadelphia Union (USA) 1-1 Los Angeles FC (USA) Second Leg Tuesday, May 2 Los Angeles FC (USA) 3-0 Philadelphia Union (USA) LAFC advances on aggregate, 4-1 Wednesday, May 3 Club Leon (MEX) 3-1 Tigres UANL (MEX) Leon advances on aggregate, 4-3 Finals start on May 31.
I can't remember an all FMF game being so much of a physical battle. You guys who watch more FMF football than I -- is this how that league is going? Is the ball now secondary? Or was that game an outlier?
Back in the mid 90's, here in Houston, there was the occasional midweek ESPN2 European match but if anyone wanted to follow a league over a season if was the Mexican League. This back when they still played the long season table! Ha! So to answer your question, their league is way different nowadays from decades ago. Just even ten years imho. It used to be lots of time on the ball in speed of play, spread out on big fields and years back still utilizing the long ball approach. The physical side did show in clasico matches but nothing like last night's donnybrook. Great action from Leon n Tigres as both teams desperately wanted to make the regional final versus LAFC no less, MLS defending champion. Pachuca has won a South American Cup competition in the Copa Sudamericana but no Liga MX club has won a Copa Libertadores yet. So they know how a regional Cup tournament is played in South America. Where skill and grit are combined! Well, now CONCACAF is ratcheted up a level. Glad to witness our CCL takes it rightful place in our region as everyone wants a ticket to play in the CWC.
Why we are going to waste time with the insipid Leagues cup this summer when we have CCL is just beyond me.
My Mexican friend/supporter of Leon calls them the "Los Panzas Verdes" (The Green Bellies) Club León - Wikipedia
2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Finals First Leg Wednesday, May 31 Club Leon (MEX) v. Los Angeles FC (USA) 9:00 pm FS1/TUDN Second Leg Sunday June 3 Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Club Leon (MEX) 8:00 pm FS1/TUDN The winner of the final will earn the right to play in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup AND the expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
Corrected date: 2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Finals First Leg Wednesday, May 31 Club Leon (MEX) v. Los Angeles FC (USA) 9:00 pm FS1/TUDN Second Leg Sunday, June 4 Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Club Leon (MEX) 8:00 pm FS1/TUDN The winner of the final will earn the right to play in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup AND the expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Finals First Leg Wednesday, May 31 Club Leon (MEX) 2-1 Los Angeles FC (USA) Second Leg Sunday, June 4 Los Angeles FC (USA) v. Club Leon (MEX) 8:00 pm FS1/TUDN The winner of the final will earn the right to play in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup AND the expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
2023 CONCACAF Champions League Home team first, times are CT Look for tv coverage on FS1/2 and TUDN. Finals First Leg Wednesday, May 31 Club Leon (MEX) 2-1 Los Angeles FC (USA) Second Leg Sunday, June 4 Los Angeles FC (USA) 0-1 Club Leon (MEX) Leon wins the title on aggregate, 3-1. They earn the right to play in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup AND the expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
The Concacaf club tournament has a new name and format. There are also new tournaments feeding into the competition. Some of the teams have already been determined. Concacaf Champions Cup format 27 teams will qualify either from their leagues, national tournaments, or from three regional tournaments. The knockout tournament will have home-and-away legs in each matchup except for the Final which will be a single game. 5 teams will go directly to the Round of 16: 2023 Caribbean Cup champion 2023 Central American Cup champion 2023 Leagues Cup champion 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with best aggregate record: Pachuca 2023 MLS Cup champion 22 teams will start in Round One: 2023 Canadian Championship: Vancouver Whitecaps 2023 Canadian Premier League champions 2023 Canadian Premier League regular season champions 2023 Caribbean Cup runner-up 2023 Caribbean Cup third place 2023 Central American Cup runner-up 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Leagues Cup runner-up 2023 Leagues Cup third place 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with lesser aggregate record: UANL Tigres 2022 Liga MX Apertura runner-up: Toluca 2023 Liga MX Clausura runner-up: Guadalajara 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: Monterrey 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: America 2023 MLS Supporter Shield winner 2023 MLS opposite conference winner 2023 MLS next best Shield table 2023 MLS next best Shield table 2023 US Open Cup champion NOTE: Canadian MLS teams can qualify for the MLS spots in addition to the Canadian Championship. The tournament bracket will be seeded using the new Concacaf Club Ranking Index which now orders teams individually rather than the old system that used ranking by tournament slot: https://www.concacaf.com/en/rankings/club/ There is also a new League Ranking Index that will be used to determine future slot allocations: https://www.concacaf.com/en/rankings/league/ The tournament will start in early 2024 but the dates have not been announced.
2023 Central American Cup 20 teams from the 7 Central American Football Union federations will compete for regional supremacy and 5 spots in the new Concacaf Champions Cup. Qualified teams for the 2023 tournament: Belize (1): Verdes Costa Rica (4): Saprissa, Herediano, Alajuelense, Cartaginés El Salvador (3): FAS, Jocoro, Águila Guatemala (3): Cobán Imperial, Xelajú, Comunicaciones Honduras (4): Olimpia, Olancho, Real España, Motagua Nicaragua (2): Real Estelí, Diriangén Panama (3): Independiente, Sporting San Miguelito, Universitario The teams have been drawn into 4 groups of 5. Teams will play all 4 opponents in their group once: 2 home and 2 away. The top two in each group will advance. The group stage will be held in August, the knockouts will run September-December.
2023 Caribbean Cup 10 teams from the Caribbean Football Union federations will compete for regional supremacy and 3 spots in the new Concacaf Champions Cup. 8 teams have been determined and two more will come out of the Caribbean Shield tournament being held in August. Dominican Republic (3): Cibao, Atlético Pantoja, Moca Jamaica (3): Harbour View, Dunbeholden, Cavalier Trinidad & Tobago (2): Port of Spain, Defence Force 2023 Caribbean Shield champion 2023 Caribbean Shield runner-up Haiti's league is suspended and they will not take part. The Caribbean Cup will have two groups of five teams. Teams will play all 4 opponents in their group once: 2 home and 2 away. The top two in each group will advance. The tournament will start in late August.
We have more qualifiers: Round of 16: 2023 Caribbean Cup champion 2023 Central American Cup champion 2023 Leagues Cup champion: Inter Miami 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with best aggregate record: Pachuca 2023 MLS Cup champion 22 teams will start in Round One: 2023 Canadian Championship: Vancouver Whitecaps 2023 Canadian Premier League champions 2023 Canadian Premier League regular season champions 2023 Caribbean Cup runner-up 2023 Caribbean Cup third place 2023 Central American Cup runner-up 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Leagues Cup runner-up: Nashville SC 2023 Leagues Cup third place: Philadelphia Union 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with lesser aggregate record: UANL Tigres 2022 Liga MX Apertura runner-up: Toluca 2023 Liga MX Clausura runner-up: Guadalajara 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: Monterrey 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: America 2023 MLS Supporter Shield winner 2023 MLS opposite conference winner 2023 MLS next best Shield table 2023 MLS next best Shield table 2023 US Open Cup champion: Houston Dynamo NOTE: Canadian MLS teams can qualify for the MLS spots in addition to the Canadian Championship. The Dynamo qualify as at least the runner-up in the Open Cup. The other finalist is Inter Miami who has already qualified. Next up is probably MLS or CPL regular season qualifiers.
The updated qualifiers list. I have sort of randomly placed the four Central American qualifiers into slots. That will be sorted out when their tournament ends. Things will also change when a team wins the MLS Cup. New England is next on the Supporters Shield list if an already qualified team wins MLS Cup. Round of 16: 2023 Caribbean Cup champion 2023 Central American Cup champion: Alajuelense (CRC) 2023 Leagues Cup champion: Inter Miami 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with best aggregate record: Pachuca 2023 MLS Cup champion 22 teams will start in Round One: 2023 Canadian Championship: Vancouver Whitecaps 2023 Canadian Premier League champions: Forge FC 2023 Canadian Premier League regular season champions: Cavalry FC 2023 Caribbean Cup runner-up 2023 Caribbean Cup third place 2023 Central American Cup runner-up: Herediano (CRC) 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist: Independiente (PAN) 2023 Central American Cup losing semi-finalist: Real Esteli (NCA) 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Central American Cup play-in winner 2023 Leagues Cup runner-up: Nashville SC 2023 Leagues Cup third place: Philadelphia Union 2022/2023 Liga MX Apertura/Clausura champion with lesser aggregate record: UANL Tigres 2022 Liga MX Apertura runner-up: Toluca 2023 Liga MX Clausura runner-up: Guadalajara 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: Monterrey 2022/2023 Liga MX next best aggregate table: America 2023 MLS Supporter Shield winner: FC Cincinnati 2023 MLS opposite conference winner: St. Louis City 2023 MLS next best Shield table: Orlando City SC 2023 MLS next best Shield table: Columbus Crew 2023 US Open Cup champion: Houston Dynamo NOTE: Canadian MLS teams can qualify for the MLS spots in addition to the Canadian Championship.
Concacaf Club Rankings Here are the current rankings (10/23/23) for the clubs that have clinched spots in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/club/ I also included the Central American and Caribbean clubs that are still alive to qualify in Gray. I also threw in New England since they are next on the Shield table. Obviously there are other teams still alive in MLS. Teams in Blue have already qualified for the Round of 16 so their ranking doesn't affect the draw for Round One. That is where it gets interesting for the Dynamo. If we don't win MLS Cup we'll be in the draw for Round One. The top 11 teams in that round will be matched up with the bottom 11. Houston is very close to where that line will be. Being in the top 11 would mean that we would not face a Mexican team in the first round of the tournament. Winning games in the playoffs would help our ranking. 1. CF Monterrey, Liga MX 1,249 2. Club America, Liga MX 1,247 3. Tigres UANL, Liga MX 1,234 5. Toluca, Liga MX 1,219 6. Philadelphia Union, MLS 1,213 7. Guadalajara, Liga MX 1,209 8. Pachuca, Liga MX 1,205 9. Orlando City, MLS 1,198 10. Nashville SC, MLS 1,196 12. Columbus Crew, MLS 1,194 16. FC Cincinnati, MLS 1,187 18. New England, MLS, 1,183 21. Inter Miami, MLS 1,182 30. Houston Dynamo, MLS 1,175 31. Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS 1,174 44. St. Louis CITY, MLS 1,148 45. LD Alajelense, PD Costa Rica 1,148 48. D. Saprissa, PD Costa Rica 1,136 49. CS Herediano, PD Costa Rica 1,128 53. Comunicaciones, Guatemala LNFG 1,121 54. Cavalry FC, CPL 1,117 55. CA Independiente, Panama LPF 1,114 56. Forge FC, CPL 1,109 57. FC Motagua, Honduras LNFH 1,106 59. CS Cartagines, PD Costa Rica 1,094 87. Real Esteli, Nicaragua LNF 1,056 102. Cavalier FC, Jamaica PL 1,038 106. Moca FC, Dominican Republic LDF 1,033 114. Robinhood, Suriname 1,021 121. Harbour View FC, Jamaica PL 1,010 The rankings include international and domestic competition so they change weekly.