Central American Cup Semifinals on The Rise: Carlos Mora

MIAMI, Florida – For the second year in a row, Liga Deportiva Alajuelense of Costa Rica are in a Concacaf final, this time in the Final of the first ever Concacaf Central American Cup.

Alajuelense had to overcome fellow Costa Rican club Herediano, 5-4, in a penalty shootout following a 4-4 draw on aggregate in the semifinals to reach the Final, where they will face Real Esteli of Nicaragua.

A key member of the Alajuelense team throughout the tournament has been FW Carlos Mora. The 22-year-old has played in six of the team’s eight matches in the tournament, and stood out in the semifinals with a goal from three shots, while completing 70 percent of his passes.

For his efforts, Mora is the On the Rise player for the Central American Cup Semifinals.

“My thanks to everyone for this honor, it makes me very happy and gives me the desire to continue doing things well and keep going,” said Mora in an exclusive interview with Concacaf.com.

Mora’s goal came in the first leg against Herediano, as he struck in the seventh minute with a powerful right-footed shot off an exquisite pass from Joel Campbell.

“When I saw that Joel got on the ball, we made eye contact and he played a diagonal ball. It was a spectacular pass and once I got onto the ball, I told myself that I had to finish it and thank God I was able to score the goal. I was very happy, very excited because I was able to contribute to the team at the right time,” said Mora.

It was Mora’s second career goal in a Concacaf tournament, his first coming in the 2020 Concacaf League when Alajuelense claimed the title. For Mora, there is nothing quite like scoring a big goal in a Concacaf match.

“For me it’s pure joy. You feel great, it’s very exciting and even more so since it was such an important game. I’m just really happy about it, especially since it came at such a big moment. It’s really fulfilling,” said Mora.

In his young career, Mora has already had the opportunity play in 23 Concacaf matches spread throughout the Central American Cup, Concacaf League and Concacaf Champions Cup. Mora says he feels a different electricity in the air on Concacaf nights.

“They are very special games, they are different games. This is an important tournament. They are special games because we’re playing in front of our fans and you can tell that the stadium is full. Those nights are very motivating, too, because they are big games and we are a big club, so we have to go for it all. That adds an extra motivation to play the tournament and it’s fulfilling for us when we do well. They are magical nights,” said Mora.

Up next for Mora and Alajuelense is a date in the Final versus a Real Esteli team that has already defeated Central American giants Saprissa and Olimpia in previous rounds of the tournament.

Things begin with the first leg in Nicaragua, where Real Esteli have earned a 1-0 victory in all four previous home matches in the Central American Cup. Mora knows that a positive result in the first leg in Nicaragua is paramount to Alajuelense’s title hopes.

“They are a very good team, an intense team, they have good players. We will try to plan for the final in the best way possible with the coach to get the job done, and go with every conviction of winning, because we are La Liga and we have to win every tournament we play in.

“It’s important for us to stay focused and alert, and despite any circumstance that might happen, we have to adapt to the situation and play our game,” said Mora.

As two-time winners of the Concacaf Champions Cup and 2020 champions of the Concacaf League, Alajuelense are hungry to add more Concacaf hardware to their trophy cabinet, especially after their narrow defeat in last year’s Concacaf League Final to Olimpia.

“Winning this title would mean a lot. I think it’s important, I think this club deserves it, for everyone inside this institution it would be very exciting. It’s really special to win a title here, so this entire team deserves it and we have to go all out for it and make La Liga the best,” concluded Mora.