MIAMI, Florida – A rematch between Costa Rican side Herediano and Real Espana highlights Wednesday night’s three-match slate in the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup.
In Group C, 2018 Concacaf League champions Herediano will host Honduran side Real Espana at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica in what will be a rematch of their 2022 Concacaf League quarterfinal.
Herediano have enjoyed a very strong display in the Central American Cup thus far with a 1-1 draw at Diriangen and then a 2-0 home win versus Aguila. Meanwhile, Real Espana fell 3-1 to Comunicaciones in week one and did not play last week.
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two clubs, with the last one coming in just last year’s Concacaf League when Real Espana eliminated the Ticos 4-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.
Herediano’s Jesus Godinez scored both goals against Aguila and will be keen to add to his tally, while Gerson Torres provided an assist, completed 29 passes and had two ball recoveries.
Real Espana’s run to the 2022 Concacaf League semifinals was helped in large part by attackers Ramiro Rocca and Jhow Benavidez and they’ll need those two to come through on Wednesday. Rocca was the 2022 Concacaf League top scorer with six goals, while Benavidez completed 453 passes in last year’s Concacaf League.
Match Officials CS Herediano (CRC) vs Real CD España (HON)
REF: MARIO ESCOBAR (Guatemala)
AR1: LUIS VENTURA (Guatemala)
AR2: HUMBERTO PANJOJ (Guatemala)
4TH: JAIME HERRERA (El Salvador)
Sporting San Miguelito vs. Verdes FC
The evening starts off with a contest out of Group D, as Sporting San Miguelito of Panama welcome in Verdes of Belize to the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Panama.
Both teams are searching for their first points of the tournament. Sporting San Miguelito suffered a 2-0 defeat to Honduran side Motagua in their opener last week, while Verdes had back-to-back home losses with Motagua and Alajuelense, making this one crucial to keep hopes alive of reaching the knockout stage.
Sporting San Miguelito will likely turn to veterans Valentin Pimentel and Gabriel Torres for inspiration. Pimentel completed 57 passes last week, while legendary striker Torres, who has eight Concacaf Gold Cup goals in his career, just needs one touch to find the back of the net.
Verdes will attempt to clean things up in the back after conceding eight goals in their first two matches, while Michael Palacio offers a spark up top after hitting the post in the previous game against Alajuelense.
Match Officials Sporting San Miguelito (PAN) vs Verdes FC (BLZ)
REF: JUAN GABRIEL CALDERON (Costa Rica)
AR1: WILLIAM ARRIETA (Costa Rica)
AR2: HENRI PUPIRO (Nicaragua)
4TH: FELIX MOJICA (Nicaragua)
CSD Xelaju vs. Club Atletico Independiente
The night concludes with a Group B match involving Xelaju of Guatemala against Independiente of Panama at the Estadio Pensativo in Antigua, Guatemala.
After suffering a 1-0 loss at Real Esteli in their opener, Xelaju bounced back nicely to collect a 2-1 home win last week against FAS and will be hoping the home fans can help carry them to a second straight win. Independiente were not in action last week, but did enjoy a positive start in week one with a 1-1 draw at Olimpia in Honduras.
Hugo Del Cid was the hero of last week’s Xelaju triumph with the winning goal and earning the penalty that yielded the team’s first score. Juan Luis Cardona also stood out with his assist on the Del Cid goal, one of 68 completed passes on the night.
Independiente’s goal at Olimpia in week one came from Carlos Small and he would like nothing better than to add to his total on Wednesday. Small has five goals in 10 Concacaf matches. Hector Hurtado is another one to watch for the Canaleros after he made two ball recoveries, a clearance and completed 33 passes versus Olimpia.
Match Officials CSD Xelaju MC (GUA) vs Club Atletico Independiente (PAN)
REF: SAID MARTINEZ (Honduras)
AR1: WALTER LOPEZ (Honduras)
AR2: CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ (Honduras)
4TH: JOSE VALLADARES (Honduras)
