New meets old as Forge debuts against ex-champs Cruz Azul

MIAMI, Florida – It will be a meeting between new and old as Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League debutants Forge FC of Canada take on six-time Concacaf champions Cruz Azul of Mexico in the 2022 SCCL Round of 16 first leg on Wednesday night at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.

Forge FC reached the 2022 SCCL by virtue of their semifinal finish in the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League. After coming within a whisker of reaching the 2021 edition, the Canadian Premier League club will look to make their maiden voyage a successful one.

Many of the players who became familiar names in recent SCL tournaments will now try to show their wares in Concacaf’s biggest club stage, namely MF David Choiniere and MF Mo Babouli.

Choiniere scored four goals in 15 career SCL matches, while Babouli earned 2021 SCL Best XI honors after notching three goals and two assists.

Those two will have to be at their best against a Cruz Azul side looking to secure a seventh Concacaf crown and second SCCL.

La Maquina were quarterfinal finishers in 2020 and semifinalists in 2021, so a place in the Final in 2022 is on the minds of everyone in blue.

There is plenty of talent to choose from, including former champions DF Julio Cesar Dominguez and MF Pablo Aguilar, plus young FW Santiago Gimenez, who led the club with three assists in the 2021 SCCL.

Also worth watching is FW Uriel Antuna, a player with a long record of success in Concacaf play at the international level with the Mexican National Team, and MF Carlos Rodriguez, who won the 2021 SCCL as a member of Monterrey.

A winning result in Canada could be just the thing to launch Cruz Azul on a title run.

Match Officials