MIAMI, Florida – The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off next month in Round One with the only MLS vs. Liga MX match-up on the docket being the Tigres-Vancouver Whitecaps series that begins on February 7 in Canada and concludes on February 14 in Mexico.

This is just one of three Round One match-ups in which the teams faced off in prior Champions Cup tournaments. The previous Tigres-Vancouver series happened back in the 2016-17 semifinals in which each side was in hot pursuit of a place in the Final.

Vancouver arrived into the first leg encounter in Mexico fresh off a solid 3-1 aggregate triumph against fellow MLS side New York Red Bulls in the quarterfinals, while Tigres had vanquished fellow Liga MX side Pumas 4-1 on aggregate in the final eight.

The first leg in Mexico was a heated affair and an intense first 45 minutes resulted in a 0-0 scoreline at halftime. That stayed the same through the hour mark, but in the 66th minute the balance of power shifted toward Tigres when a deep pass from Andre-Pierre Gignac was redirected into the Vancouver net by Whitecaps DF Kendall Waston.

The momentum was with Tigres and they tacked on a key second goal in the 87th minute through Eduardo Vargas, whose left-footed shot bounced through a sea of legs to reach the back of the net.

Things became very interesting in the early stages of the second leg in Vancouver, as the Whitecaps quickly pulled to within 2-1 on aggregate when Brek Shea steered home a left-footed effort in just the third minute of play.

Tigres buckled down defensively the rest of the half and into the second stanza before their attack took over. Gignac displayed his world-class finishing ability in the 63rd minute to level things at 1-1 with a curling right-footed shot into the top right corner of net.

Damian Alvarez then capped the festivities in the 84th minute with a powerful right-footed finish to give Tigres a comeback 2-1 victory in the match and a 4-1 win on aggregate.

These two sides also met last summer in the Round of 32 of the Leagues Cup, which serves as a qualifier for the Champions Cup. A 1-1 draw gave way to a penalty shootout in which Tigres emerged with a 5-3 win.

Now these two teams will meet for the second time in Champions Cup play with each targeting passage to the Round of 16.