MIAMI, Florida – The match-ups for the Round of 16 of the 2023 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League are now set following the results of Monday night’s Draw.
The games, set to begin in early March, will feature a number of first-time meetings, however there are some matchups that will feel familiar.
There is a long history of Honduran teams going up against Mexican clubs in Concacaf competition, 80 games to be exact, and no team from Honduras has registered more wins against Mexican opposition than Olimpia.
In their history, Olimpia have earned nine wins against teams from Mexico and they will aim to add to that total when they square off against SCCL debutantes Atlas.
It will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs, but for Olimpia it will be their 32nd encounter against a Mexican club. While Olimpia were eliminated in their last SCCL meeting against a Liga MX side in the 2021 Round of 16 against Club America, they did pick up a 1-0 win in Mexico City during that series.
There will be a Concacaf rematch between clubs from Honduras and Mexico, as Motagua and Pachuca will also face off in the Round of 16. Their lone previous series came in the fourth round of the 2007-08 Concacaf Champions Cup when they waged a fierce battle that saw Pachuca edge out a 1-0 aggregate win.
Andres Chitiva (R) Of Tuzos Pachuca figths for the posession against Victor Bernardez of Motagua in the 2008 Concacaf Champions Cup on March 19, 2008 in Pachuca, Higalgo, Mexico.
2020 SCCL runners-up Los Angeles FC return to the tournament in 2023 and will take on 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League runners-up Alajuelense of Costa Rica in what should be a very exciting 180 minutes of football.
While it will be thew first meeting between the two teams, Alajuelense have gone up against an opponent from Los Angeles, California in the SCCL before. In the 2011-12 group stage, Alajuelense split their two group stage games with the Los Angeles Galaxy, a 2-0 win for the Galaxy in L.A. and a 1-0 Alajuelense victory in Costa Rica.
Landon Donovan of Galaxy LA and Alajuelense player, during Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League at Morelia City on August 25, 2011.
Tigres will also return to a familiar venue in their series with Orlando City SC. It was at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium where Tigres captured their lone SCCL title during the COVID-19-impacted SCCL that was completed in December 2020.
More history will be made in the Vancouver Whitecaps-Real Espana series, as the Honduran side will meet a Canadian club for the first time ever in the SCCL. As far as North American competition is concerned, Real Espana have previously only played against teams from the United States and Mexico, earning one win, two draws and two losses.
Alianza of El Salvador versus the Philadelphia Union is the second of two MLS vs. Central America match-ups in the 2023 SCCL Round of 16. It is a first-ever contest between the two clubs and will continue the long Concacaf history between MLS and Central America in which MLS teams own a 101W-41D-44L advantage.
The history stretches back even longer in Concacaf when it comes to Mexican and Central American teams. All told, there have been 338 previous clashes between the two areas, with Mexican sides owning a 194W-83D-61L advantage.
Club Leon of Mexico will try to extend Mexican football’s dominance in that regard when they take on Tauro of Panama in what will be the first SCCL meeting for Club Leon against a Panamanian club.
A rare MLS vs. Caribbean football match-up is also in the cards, as SCCL debutants Austin FC will duel with 1984 Concacaf champions Violette of Haiti. The last time a team from the Caribbean went up against an MLS side in the SCCL was in the 2019 edition when the New York Red Bulls eliminated Atletico Pantoja of the Dominican Republic 5-0 on aggregate in the Round of 16.
