Champions Cup, start of W Gold Cup head up Concacaf week

MIAMI, Florida – Another full week of Concacaf action is on the docket this week with the second leg matches of five Concacaf Champions Cup Round One pairings and the start of the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.

Champions Cup

The 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup continues this week with the second leg matches of five Round One series.

It begins on Tuesday night with Canadian Premier League side Forge FC traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico to take on Chivas. It was a Champions Cup debut to remember for Chivas attacker Cade Cowell in the first leg, as the young Californian-born player enjoyed a breakout performance with two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win that has Chivas in the driver’s seat to advance.

On Wednesday, Tigres of Liga MX will welcome in the Vancouver Whitecaps for the second leg of their series following last week’s thrilling 1-1 draw in the first leg in Canada. Vancouver looked as if they were going to tuck away a 1-0 victory, only for legendary striker Andre-Pierre Gignac to strike for his 17^th career Champions Cup goal in the waning moments.

The nightcap on Wednesday sees seven-time Champions Cup winners Club America hoping to overturn a 2-1 deficit at home against Real Esteli of Nicaragua. Last week’s first leg win was one to remember for Real Esteli, as it was their first ever Champions Cup victory in 39 matches.

Another two matches are on the slate for Thursday, beginning with Mexico’s Toluca hosting Costa Rican club Herediano. Toluca enjoyed a very solid performance away in Costa Rica in the first leg, winning 2-1 and can punch their ticket to the next round with either a win, draw or even a 1-0 defeat.

The week in the Champions Cup then concludes with Liga MX side and five-time Concacaf champions Monterrey at home against Comunicaciones of Guatemala. Monterrey took command of the series with a 4-1 victory in the first leg in Guatemala City and are on track to reach the next round.

W Gold Cup

The inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup kicks off on Saturday with the Preliminary Round involving six teams.

All three matches will take place at the Dignity Sports Health Park in Carson, California, beginning with Guyana versus Dominican Republic. Both sides emerged as winners of their respective groups in League B of the Road To W Gold Cup and will be looking to advance to Group A to join the United States, Mexico and Argentina in the group stage.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup side Haiti will take on Puerto Rico in the second match of the day for the right to advance to Group B with Brazil, Colombia and Panama. Haiti boast one of the most dangerous attacks in Concacaf, led by Melchie Dumornay and Nerilia Mondesir, who combined for 14 goals in the Road To W Gold Cup.

The night then concludes with an all-Central American affair between El Salvador and Guatemala. El Salvador were winners of their group from League B, while Guatemala came second in their League A group. The winner of this Prelims match will advance to Group C and join Canada, Costa Rica and Paraguay.