April 25 – Columbus Crew will take a slight advantage into the second leg of their Champions Cup semi-final in Monterrey next week, having won their home tie 2-1 last night.
Juan Camilo Hernández opened the scoring for the Columbis Crew in the 26th minute, before Maximiliano Meza equalised for Monterrey on 58 minutes. Jacen Russell-Rowe score Columbus’ winner 15 minutes later.
The Columbus win ended CF Monterrey’s streak of 10 consecutive victories in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Mexican club are chasing their sixth Champions Cup title.
Mexican clubs have dominated Concacaf’s leading club competition pretty much since its inception, despite an increasing desire by US clubs to compete internationally following Seattle Sounders title win in 2022. The 17 previous editions had been won by clubs from LigaMX.
In the other semi-final first leg Club America drew 1-1 with Pachuca at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
US international Alejandro Zendejas opened the scoring for Club America in the 12th minute. Andres Micolta equalised for Pachuca in the 40th minute with a header.
Pachuca will host America in the second leg next Tuesday at the Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca
The winners of the Champions Cup will qualify for the expanded 2025 Club World Cup to held in the US next summer.
Concacaf have four berths at the 2025 CWC with the three previous Champions Cup winners – Club Leon (2023), Seattle Sounders FC (2022), and CF Monterrey (2021) – already securing their places.
If Monterrey win the 2024 edition then the fourth CWC slot will be decided by FIFA’s new Confederation Club ranking system, though with a cap of two clubs per country, Mexican clubs would be excluded.
However, FIFA has made an exception to the two clubs per country rule for clubs winning the Champions Cup, and if Pachuca or Club America win the 2024 Champions Cup they will go through to the 2025 CWC, making it three Mexican teams in the finals.
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