FC Motagua looks to defend Group C lead against CS Cartaginés | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup continues with FC Motagua hosting CS Cartagines in Group C on Thursday at Estadio José de la Paz Herrera Uclés in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

FC Motagua leads the group after victories at Verdes FC and against Club Atlético Independiente. El Ciclón Azul is tied for the highest-scoring offense in the 2025 edition, so far, with six goals. Jorge Serrano has been a key part of the attack with a goal and an assist.

FC Motagua will have a new head coach, Spaniard Javier López, former manager of Antigua GFC, who in the 2024 edition helped them qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. López replaced Diego Vázquez and was officially presented on Tuesday, August 12.

CS Cartaginés will resume its campaign after falling to fellow Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa 2-nil in its opening match. Douglas López and Diego González co-led the side with four attempts each.

All-Time series

FC Motagua and CS Cartaginés will face each other for the first time in the Concacaf Central American Cup, but they have a previous history in the Concacaf Champions Cup, where Motagua earned two victories without conceding a goal.

Their first meeting was a 1-0 win for Motagua in the first leg of the Central American First Round on May 5, 1974, at Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa (HON), with a goal by Óscar “El Martillo” Hernández. The return leg was another win for Motagua, 2-0, on May 19, 1974, at Estadio José Rafael “Fello” Meza in Cartago (CRC), with goals from Mario Ártica and Rubén “Chamaco” Guifarro.

FC Motagua has faced Costa Rican clubs 35 times in official Concacaf club tournaments, with a record of 6 wins, 10 draws, and 19 losses. These include:

6 matches in the Concacaf Central American Cup (4 draws, 2 losses)

14 in the Concacaf Champions Cup (3 wins, 1 draw, 10 losses)

4 in the Scotiabank Concacaf League (1 win, 1 draw, 2 losses)

4 in the Torneo Grandes de Centroamérica (2 draws, 2 losses)

7 in the INTERCLUBES Cup (2 wins, 2 draws, 3 losses)

CS Cartaginés has played Honduran clubs 9 times in official Concacaf club tournaments, with a record of 1 win and 8 losses. That includes 7 matches in the Concacaf Champions Cup (1 win, 6 losses) and 2 in the Scotiabank Concacaf League (2 losses). Their only win over a Honduran side came in a 1-0 victory against CD Petrotela in the first leg of the second round of Group 1 (North & Central America) of the 1994 Concacaf Champions Cup, on March 16, 1994, at Estadio José Rafael “Fello” Meza in Cartago (CRC), with a goal by Cristian Mena.