Águila-Estelí, Herediano-Motagua to decide semifinalists in Central American Cup | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2024 Concacaf Central American Cup continues with two second-leg quarterfinal encounters on Wednesday as clubs continue their quests to be crowned champions in early December.

A place in the semifinals is one of many things at stake, as semifinalists will also qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. CD Águila will host 2024 runners-up Real Estelí FC in the day’s first encounter, followed by CS Herediano against FC Motagua.

CD Águila vs. Real Estelí FC

CD Águila hosts Real Estelí at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, El Salvador. Real Estelí leads in the aggregate after winning 2-1 in the first leg in Nicaragua.

Águila will aim to turn the series around and extend its perfect record at home in the 2024 edition. The Salvadoran club claimed two wins on home soil in the group stage. Blas Sosa scored Águila’s goal in the first leg and will be a player to watch after scoring in the past two matches.

Real Estelí is unbeaten in five of its past six fixtures in the competition. Goals from Juan Vieyra and Byron Bonilla, who leads the team with four-goal contributions, led the Nicaraguan side to victory in the first leg.

Only a 2-1 win for Águila would trigger extra time and potentially penalties, if necessary. The away goals rule will be used as the first tiebreaker for an even score on aggregate.

CS Herediano vs. FC Motagua

CS Herediano and FC Motagua will meet at the Estadio José Rafael Fello Meza in Cartago, Costa Rica. The sides drew 2-2 in the first leg.

With the draw in the first meeting, Herediano reached a 13-match unbeaten streak, seven wins and six draws, and remains as one of only two unbeaten teams in the history of the competition. The 2023 semifinalist earned the draw away from home in the first leg with goals from José González and Everardo Rubio.

Motagua is undefeated in its past four matches, with two wins and two draws, and will aim to win the series to improve its best finish in the tournament since reaching the quarterfinals in 2023. Rodrigo Gómez and Rodrigo Auzmendi scored the two goals for Honduran side in the first leg.

An outright winner will win the series, while a non-2-2 draw will be decided by away goals. If the meeting results in another 2-2 draw, extra time will be played with the away goals rule no longer in effect after regulation. A penalty shootout will decide the series if a winner is not determined through extra time.