Tom Sweezy - MLS Aces
·12 dicembre 2024
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Yahoo sportsTom Sweezy - MLS Aces
·12 dicembre 2024
The other night the draw for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup went down. All 27 clubs who’ve qualified for the competition have found out their paths to potentially winning the top trophy in the region. As we get closer to the kickoff of the competition and post-January transfer window, I will be putting out another article with a full preview of clubs, players, and more. But here is how things shake out as far as the draw:
Clubs who’ve already qualified for the Round of 16 (Received a Round One bye):
5 clubs have received an automatic bid into the Round of 16 for this competition. These clubs have done so by winning the other 5 major competitions in the region. On the one side of the bracket we have the Columbus Crew (qualified by winning 2024 Leagues Cup), Cavalier FC (qualified by winning 2024 Caribbean Cup), and LD Alajuelense (qualified by winning 2024 Central American Cup).
The other side of the bracket has the Los Angeles Galaxy (qualified by winning 2024 MLS Cup) and Club America (qualified by winning the 2023/2024 Liga MX Apertura and Clausura). From an MLS perspective, avoiding Liga MX clubs is a big deal to get into a semi-final or final of this competition, and the Galaxy landed on the tougher side of this bracket.
The remaining 22 clubs playing in Round One:
22 clubs is a lot to go over so I am going to break this down the same way I did above, one side of the bracket and then the next. Let’s start on the “easier” side of the bracket that consists of the Columbus Crew, Cavalier FC, and LD Alajuelense. Two MLS clubs in LAFC and the Colorado Rapids will square off in Round One, with the winner moving on to face the Columbus Crew. LAFC made the competition by finishing 2nd in Leagues Cup while the Rapids made it by winning the 3rd place game in Leagues Cup. Next, Inter Miami CF will face Sporting Kansas City across two legs to see who gets the honor to face Cavalier FC. Inter Miami had made CONCACAF Champions Cup by winning the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield while Sporting Kansas City qualified via making the 2024 U.S. Open Cup Final (SKC qualified due to LAFC already getting their spot via Leagues Cup). CF Monterrey from Liga MX will face Forge FC from the Canadian Premier League. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the Vancouver Whitecaps from MLS and Deportivo Saprissa from Costa Rica. Monterrey qualified via their finish in the 2023/2024 Liga MX aggregate table, Forge FC qualified after winning the 2024 CPL Shield, the Vancouver Whitecaps have qualified after winning the 2024 Canadian Championship, and finally Saprissa qualified after winning their 2024 Central American Cup play-in game. The last two teams on this side of the bracket to face each other in Round One are Pumas from Liga MX and Cavalry FC. Pumas qualified from their finish in the 2023/2024 Liga MX aggregate table while Cavalry qualified after winning the 2024 CPL title. This side of the bracket is filled with MLS clubs, 6 of the 10 that made the competition while only 2 clubs from Liga MX have a chance to spoil the party.
On the other side of the bracket, the opposite is almost the case. Four MLS clubs have to worry about 4 Liga MX sides on their path to the final. The winner of Chivas Guadalajara from Liga MX and Cibao FC from the Dominican Republic will take on Club America in the Round of 16. Chivas qualified from their finish in the aggregate 2023/2024 Liga MX table while Cibao qualified after making the 2024 Caribbean Cup final. Next, the winner of the Seattle Sounders from MLS and Antigua G.F.C. from Guatemala will face off against the winners of Cruz Azul from Liga MX and Real Hope Football Academy from Haiti in the Round of 16. The Sounders have qualified from their place in the final 2024 MLS standings, Antigua have qualified as 2024 Central American Cup semi-finalists, Cruz Azul made it to Champions Cup after finishing as 2023/2024 Liga MX Clausura runners-up, and Real Hope have qualified after their 3rd place finish in the 2024 Caribbean Cup. Moving on in the bracket, the winner of Tigres vs Real Esteli will take on the winners of FC Cincinnati vs CF Motagua in the Round of 16. Tigres qualified for Champions Cup after finished as Apertuera runners-up for 2023/2024 Liga MX, Real Esteli have qualified after finishing as Central American Cup runners-up, FC Cincinnati have qualified from their finish in MLS regular season play, and Motagua have qualified after winning their play-in game from the Central American Cup. The final Round One matchup is between Real Salt Lake and CS Herediano of Costa Rica, the winner facing the LA Galaxy in the Round of 16. Real Salt Lake have qualified for Champions Cup via their MLS regular season finish and Herediano qualifying as Central American Cup semi-finalists.