MIAMI (Friday, October 25, 2013) – The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) has confirmed the quarterfinal pairings for the 2013-14 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, the region’s premier competition for clubs, following the completion of Group Stage play last night.
The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
Deportivo Toluca, MEX (1) vs. San Jose Earthquakes, USA (8)
Cruz Azul FC, MEX (2) vs. Sporting Kansas City, USA (7)
Club Tijuana, MEX (3) vs. LA Galaxy, USA (6)
Deportivo Árabe Unido, PAN (4) vs. LD Alajuelense, CRC (5)
The quarterfinals will be played in a home-and-away format, with the first legs scheduled for March 11-13, and the return legs on March 18-20. The exact schedule will be announced in the coming days.
Teams with the higher seedwill play away first, before returning home for the second leg.
The eight quarterfinalists emerged from an original field of 24, which kicked off group play on August 6, in the quest to crown a new champion following CF Monterrey’s three-year reign.
“After a captivating group stage, we are thrilled to reveal the pairings for the quarterfinal round of the CONCACAF Champions League,” said CONCACAF General Secretary Enrique Sanz. “Fans across the region can expect plenty of excitement as these eight clubs compete for the Confederation title and a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cupin 2014.
“From Gold Cup, through FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and now in the CONCACAF Champions League, the level of competition in our region has been tremendous this year. It was exciting to see qualifying from all of our various group stages go right down to the wire.”
The quarterfinal matchups were determined by a ranking of winners from each of the eight groups, accordingto a formula based on points obtained in the group phase followed by goal differential. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals.
The full quarterfinal schedule, as well as more information on the CONCACAF Champions League, can be found at CONCACAF.com.
