Can anyone stop the Liga MX clubs in the CONCACAF Champions League? That will be the theme of the competition again after the draw for the 2022 edition held on December 15 in Miami.
Liga MX has dominated the competition, winning each and every edition since the tournament’s relaunch. In 2022, it will be up to Club León, Cruz Azul, Pumas UNAM and Santos Laguna to keep Mexico’s streak alive. Defending champion Monterrey did not qualify for the 2022 edition. Teams from the United States, Canada, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica will once again attempt to break that regional supremacy for the first time.
One side of the 2022 draw could see a quarter-final with Seattle Sounders (USA) Vs Club León (Mexico) in a rematch of their memorable 2021 League Cup final. Meanwhile, a possible quarter-final between New York City FC and Colorado Rapids would guarantee Major League Soccer a team in the semifinals.
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The draw was not a good one for Canadian clubs Forge FC Hamilton and CF Montreal; both will have to face the Mexicans to start the round of 16. Depending on the results of those head-to-head matches, we could see fully Canadian or fully Mexican quarterfinals.
The knockout tournament begins with the round of 16 and each round will feature a series of two home and home games to decide each match. The team that scores the most goals advances (tiebreak information is shown below). These are the results of the draw:
CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 Draw
The round of 16 matches will be played in February. The first leg matches will take place February 15-17, followed by the return matches on February 22-24. The seeded team in each series will host the second game.
Round of 16 | Home team – First leg | Home team – 2nd leg | |
one | Guastatoya | vs. | Club Leon |
two | FC Motagua | vs. | Seattle Sounders |
3 | Communications | vs. | Colorado Rapids |
4 | Santos de Guapiles | vs. | New York City FC |
5 | Sports Saprissa | vs. | Pumas UNAM |
6 | Knight like | vs. | New England Revolution |
7 | Santos Laguna | vs. | CF Montreal |
8 | Forge FC Hamilton | vs. | Blue Cross |
CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals
These two stages will take place from March 8 to 10 and March 15 to 17. It was predetermined that the last 16 clubs No. 1, 3, 5 and 7 will host the second leg of each quarter-final series.
QF | Home team – First leg | Home team – 2nd leg | |
one | Motagua / Seattle | vs. | Guastatoya / Club Leon |
two | Santos Guápiles / NYCFC | vs. | Communications / Colorado Rapids |
3 | Cavaly / New England | vs. | Deportivo Saprissa / Pumas UNAM |
4 | Forge FC / Cruz Azul | vs. | Santos Laguna / CF Montreal |
CONCACAF Champions League semi-finals and final
According to the official tournament rules, the four teams left standing in the semi-finals will be ranked based on their 2022 Champions League results, with three points assigned for each victory and one point for each tie in the quarter-finals. If necessary, the tiebreakers in this qualifying process will be a.) Overall goal difference and then b.) Overall goals scored until the quarterfinals.
The highest ranked team in each of the semifinals and finals matches, according to the aforementioned point system, will host the second leg of the semifinals and the final.
Semifinalist No. 1 | Semifinalist No. 2 | ||
Motagua / Seattle / Gustatoya / Leon | vs. | Guapiles / NYCFC / Communications / Colorado | |
Knight / New England / Saprissa / Cougars | vs. | Forge / Cruz Azul / Santos / CF Montreal |
- Semifinals: April 5-7, April 12-14
- Final: April 26-28, May 3-5
CONCACAF Champions League playoffs
In the event that two teams are tied for added goals after both legs of a series, this is how the winner will be determined. according to tournament regulations:
Tiebreaker: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals
The tiebreakers of the first three rounds of the tournament are:
- Most away goals scored;
- If the teams are also tied for away goals scored, a penalty shoot-out will determine the team that advances.
Tiebreaker: Final
The tiebreaker for away goals does not apply in the final. In the event of a tie after 180 minutes of regulation play, the winner is determined by:
- Two 15-minute halves of overtime;
- If the teams remain tied for total goals after overtime, a penalty shoot-out will determine the champion.
Teams qualified for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League
The next 16 teams qualified for the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League. Ten teams qualified through national competition, while the other six earned a spot by finishing as one of the top six teams in the 2021 CONCACAF League.
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Club | Country | As qualified |
Knight like | Haiti | 2021 Caribbean Championship Winner |
CF Montreal | Canada | 2021 Canadian Championship Winner |
Club Leon | Mexico | Champions of Liga MX Apertura 2020 |
Colorado Rapids | USA | 2021 MLS Western Confernce Regular Season Winner |
Communications | Guatemala | 2021 CONCACAF League Winner |
Blue Cross | Mexico | Clausura Liga MX 2021 Champion |
Forge FC | Canada | CONCACAF League Semifinalist 2021 |
Guastatoya | Guatemala | CONCACAF League Semifinalist 2021 |
Motagua | Honduras | CONCACAF League Finalist 2021 |
New England Revolution | USA | 2021 MLS Eastern Conference Regular Season Winner |
New York City FC | USA | 2021 MLS Cup Champions |
Pumas UNAM | Mexico | Runner-up of Liga MX Apertura 2020 |
Saprissa | Costa Rica | Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF League 2021 (between the best two) |
Santos de Guapiles | Costa Rica | Quarterfinals of the CONCACAF League 2021 (between the best two) |
Santos Laguna | Mexico | Runner-up of the Clausura Liga MX 2021 |
Seattle Sounders | USA | Next Top Ranked in the 2021 MLS Supporters’ Shield Rankings |
How did the CONCACAF Champions League draw work?
The 16 teams were classified by CONCACAF, with the top eight teams grouped in Pot 1 and the rest in Pot 2.
For Round of 16, the seeded teams in Pot 1 faced the non-seeded teams in Pot 2, although clubs from the same country were unable to draw with each other in Round of 16.
Pot 1 | Pot 2 |
CF Montreal | Knight like |
Club Leon | Communications |
Colorado Rapids | Forge FC |
Blue Cross | Guastatoya |
New England Revolution | Motagua |
New York City FC | Santos de Guapiles |
Pumas UNAM | Santos Laguna |
Seattle Sounders | Saprissa |
The draw began with the eight unseeded teams from Pot 2, and after each name was drawn, that team’s place in the pool was randomly selected from a different pot. The process was repeated with the seeded teams in Pot 1.
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CONCACAF Champions League Winners
A Mexican club has won every edition of the CONCACAF Champions League since the competition was revamped and renamed prior to the 2008-09 edition. All but four of the 13 finals have featured two Mexican teams.
Year | Champion | Runner-up |
2021 | Monterrey Mexico) | Club America (Mexico) |
2020 | UANL Tigres (Mexico) | LAFC (United States) |
2019 | Monterrey Mexico) | UANL Tigres (Mexico) |
2018 | Chivas (Mexico) | Toronto FC (Canada) |
2016-17 | Pachuca (Mexico) | UANL Tigres (Mexico) |
2015-16 | Club America (Mexico) | UANL Tigres (Mexico) |
2014-15 | Club America (Mexico) | Montreal Impact (Canada) |
2013-14 | Cruz Azul (Mexico) | Toluca (Mexico) |
2012-13 | Monterrey Mexico) | Santos Laguna (Mexico) |
2011-12 | Monterrey Mexico) | Santos Laguna (Mexico) |
2010-11 | Monterrey Mexico) | Real Salt Lake (United States) |
2009-10 | Pachuca (Mexico) | Cruz Azul (Mexico) |
2008-09 | Atlante (Mexico) | Cruz Azul (Mexico) |
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.