One round down, four to go!
Aside from St. Louis CITY SC falling to the Houston Dynamo, every MLS team advanced from their Round of 32 ties, mostly in convincing fashion. As a result, half of the sixteen teams remaining in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) are from the United States. Theoretically, that should give MLS a 50% chance of finding their second-ever champion of this continental competition, but the opposition is stiff.
Liga MX still boasts five participants, including their three major powerhouses of Club América, Tigres UNAL, and C.F. Monterrey. Despite last year’s champion, Club León, failing to qualify for the tournament in 2024, Liga MX will be expecting to maintain their superiority in this tournament.
Highlighted by a few of these mouthwatering MLS vs. Liga MX clashes, this year’s CCC Round of 16 could feature the best slate of matchups we’ve ever seen. As always, SBI has you covered with a preview of every tie involving an MLS team:
Philadelphia Union vs. Pachuca
The Philadelphia Union were the only MLS team to be given a genuine scare by a foreign opponent in the Round of 32 as they required extra time to find the winning goal against Deportivo Saprissa despite being down to 10 men. Nonetheless, the Union squeaked through into a Round of 16 date with Pachuca.
Although not considered a giant of Liga MX as some others we will discuss, Pachuca has won CCL five times and was the only Mexican side to receive a bye in the Round of 32 as champions of the 2022-23 Liga MX Apertura. They look just as good here in 2024 at the moment. Currently sitting level atop the Liga MX Clausura table on 22 points through 10 matches with wins over Cruz Azul and Club América, Pachuca has firepower. Former Premier League striker Solomon Rondon will lead the line for Los Tuzos supported by Oussama Idrissi who has been excellent since coming over from Europe. Despite playing in a double pivot Erick Sánchez will also look to contribute to the attack.
The Union will be getting a defensive boost as the only three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Andre Blake, is expected to return from injury in the first leg on Tuesday. Unfortunately, there is doubt around the availability of striker Julian Carranza who scored four goals in the Round of 32 against Saprissa, including a first-leg hat trick. His fitness will be crucial to Philadelphia’s chances of advancing. After all, they needed all four of his goals to get past Saprissa.
Orlando City vs. Tigres
Déjà vu. The rematch is here.
In the then-Concacaf Champions League Round of 16 last season, these two sides battled out a defensive war resulting in a 1-1 aggregate score after two legs which saw Tigres advance on the away goals tiebreaker. This season, meeting at the same stage of the same competition, Orlando will host the first leg of this intriguing tie. Though the data may not back it up, conventional wisdom says this is an advantage for the Floridians. You can decide for yourself.
Regardless, Orlando City will be looking for revenge against their Liga MX opponents.
Neither side enters the tie in particularly good form, having each lost their most recent match – a derby day demolition for Orlando and the second loss in five for Tigres. However, both teams also have dangerous players whose names jump off the team sheet.
Legends André-Pierre Gignac leading the spear and Nahuel Guzmán between the sticks ensure Tigres are always a formidable force despite either’s age. Orlando City will counter Tigres’ attacking experience with youth in the likes of Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, and Duncan McGuire but newly-acquired striker Luis Muriel will provide the needed experience as well.
New England Revolution vs. LD Alajuelense
After dispatching with Panama’s only CCC participant in the Round of 32, the New England Revolution are set for a meeting with Costa Rica’s best.
Another first-round bye recipient as winners of the Central American Cup, Alajuelense has been knocked out of the CCL at this stage of the competition by an MLS team in two of the last three seasons. In 2021-22, Atlanta United ousted the Costa Ricans by a 2-0 aggregate score.
After failing to qualify in 2022-23, Alajuelense fell to eventual finalists LAFC last year by a 4-2 aggregate score despite capturing a 2-1 second-leg win in Los Angeles. The Revolution will be hoping to add another tally to this dreaded Alajuelense list.
Houston Dynamo vs Columbus Crew
The reigning U.S. Open Cup champion against the reigning MLS Cup champion. Boy, do we have a battle on our hands here!
Houston narrowly snuck by St. Louis CITY SC in the Round of 32 by winning 1-0 at home in the second leg to advance on the away goals tiebreaker. The Crew, on the other hand, had a bye. As a consequence, the Texans have played twice as many games as Columbus this season, accruing as many losses as the Crew have played games. Having minutes in their legs could end up serving as an advantage for the Dynamo, or the coin could flip, with freshness proving beneficial to the Crew.
Either way, Houston remains at a major disadvantage with their captain Hector Herrera sidelined due to injury. With both teams eager to possess the ball, Herrera’s absence could be the difference between having control or losing it. To make matters worse, Crew’s star striker Cucho Hernández has two goals in two games to start the MLS season.
Houston was able to overcome injury hurdles to find victory over St. Louis but will have a much harder challenge doing so against the defending MLS Cup champions who are seemingly still firing on all cylinders in 2024.
FC Cincinnati vs C.F. Monterrey
It should be difficult to pick a headlining matchup from such a stacked slate of games in the CCC Round of 32, but truthfully, it isn’t. This is it.
FC Cincinnati was undoubtedly the best team in MLS last season, cruising to their first Supporters’ Shield despite playing in the more competitive Eastern Conference. Conversely, Monterrey has won CCL five times and is currently considered the best squad in the region by most. According to Transfermarkt, Rayados has the most valuable squad in North America (€95.08m), narrowly beating out the likes of Club América (€92.9m) and Inter Miami (€90.83m) and over double that of FC Cincinnati (€45.3m).
As if that wasn’t enough excitement, FC Cincinnati’s all-time leading scorer Brandon Vazquez will return to face his former team for the first time since transferring to Monterrey less than two months ago.
In 127 career appearances for Cincy, Vazquez netted 43 goals and 17 assists before being sold for a reported club-record fee in the region of $7.5m + $1m add-ons. He hasn’t slowed down in Monterrey either, scoring five goals in his eight matches for Rayados thus far. The USMNT striker will hope to add to that tally with his first goal at TQL Stadium in Rayados blue to add to the laundry list he has scored in Cincinnati orange and blue.
Nashville SC vs Inter Miami CF
The 2023 League Cup Final was one of the most exciting matches of the year last season with Lionel Messi lifting the trophy alongside DeAndre Yedlin following 20 total attempts in the penalty shootout that saw Drake Callender become a hero. We’re lucky to be getting a rematch here in the CCC Round of 16.
Yedlin, notably, will be participating in a different marquee CCC matchup after recently being traded to FC Cincinnati.
Miami though, of course, only traded Yedlin to make room for other additions that improve their squad. To aid the additions of Luis Suárez, Julian Gressel, and Nicolas Freire this winter, the Floridians recently outlayed a reported $8m on 21-year-old Argentinian midfielder Federico Redondo. Despite already being the most talented squad in MLS by a country mile, they just continue to improve. With confidence at an all-time high, Miami will enter this tie following a 5-0 drubbing of their biggest rivals at the weekend.
Similarly to Houston, Nashville is coming up against an Eastern Conference powerhouse at the absolute worst time. The Coyotes easily tossed aside Moca FC 7-0 on aggregate in round one but crucially saw their two biggest stars suffer injuries. 2022 MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and fellow designated player (DP) Sam Surridge left the first leg match early and haven’t played a minute since. Fans will be hoping to see the return of their stars against Miami because if they don’t, Nashville will have the toughest challenge of all. That may be the case anyway.
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