The crown of the best CONCACAF team would be disputed between one team from Mexico and the other from the United States. On May 31 and June 4, Club León and LAFC will meet in the final of CONCACAFIANS, the biggest tournament on the continent and which will award the winner a place in the Club World Cup in years to come.
Since the establishment of the current competition format in the 2008–2009 season, it will be the second consecutive between a Mexican and an American team, as well as the fourth between teams from these countries.
When is the Grand Final of CONC Champions 2023 played?
The road to the title begins on Wednesday, May 31 at 8:00 pm (CT) when La Fiera hosts LAFC on the pitch of Estadio León for the first leg. The champion will be announced at 6:00 pm (CT) on Sunday, June 4 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Where to watch CONC Champions 2023 final?
In addition to the TUDN signal in the United States, both matches can be viewed through the screens of Fox Sports 1 for Latin America. The rest of the world will be able to follow the actions of the Concacaf Go Confederation app.
Concachampions in the Club World Cup
The tournament champion will be the one who will participate in the Football Club World Cups in 2023 and 2025.
The 2023 FIFA Club World Cup will be the last with the current format consisting of seven teams, the winner of each confederation and the champion team of the host country, from 2025 the competition will have 32 participants.
Leon wants to join a select list of Mexican teams
It is the first time that León participates in the CONCACAF Champions League under the current format, so La Fiera reaches the title series with the aim of joining the list of Mexican teams that have been crowned champions in their first finals in the competition.
CONCACAF Champions Mexican teams in their first finals
Lyon at the 1993 CONCACAF Champions Cup
Despite the fact that this is their first final in the current Champions League format, Lyon already knows what the action is like in the battle for the region’s title, as in 1993 he was the first to hit the final home run of the so-called Champions League. had reached CONCACAF, in which it finished runner-up.
In that competition, the four finalist teams faced each other and the one with the most points was crowned the champion of the competition. The Guanajuato team played against Deportivo Saprissa from Costa Rica, CSD Municipal from Guatemala and SV Robinhood from Suriname.
In their first match, they played a 2–2 draw against the Costa Rican team, then beat the Suriname team 4–0, and finally played a scoreless draw against the Guatemalan team.
León was equal on points with Saprissa and Municipal, but a goal difference of +4 placed it in second place, below Ticos, who had +8, and above the Guatemalan team who were left with +3.
Lyon vs LAFC in 2020 Concachampions
Although this is the first time these teams have met in a CONCACAF Champions League final, they are not new to facing each other in this tournament. In the 2020 edition, the draw in the round of 16 placed them as rivals to fight for a pass to the quarter-finals.
On that occasion, it was La Fiera who struck first, winning the first duel played on Guanajuato soil 2–0 with scores from Jean Meneses and Ángel Mena, however, the Californians converted the score 3–0 at home. Gave. Another one from captain Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi to reach the next instance and leave the Mexicans on the road.
Afterwards, the Los Angeles team would eliminate Cruz Azul in the quarterfinals and América in the semifinals to reach the championship battle against Tigres, however, they would lose the final against the Cats, 2–1.
Lyon to the final of CONCACAFIANS 2023
The Leon team began their adventure against Tauro FC in the round of 16, a series in which they won a double 1–0 with goals from Iván Moreno in the first leg in Panama and 2–1 in the second leg in Guanajuato. Won the victory Goals by Brian Rubio and Elias Hernandez.
For the quarter-finals, they faced Violeta Athletic, which they eliminated with an aggregate score of 6–2 after winning 5–0 at the Leon Stadium with goals from Víctor Dávila, Ángel Mena, Lucas Di Yorio and Elias Hernández. and lost 2–1. On the lap in Haiti, where Brian Rubio gave a waiver for the green belly.
In the semifinals, they were paired with the UANL Tigers. The start was not good for the team led by Nicolás Larkmon, who were beaten 2–1 in Monterrey, Nuevo León. Victor Davila of Chile fired from a distance of the own goal.
The return match, held in Bajío, was 3–1 in favor of the Greens, with goals from Fidel Ambríz, Ángel Mena and Uriel Frias contributing to overcome the unfavorable score and advance to the Grand Final 4–3 on aggregate.
With this result, Lyon became the seventh team to lose the first game of the semi-finals and qualify for the next round. A situation that had not happened since the 2016–2017 season when Tujos del Pachuca lost 2–1 to FC Dallas in the first leg and won the second leg 3–1.
Victor Davila (Chile), Brian Rubio (Mexico), Elias Hernandez (Mexico) and Angel Mena were the top scorers for Leon with two goals each.
LAFC to CONCACAFIANS 2023 FINAL
The Round of 16 clash put Costa Rica’s Liga Deportiva Alajuelense as its first opponent in the competition. Steve Cherundolo’s team arrived as a comprehensive favorite for the series. In the first leg match, played at the Alejandro Moreira Soto Stadium in Costa Rica, the Americans won 3–0 thanks to a hat trick from Denis Bounga. The said result allowed them to overcome a 2–1 loss in Los Angeles, where a goal by Mexican Carlos Vela allowed them to win 4–2 on aggregate.
In the quarter-finals they defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps by a 6–0 aggregate score. The Californians were victorious in both matches, 3–0. In the first match played in Canada, Denis Bouunga was on the scoreboard with a double and another from Kwadwo Opoku, while in the second leg two goals from Mexican Carlos Vela and another from José Cifuentes ended the series in California.
Already in the semifinals, the Los Angeles team faced the Philadelphia Union, with whom they tied a goal in the first leg, played in Pennsylvania, with a goal from Kellen Acosta. The return to Los Angeles was for the locals as they again won 3–0 with scores from Timothy Tillman, Kwadwo Opoku and Dennis Bounga.
This latest victory marked the first time that a Major League Soccer (MLS) team won a semifinal duel by a score of 3–0, as well as becoming the first American team to score four consecutive goals in this instance.
LAFC 3-0 WIN:
The 3-0 score has been what LAFC has repeated the most in their two appearances in CONCACAFIANS with a total of five.
