2018 CONCACAF Champions League

A total of 16 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League:

• North American Zone: 9 teams (from three associations)
• Central American Zone: 5 teams (from four associations; ordinarily from five associations, but Guatemalan teams were excluded from this season's tournament)
• Caribbean Zone: 1 team (from one association)
• Winners of the CONCACAF League (from one association, from either Central American Zone or Caribbean Zone)

Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.

The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) were allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.

For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.

For the United States, four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, three through the Major League Soccer (MLS) season and one through its domestic cup competition:

• The champions of the MLS Cup, the championship match of the MLS Cup Playoffs
• The champions of the Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best MLS regular season record
• The MLS regular season champions of either the Eastern Conference or Western Conference which were not the Supporters' Shield champions
• The champions of the U.S. Open Cup

If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, or conference regular season, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record not yet qualified.

For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams competed in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs. In line with the launch of the new format, which placed the Canadian representative directly in the CONCACAF Champions League beginning in early 2018, the Canadian Soccer Association announced in March 2017 that a special one-match playoff between the 2016 champions Toronto FC and the 2017 champions would be played on 9 August 2017 in Toronto to determine who would qualify for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, except in the case that Toronto FC won the 2017 edition, in which the playoff would be unnecessary and Toronto FC would qualify automatically.^[4] As Toronto FC did later win the 2017 Canadian Championship, the playoff was not played.

The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) were allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: one berth for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. As all of the leagues of Central America employed a split season with two tournaments in one season, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which were champions of both tournaments) in the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

If teams from any Central American associations were excluded, they were replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the team from Guatemala was excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and was replaced by an additional team from Costa Rica.^[5]

The sole berth for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. To qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship, teams had to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams could also be selected by their associations if they played in the league of another country. The champions of the Caribbean Club Championship qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

Besides the 15 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 16 teams (13 from Central America and 3 from the Caribbean) entered the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from August to October prior to the CONCACAF Champions League.^[5] The champions of the CONCACAF League qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.

In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).

Qualified teams from North America (9 teams)

Association	Team	Qualifying method	App. (last)	Previous best (last)
Mexico (4 berths)	UANL	2016 Apertura champions and 2017 Clausura runners-up	4th (2016–17)	Runners-up (2016–17)
	Guadalajara	2017 Clausura champions	2nd (2012–13)	Group stage (2012–13)
	América	2016 Apertura runners-up	4th (2015–16)	Champions (2015–16)
	Tijuana	Non-finalists with best regular season record in 2017 Clausura[Note MEX]	2nd (2013–14)	Semi-finals (2013–14)
United States (4 berths)	Seattle Sounders FC	2016 MLS Cup champions	5th (2015–16)	Semi-finals (2012–13)
	FC Dallas	2016 MLS Supporters' Shield and 2016 U.S. Open Cup champions	3rd (2016–17)	Semi-finals (2016–17)
	New York Red Bulls	2016 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions	4th (2016–17)	Quarter-finals (2016–17)
	Colorado Rapids	2016 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up[Note USA]	2nd (2011–12)	Group stage (2011–12)
Canada (1 berth)	Toronto FC	2016 Canadian Championship and 2017 Canadian Championship champions[Note CAN]	5th (2012–13)	Semi-finals (2011–12)

Qualified teams from Central America (6 teams)

Association	Team	Qualifying method	App. (last)	Previous best (last)
Costa Rica (1 + 1 berths)[Note GUA]	Saprissa	Champions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2016 Invierno)	7th (2016–17)	Semi-finals (2010–11)
	Herediano	Champions with worse aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Verano)	8th (2016–17)	Semi-finals (2014–15)
Honduras (1 berth + CL winner)	Motagua	2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions	4th (2015–16)	Group stage (2015–16)
	Olimpia	2017 CONCACAF League champions	10th (2016–17)	Quarter-finals (2014–15)
Panama (1 berth)	Tauro	Champions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Clausura)	6th (2014–15)	Group stage (2014–15)
El Salvador (1 berth)	Santa Tecla	2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions	2nd (2015–16)	Group stage (2015–16)

Qualified teams from Caribbean (1 team)

Association	Team	Qualifying method	App. (last)	Previous best (last)
Dominican Republic	Cibao	2017 Caribbean Club Championship champions	1st	Debut

Notes

UANL

Guadalajara

América

Tijuana

Seattle Sounders FC

FC Dallas

New York Red Bulls

Colorado Rapids

Toronto FC

Costa Rica

Tegucigalpa

Tauro

Santa Tecla

Cibao

Tegucigalpa teams
Motagua
Olimpia

Costa Rica teams
Herediano
Saprissa

class=notpageimage|

Location of teams of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League
North American Zone Central American Zone Caribbean Zone

The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 18 December 2017, 19:00 EST (UTC−5), at the Univision Studios in Miami,^[11][12] and was streamed on YouTube.^[13]

The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.

The seeding of teams was based on the new CONCACAF Club Index.^[14] Each team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that had occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:^[15]

The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:

Pot	Rank	Slot	2012–13	2013–14	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17	Total	Team
Pot 1	1	MEX3	11	29	32	23	15	110	América
	2	MEX1	16	22	11	33	27	109	UANL
	3	MEX2	27	10	16	20	30	103	Guadalajara
	4	MEX4	35	29	9	18	10	101	Tijuana
	5	USA3	16	11	13	16	20	76	New York Red Bulls
	6	CAN1	10	10	23	8	22	73	Toronto FC
	7	USA1	20	17	11	14	11	73	Seattle Sounders FC
	8	USA2	22	13	9	13	14	71	FC Dallas
Pot 2	9	USA4	11	16	20	16	8	71	Colorado Rapids
	10	CRC1	16	19	12	10	8	65	Saprissa
	11	CRC2	11	10	18	9	14	62	Herediano (wildcard)
	12	HON1	9	11	15	10	11	56	Motagua
	13	PAN1	4	15	4	10	20	53	Tauro
	14	SLV1	4	8	4	7	9	32	Santa Tecla
	15	CCC1	5	5	4	8	5	27	Cibao
	16	SCL1	0	0	0	0	0	0	Olimpia

In the CONCACAF Champions League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).^[3]

The schedule of the competition was as follows.

Times up to 10 March 2018 (round of 16 and quarter-finals first legs) were Eastern Standard Time, i.e., UTC−5, thereafter (quarter-finals second legs and beyond) times were Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4 (local times are in parentheses).

In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.

The first legs were played from 20 to 22 February, and the second legs were played from 27 February – 1 March 2018.^[16]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Cibao	0–7	Guadalajara	0–2	0–5
Santa Tecla	2–5	Seattle Sounders FC	2–1	0–4
Olimpia	1–3	New York Red Bulls	1–1	0–2
Motagua	1–2	Tijuana	0–1	1–1
Herediano	3–5	UANL	2–2	1–3
Colorado Rapids	0–2	Toronto FC	0–2	0–0
Tauro	3–3 (a)	FC Dallas	1–0	2–3
Saprissa	2–6	América	1–5	1–1

22 February 2018 (2018-02-22)

20:00 (21:00 UTC−4)

Cibao	0–2	Guadalajara
	Report	Sánchez 40' Macías 90+3'

Estadio Cibao FC, Santiago de los Caballeros

Referee: Yadel Martínez (Cuba)

28 February 2018 (2018-02-28)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

Guadalajara	5–0	Cibao
Alanís 45' Cisneros 53' Macías 56' Pulido 74' Mayorga 78'	Report

Estadio Akron, Guadalajara

Attendance: 14,840

Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)

Guadalajara won 7–0 on aggregate.

22 February 2018 (2018-02-22)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−6)

Santa Tecla	2–1	Seattle Sounders FC
Mayen 67', 76' (pen.)	Report	Lodeiro 15'

Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla

Referee: Melvin Matamoros (Honduras)

1 March 2018 (2018-03-01)

22:00 (19:00 UTC−8)

Seattle Sounders FC	4–0	Santa Tecla
Bruin 48' Lodeiro 69' Marshall 81' Eikrem 84'	Report

CenturyLink Field, Seattle

Attendance: 35,549^[17]

Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

Seattle Sounders FC won 5–2 on aggregate.

22 February 2018 (2018-02-22)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−6)

Olimpia	1–1	New York Red Bulls
Moya 72' (pen.)	Report	Royer 31'

Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José (Costa Rica)^{[note 1]}

Attendance: 0^{[note 1]}

Referee: John Pitti (Panama)

1 March 2018 (2018-03-01)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−5)

New York Red Bulls	2–0	Olimpia
Wright-Phillips 54' Davis 64'	Report

Red Bull Arena, Harrison

Attendance: 11,677^[19]

Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)

New York Red Bulls won 3–1 on aggregate.

21 February 2018 (2018-02-21)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−6)

Motagua	0–1	Tijuana
	Report	Rivero 71'

H-E-B Park, Edinburg (United States)^{[note 2]}

Referee: Henry Bejarano (Costa Rica)

27 February 2018 (2018-02-27)

22:00 (19:00 UTC−8)

Tijuana	1–1	Motagua
García 3'	Report	Martínez 88'

Estadio Caliente, Tijuana

Attendance: 15,333

Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

Tijuana Xolos won 2–1 on aggregate.

20 February 2018 (2018-02-20)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

Herediano	2–2	UANL
Ruiz 90' (pen.) Arrieta 90+3'	Report	Meza 14' Zelarayán 59'

Estadio Eladio Rosabal Cordero, Heredia

Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)

27 February 2018 (2018-02-27)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

UANL	3–1	Herediano
Valencia 49', 79' Sosa 90'	Report	Arrieta 78'

Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza

Attendance: 37,214^[20]

Referee: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador)

UANL won 5–3 on aggregate.

20 February 2018 (2018-02-20)

22:00 (20:00 UTC−7)

Colorado Rapids	0–2	Toronto FC
	Report	Osorio 55' Giovinco 73'

Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City

Attendance: 2,673^[21]

Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

27 February 2018 (2018-02-27)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−5)

Toronto FC	0–0	Colorado Rapids
	Report

BMO Field, Toronto

Attendance: 23,383^[22]

Referee: Luis Enrique Santander (Mexico)

Toronto FC won 2–0 on aggregate.

21 February 2018 (2018-02-21)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−5)

Tauro	1–0	FC Dallas
Aguilar 57'	Report

Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City

Attendance: 4,047^[23]

Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

28 February 2018 (2018-02-28)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

FC Dallas	3–2	Tauro
Urruti 32' Díaz 50' (pen.) Colmán 90+2'	Report	Aguilar 16' González 44'

Toyota Stadium, Frisco

Referee: Héctor Rodríguez (Honduras)

3–3 on aggregate. Tauro won on away goals.

21 February 2018 (2018-02-21)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

Saprissa	1–5	América
Rodríguez 74'	Report	Domínguez 2', 45' Uribe 35', 79' Ibarra 59'

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José

Referee: Mark Geiger (United States)

28 February 2018 (2018-02-28)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−6)

América	1–1	Saprissa
Quintero 1'	Report	Torres 53'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 17,789

Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)

América won 6–2 on aggregate.

In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:

• QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2
• QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4
• QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6
• QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8

The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, 7 hosted the second leg.

The first legs were played from 6–7 March, and the second legs were played from 13 to 14 March 2018.^[24]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Seattle Sounders FC	1–3	Guadalajara	1–0	0–3
Tijuana	1–5	New York Red Bulls	0–2	1–3
Toronto FC	4–4 (a)	UANL	2–1	2–3
América	7–1	Tauro	4–0	3–1

7 March 2018 (2018-03-07)

22:00 (19:00 UTC−8)

Seattle Sounders FC	1–0	Guadalajara
Dempsey 78'	Report

CenturyLink Field, Seattle

Attendance: 42,885^[25]

Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)

14 March 2018 (2018-03-14)

22:00 (20:00 UTC−6)

Guadalajara	3–0	Seattle Sounders FC
Alanís 50' López 55' Godínez 80'	Report

Estadio Akron, Guadalajara

Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)

Guadalajara won 3–1 on aggregate.

6 March 2018 (2018-03-06)

22:00 (19:00 UTC−8)

Tijuana	0–2	New York Red Bulls
	Report	Wright-Phillips 9', 67'

Estadio Caliente, Tijuana

Attendance: 22,000^[26]

Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

13 March 2018 (2018-03-13)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−4)

New York Red Bulls	3–1	Tijuana
Adams 28' Rzatkowski 70' Kaku 76'	Report	Mendoza 10'

Red Bull Arena, Harrison

Attendance: 6,393^[27]

Referee: Melvin Matamoros (Honduras)

New York Red Bulls won 5–1 on aggregate.

7 March 2018 (2018-03-07)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−5)

Toronto FC	2–1	UANL
Altidore 60' Osorio 89'	Report	Vargas 52'

BMO Field, Toronto

Attendance: 25,587^[28]

Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)

13 March 2018 (2018-03-13)

22:00 (20:00 UTC−6)

UANL	3–2	Toronto FC
Vargas 68' Gignac 84', 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Rafael Carioca 64' (o.g.) Giovinco 73'

Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza

Attendance: 30,500^[29]

Referee: Héctor Rodríguez (Honduras)

4–4 on aggregate. Toronto FC won on away goals.

6 March 2018 (2018-03-06)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−6)

América	4–0	Tauro
Corona 19' Martín 71' Domínguez 79' Ibargüen 81'	Report

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)

14 March 2018 (2018-03-14)

20:00 (19:00 UTC−5)

Tauro	1–3	América
J. Sánchez 71'	Report	Martín 6', 19' Díaz 67'

Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City

Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

América won 7–1 on aggregate.

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:

• SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
• SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4

The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Host
1 (SF1)	New York Red Bulls	4	3	1	0	8	2	+6	10	Second leg
2 (SF1)	Guadalajara	4	3	0	1	10	1	+9	9	First leg
1 (SF2)	América	4	3	1	0	13	3	+10	10	Second leg
2 (SF2)	Toronto FC	4	2	1	1	6	4	+2	7	First leg

The first legs were played on 3–4 April, and the second legs were played on 10 April 2018.^[30]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Guadalajara	1–0	New York Red Bulls	1–0	0–0
Toronto FC	4–2	América	3–1	1–1

4 April 2018 (2018-04-04)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−5)

Guadalajara	1–0	New York Red Bulls
Brizuela 26'	Report

Estadio Akron, Guadalajara

Referee: John Pitti (Panama)

10 April 2018 (2018-04-10)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−4)

New York Red Bulls	0–0	Guadalajara
	Report

Red Bull Arena, Harrison

Attendance: 23,623

Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

Guadalajara won 1–0 on aggregate.

3 April 2018 (2018-04-03)

20:00 (20:00 UTC−4)

Toronto FC	3–1	América
Giovinco 9' (pen.) Altidore 44' Morgan 58'	Report	Ibargüen 21'

BMO Field, Toronto

Attendance: 23,463^[31]

Referee: Henry Bejarano (Costa Rica)

10 April 2018 (2018-04-10)

22:00 (21:00 UTC−5)

América	1–1	Toronto FC
Uribe 90+2' (pen.)	Report	Osorio 12'

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)^[32]

Toronto FC won 4–2 on aggregate.

In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalist which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Host
1	Guadalajara	6	4	1	1	11	1	+10	13	Second leg
2	Toronto FC	6	3	2	1	10	6	+4	11	First leg

The first leg was played on 17 April, and the second leg was played on 25 April 2018.^[33]

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Toronto FC	3–3 (2–4 p)	Guadalajara	1–2	2–1

17 April 2018 (2018-04-17)

20:15 (20:15 UTC−4)

Toronto FC	1–2	Guadalajara
Osorio 19'	Report	Pizarro 2' Pulido 72'

BMO Field, Toronto

Attendance: 29,925^[34]

Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)

25 April 2018 (2018-04-25)

21:30 (20:30 UTC−5)

Guadalajara	1–2	Toronto FC
Pineda 19'	Report	Altidore 25' Giovinco 44'
Penalties
Alanís Godínez Pulido Zaldívar	4–2	Giovinco Osorio Delgado Bradley

Estadio Akron, Guadalajara

Attendance: 36,977^[35]

Referee: Óscar Moncada (Honduras)

3–3 on aggregate. Guadalajara won 4–2 on penalties.

Rank	Player	Club	Goals	By round
				1R1	1R2	QF1	QF2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2
1	Sebastian Giovinco	Toronto FC	4	1			1	1			1
	Jonathan Osorio	Toronto FC		1		1			1	1
3	Jozy Altidore	Toronto FC	3			1		1			1
	Cecilio Domínguez	América		2		1
	Henry Martín	América				1	2
	Mateus Uribe	América		2					1
	Bradley Wright-Phillips	New York Red Bulls			1	2
8	Edwin Aguilar	Tauro	2	1	1
	Oswaldo Alanís	Guadalajara			1		1
	Jairo Arrieta	Herediano		1	1
	André-Pierre Gignac	UANL					2
	Andrés Ibargüen	América				1		1
	Nicolás Lodeiro	Seattle Sounders FC		1	1
	José Macías	Guadalajara		1	1
	Gerson Mayen	Santa Tecla		2
	Alan Pulido	Guadalajara			1					1
	Eduardo Vargas	UANL				1	1
	Enner Valencia	UANL			2

Source: CONCACAF^[36]

• 2017 CONCACAF League
• 2018 FIFA Club World Cup

• Official website