The Philadelphia Union meet one of Liga MX's top teams in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16, starting with a Leg 1 home match Tuesday vs. Pachuca.
Watch
- English: FS2
- Spanish: ViX
When
- Tuesday, March 5 | 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
Where
- Subaru Park | Chester, Pennsylvania
Leg 2 is set for March 12 at Pachuca's Estadio Hidalgo, deciding which team books a quarterfinal date with the winner of the Herediano-Robinhood series. The quarterfinals will be played in early April.
What's at stake come the tournament's June 2 final? The winner qualifies for both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, plus gets regional bragging rights and prize money.
- Round One: 6-5 aggregate vs. Saprissa (Costa Rica)
The Union are no stranger to facing Liga MX teams in continental competitions, highlighted by a 3-2 aggregate win over Atlas FC in the 2023 quarterfinals. But results have gone the other way, too, including a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Club América in the 2021 semifinals.
This go-around, Philadelphia hope goalkeeper Andre Blake (adductor) and striker Julián Carranza (thigh) are back from injury. Blake is one of Concacaf's premier shot-stoppers, while Carranza is the competition's top scorer with four goals. However, center backs Damion Lowe (yellow accumulation) and Jack Elliott (red) are both suspended due to cards.
Leaning on their experience and squad continuity, Philadelphia have shown a knack for clawing out results early into 2024. That surfaced in last weekend's 1-1 draw at Sporting Kansas City, when Alejandro Bedoya scored a 95th-minute equalizer. Ditto for their Round One clincher vs. Saprissa, when Mikael Uhre scored a 94th-minute winner.
- Round One: Bye
Pachuca, based on their 2022-23 Liga MX season performance, earned a bye into the Round of 16. And they haven't slowed down in the ongoing Clausura campaign, scoring a league-leading 24 goals while taking a joint-best 22 points (third place on tiebreakers).
Pachuca's dominance has been fueled by an attack that includes Venezuelan international striker Salomón Rondón, Mexican international midfielder Érick Sánchez and Moroccan international winger Oussama Idrissi. For another threat, they also boast former San Jose Earthquakes No. 10 Javier "La Chofis" López.
As strong as Pachuca are in the final third, they won't be mistaken for a defensive juggernaut. Their 18 goals against are firmly bottom-third in Liga MX, suggesting a run-and-gun style from the 2017 Champions Cup winners.
