Yesterday, we looked at how Tuesday night's game could impact Sporting KC in the CONCACAF Champions League. The ideal scenario for Sporting KC was Alajuelense beating or drawing Club America (Alajuelense won) and Cruz Azul falling to Herediano (Cruz Azul won). One out of two isn't bad, right?
As we explained previously, finishing first place in your CCL group is only half of the battle. The key in Champions League is to finish with as many points (and as high a goal-differential) as possible to secure home-field advantage in the next round of the tournament.
Below is the current ranking of first-placed teams in the CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Teams in bold have already secured their spot to the quarterfinals.
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>Games Played</strong> |
<strong>Record (W-L-D)</strong> |
<strong>Goals For</strong> |
Goals Against |
<strong>Goal Difference</strong> |
<strong>Points</strong> |
<strong>Cruz Azul</strong> |
<strong>4</strong> |
<strong>4-0-0</strong> |
<strong>10</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>+8</strong> |
<strong>12</strong> |
<strong>Club Tijuana</strong> |
<strong>4</strong> |
<strong>3-0-1</strong> |
<strong>10</strong> |
<strong>2</strong> |
<strong>+8</strong> |
<strong>10</strong> |
Toluca |
3 |
3-0-0 |
10 |
3 |
+7 |
9 |
LA Galaxy |
3 |
3-0-0 |
6 |
0 |
+6 |
9 |
<strong>Alajuelense</strong> |
<strong>4</strong> |
<strong>3-1-0</strong> |
<strong>4</strong> |
<strong>1</strong> |
<strong>+3</strong> |
<strong>9</strong> |
Sporting KC |
3 |
2-0-1 |
5 |
1 |
+4 |
7 |
Houston Dynamo |
3 |
2-0-1 |
4 |
1 |
+3 |
7 |
Heredia |
3 |
2-1-0 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
6 |
Keeping in mind there are three CCL games tonight and another two on Thursday, Sporting KC could jump to as high as No. 3 in the overall standings with a win tonight or as high as No. 2 if they win by more than five goals.
Elsewhere around CCL, the San Jose Earthquakes will look to keep their Champions League dream alive when they host Guatemalan club Heredia. If San Jose wins, they will clinch first place in the group and be locked into the No. 8 spot in the quarterfinals. Any other results would see Heredia through to the next round.
In Group 6, Toluca has the chance to become the second team to finish the group stage with 12 points when they host Guatemalan club Comunicaciones. The Guatemalan side can still advance through to the next round if they defeat the Mexican club by two or more goals.
Limited tickets are available for tonight's match and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or at the Sporting Park Box Office. Tonight's match kicks off at 7 p.m. CT and can be seen on FOX Soccer Plus (English) or Univision Deportes 2 (Spanish).
