
CONCACAF Champions League Semi-final Preview
A relatively straightforward quarterfinal round that was dominated by Liga MX, now leaves us with four clubs remaining: Tigres UANL (Mexico), Santos Laguna (Mexico), Monterrey (Mexico), and Sporting Kansas City (USA).
ROAD TO THE SEMI-FINAL:
Tigres UANL: beat Deportivo Saprissa (Costa Rica) 5-2 on aggregate in the Round of 16 and beat Houston Dynamo (USA) 3-0 on aggregate in the quarterfinal.
Santos Laguna: beat CD Marathon (Honduras) 11-2 on aggregate in Round of 16 and beat New York Red Bulls 6-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinal.
Monterrey: beat Alianza FC (El Salvador) 1-0 on aggregate in Round of 16 and beat Atlanta United (USA) 3-1 on aggregate in quarterfinal.
Sporting Kansas City: beat Toluca (Mexico) 5-0 on aggregate in Round of 16 and beat Independiente (Panama) 4-2 on aggregate in the quarterfinal.
SEMIFINAL 1: Santos Laguna-Tigres UANL
Tigres enter as the slight favorite led by Enner Valencia, Eduardo Vargas, Carlos Saucedo, and Andre-Pierre Gignac. Santos Laguna don’t really have a standout star, but Javier Correa and Julio Furch have both bagged three goals in this tournament. Santos Laguna have not won this tournament, but have finished as runners-up in 2012 and again in 2013. Tigres haven’t won it either, but have finished as runners-up in 2016 and again in 2017.
SEMIFINAL 2: Sporting Kansas City-Monterrey
Monterrey enter as the clear favorite for this semifinal as well as the tournament. Monterrey are led by Rogelio Funes Mori, Miguel Layun, and Nicolas Sanchez. If Sporting can manage the upset as the only MLS team remaining, they will be sparked by Krisztian Nemeth, Ilie Sanchez, and Johnny Russell. This is Spoting KC’s first tie making it to the semifinal of the CONCACAF Champions League, but Monterrey won the tournament three straight seasons from 2011-2013.
The dates and times of the semi-final games have not been confirmed yet.
Who will win the CONCACAF Champions League
Tigres UANL

Santos Laguna

Monterrey

Sporting Kansas City
