TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS – Heigh-ho, off to Honduras we go.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (CCL: 1W-1L-1D) will close out their inaugural CONCACAF Champions League campaign on Thursday, when they visit C.D. Olimpia (CCL: 1W-2L-0D) at Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The match won’t have any bearing on the standings – Seattle Sounders FC have already clinched the top spot in the group. But as Robert Earnshaw said this week: “It’s a game of football … it always means something.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT.
UPDATE: The match will be streamed live on whitecapsfc.com with Spanish commentary.
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson said this week that only 12-14 players would make the trip to Honduras due to the team’s “glut of injuries at the moment.”
“Everyone that is fit and available to go will go,” he told reporters.
This will be a good opportunity to see some of Vancouver’s young and upcoming talent in a hostile environment, including Residency graduates Sam Adekugbe, Marco Bustos (who is coming off a promising MLS debut), and Kianz Froese.
“It’s another chance to show Robbo that we are capable of playing,” said defender Christian Dean, who is likely to start. “And they’re playing in front of their fans so it’s not like they’re not going to come out and try hard. We have to be ready for it. And I think the only way to be ready for it is to take the game by the horns and go full throttle.”
Following Thursday’s match, the ‘Caps will quickly shift their focus to Sunday’s regular season finale vs. Houston Dynamo. A win in that game would guarantee a home playoff date.
C.D. OLIMPIA
Olimpia enter Thursday’s contest at the bottom of Group F with three points and a 1W-2L-0D record. Their lone win came at home against Seattle back on August 26.
Striker Alberth Ellis provided the scoring in that one. In fact, the 19-year-old has scored both of Olimpia’s goals in the competition.
In league play, Olimpia have now won three straight matches. Colombian forward Javier Estupinan has scored five goals in that span, including a hat-trick on September 30.
CCL GROUP F
The ‘Caps won the first meeting between these two teams 1-0 on September 16 at BC Place. Here are the Group F standings heading into Thursday's rematch.
<strong>TEAM</strong> |
<strong>PTS</strong> |
<strong>GP</strong> |
<strong>W</strong> |
<strong>L</strong> |
<strong>D</strong> |
<p>Seattle Sounders FC</p> |
<p align="center">7</p> |
<p align="center">4</p> |
<p align="center">2</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">Vancouver Whitecaps FC</span> |
<p align="center">4</p> |
<p align="center">3</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<p>C.D. Olimpia</p> |
<p align="center">3</p> |
<p align="center">3</p> |
<p align="center">1</p> |
<p align="center">2</p> |
<p align="center">0</p> |
DID YOU KNOW?
Whitecaps FC midfielder Deybi Flores spent two seasons with Honduran side C.D. Motagua, a fierce rival of Olimpia also based in Tegucigalpa. Read more about Flores' journey here.
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