VANCOUVER, BC
– After becoming just the seventh MLS team ever to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals, Vancouver Whitecaps FC are now set to face reigning Mexican champions Tigres UANL. Tickets for the decisive second leg on Wednesday, April 5 at BC Place are on sale now at
ticketmaster.ca/whitecapsfc
.
The first leg of the two-match aggregate semifinal series will be played on Tuesday, March 14 at the 41,615-seat Estadio Universitario in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo Léon, Mexico. The second leg at home will be played on Wednesday, April 5 at BC Place.
Both matches will kick off at 7 p.m. PT.
The ‘Caps earned their spot in the semifinals after an
exciting 3-1 aggregate victory over New York Red Bulls
in the quarterfinal second leg at BC Place on Thursday night. Vancouver are the number one seed in the tournament after sweeping through the group stage, winning all four of their matches by a combined score of 10-2.
Tigres, who recently won their fifth Liga MX title in the 2016 Apertura, qualified for the Champions League semifinals after a 4-1 aggregate series victory over fellow Liga MX side Pumas UNAM. Among their star players are French national team striker André-Pierre Gignac and Chilean national team striker Eduardo Vargas.
The team that scores more combined goals over the two legs will then face either MLS side FC Dallas or Mexican side Pachuca CF in the two-leg Champions League final between April 19 and 26. This is the first time in club history that Whitecaps FC have made it to the Champions League semifinals. An MLS team has never won the CONCACAF Champions League.
The CONCACAF Champions League is a 24-team competition between the top clubs from North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Whitecaps FC earned Canada’s lone entry in the tournament by winning the Voyageurs Cup in the 2015 Amway Canadian Championship.
The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League earns a spot in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup – an annual seven-team tournament featuring the top teams from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Real Madrid are the reigning 2016 FIFA Club World Cup champions. This year's Club World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates.
