The Nutrilite Canadian Championship comes to a close Wednesday evening while the semifinals of the Caribbean Football Union championship will send another two clubs to this summer’s fourth edition of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Heading into the second leg of the NCC championship series the aggregate score is level at 1-1, giving host Toronto FC a one-goal advantage over the Vancouver Whitecaps in the away goal tiebreaker should the match again finish on level terms. Toronto FC has qualified for the past two editions of the CCL after being edged out for the NCC title by the Montreal Impact in its debut three years ago. The MLS newcomer Vancouver are looking to reach the CONCACAF event for the first time when the game starts at 8:00 pm ET.
Vancouver Preview [+] Toronto Preview [+]
The winner of the NCC will advance to the Preliminary Round where they will face Nicaraguan champion Real Esteli, who qualified last weekend. Esteli defeated Walter Ferreti 3-1 Saturday in the second leg of the Clausura final for a 3-2 series aggregate victory. The club was the nation’s last team to play in the CCL, falling 1-0 to Montreal in both legs of the Preliminary Round of the inaugural Champions League. No Nicaraguan sides have competed since due to stadium standards.
Thousands of miles away in South America of all places, the first two CFU spots will be claimed for the CCL. The Final Four is being hosted by Alpha United in Guyana, one of three South American nations that are members of the CFU instead of CONMEBOL. The other two are French Guiana and Suriname, which is the home nation of Walking Boyz Co., whom the Puerto Rico Islanders defeated in the previous round 8-1 on aggregate. A large number of Guyana’s national team players are spread throughout professional clubs in the CFU.
Alpha United will be the second consecutive opponent from South America for Puerto Rico, which is without Guyanese striker Gregory Richardson due to injury. The Islanders defeated WBC 7-0 at home after a 1-1 draw in Suriname earlier this month.
Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, Defence Force of Trinidad & Tobago will face Haiti’s Tempete, who are in the Final Four for the second time in three years. It is the second consecutive opponent from Trinidad for Tempete, who advanced via a penalty kick tiebreaker, 3-2, after a 1-1 series draw against Caledonia AIA in which the road team won each leg 1-0. Although Defence Force is a longtime power, it is their first trip to the semifinals of the CFU since the CCL was launched. They dominated in the previous round with 3-0 and 4-0 wins over Milerock.
Tempete and Defence Force kick things off at 6:00 pm ET at Providence Stadium with the hosts taking on the Islanders in the second half of the doubleheader Wednesday. The important Third Place match to determine the final CCL berth will lead things off on Friday at 6:00 with the championship capping the night.
Puerto Rico Preview [+] Defence Force Preview [+]
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