MIAMI, Florida – The 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Play-Ins begin on Tuesday at the Estadio Jose Rafael Fello Meza in Cartago, Costa Rica where home side Cartagines welcome in Comunicaciones of Guatemala in the first leg.
This will be the first meeting between the two clubs in Concacaf competition since 1994 when Cartagines took a 4-0 victory in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Once again, the Champions Cup comes into focus, as the winner of this Play-In series will receive one of the precious remaining 2024 Champions Cup tickets still available.
Cartagines were defeated in the quarterfinals by fellow Costa Rican club Alajuelense 6-1 on aggregate, but Cartagines still have shown plenty of moxie on the field in this tournament.
Marcel Hernandez leads the team with three goals, while veteran defender Aubrey David has been his usual superb self in making a team-high 11 ball recoveries in six matches. Christian Martinez has provided muscle in the middle, completing 93 percent of his passes, including 130 in the quarterfinals.
Comunicaciones will counter with a wealth of attacking talent, but most important for the Cremas would be to get star striker Juan Anangono firing. He leads the team in shots in the tournament with 13, but is yet to score.
Much of the fireworks from Comunicaciones have been provided by Jose Corena and Antonio Lopez. Corena leads the team with three goals and completed 73 passes in the quarterfinals, while Lopez has a goal and four assists in the tournament.
Match Officials CS Cartagines (CRC) vs Comunicaciones FC (GUA)
REF: PIERRE-LUC LAUZIÈRE (Canada)
AR1: LYES ARFA (Canada)
AR2: STEFAN TANAKA-FREUNDT (Canada)
4TH: VICTOR RIVAS (USA)
