MIAMI, Florida – The last chance to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup for Honduran side Motagua and Saprissa of Costa Rica comes down to Wednesday night as the two sides meet in the second leg of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Play-In at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Their first leg encounter in Honduras saw each team score in the final 10 minutes to produce a thrilling 2-2 draw, giving Saprissa the slight edge going back home for the return leg.
Wednesday will mark their 19th all-time meeting, with the Costa Ricans holding a healthy 10W-7D-1L edge.
Saprissa got their two goals last week from former Olimpia man Michaell Chirinos and Warren Madrigal. Chirinos now has two goals and an assist in six games in the tournament, helping out the rest of the Saprissa attacking force, such as Javon East, Jorkaeff Azofeifa and Ulises Segura. The latter two have two assists each, while East has four goals and an assist in the tournament.
Motagua got an excellent performance from star striker Agustin Auzmendi, who scored both goals in the first leg to give him a tournament-leading seven goals.
Walter Martinez and Yeison Mejia have combined for three assists, while Carlos Argueta has been very solid in midfield, completing 54 passes in the first leg.
Match Officials Saprissa vs Motagua
Another key will be the performance of GK Jonathan Rougier, who has three clean sheets on the campaign. Another outing with no goals conceded would go a long way to helping Motagua reach the Champions Cup.
