MIAMI, Florida – The fourth week of the 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup gets underway on Tuesday with a three-game slate that could go a very long way to determining the knockout round stage fate of some of the area’s biggest teams.

CD FAS vs CD Olimpia

Heading up the list is a battle of past Concacaf champions, as CD FAS of El Salvador host Honduran giants Olimpia in Group B play at the Estadio Cuscatlan in San Salvador, El Salvador.

Simply put, it is a must-win for both teams. FAS currently sit fifth in the five-team group with no points and must win their final two games to have a shot of advancing to the quarterfinals. The path is similarly trepidatious for Olimpia. Anything short of two wins in their final two games would make for a very complicated qualifying scenario for the 2022 Concacaf League winners.

In eight all-time meetings, history favors Olimpia with six wins, while FAS have two wins, including in their last Concacaf Champions Cup meeting in 2012, a 2-1 final in San Salvador.

Despite their two defeats in the tournament, both Wilma Torres and Dustin Corea have been good in attack for FAS. Torres scored in the narrow 2-1 loss at Xelaju, while Corea leads the team in six shots.

Olimpia will look to the dynamic duo of Yustin Arboleda and Jorge Benguche to get firing. Arboleda has seven goals in 21 international matches, while Benguche was the author of Olimpia’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Independiente.

Olimpia 2 CD FAS 2 Sept 16, 2010 

Club Atletico Independiente vs. Real Esteli

The first match of the night will also be a Group B affair involving Panama’s Independiente and Real Esteli of Nicaragua at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Panama.

Independiente are battling with the likes of FAS and Olimpia for a spot in the next phase of the tournament. They are fresh off a 3-1 win at Xelaju and have four points through two matches, currently good for second place in the group.

As for Real Esteli, they are living the dream after collecting a perfect nine points from their first three matches, all of them ending with clean sheet victories. The Nicaraguans are the only team to have already secured a berth in the quarterfinals.

Players like Juan Barrera and Harold Medina have stepped up for the Pinoleros. Barrera scored both goals in the 2-0 win at FAS last week, while Medina tallied the winning goal in the 1-0 triumph over Olimpia in week two.

Marlon Avila has played a key role in Independiente’s success with two assists, while Jorge Serrano and Carlos Small have supplied big goals at important moments.

CS Cartagines vs. Jocoro FC

The middle match of the evening will feature Costa Rican club Cartagines against Jocoro of El Salvador in Group A at the Estadio Jose Rafael Fello Meza in Cartago, Costa Rica.

Cartagines sit on three points after two games and are poised to move up the group standings if they can secure three points against a Jocoro side that has suffered three defeats in three matches and is eliminated from advancing.

Douglas Lopez has Cartagines’ lone goal in the tournament, but it was a big one via free kick in a 1-0 win over Coban Imperial. Jostin Daly has been active with nine shots in two games, while Carlos Barahona is averaging four ball recoveries per game.

Jocoro will look to end their maiden voyage in Concacaf competition with a positive result and will turn to Luis Acuna and German Aguila for inspiration. Those two players have the team’s two goals in the tournament, while Elmer Guity provided the assist in last week’s 4-1 loss at Universitario.