MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Central American Cup Final is set, with CSD Xelajú MC ready to take on defending champion LD Alajuelense in the two-legged series.
Xelajú is the first Guatemalan club to reach the Central American Cup Final and will seek to lift its first international trophy. The occasion marks the club’s first appearance in the Final of a Concacaf competition.
Los Chivos opened the campaign with three consecutive wins in Group D action, earning a 2-nil win on the road against CD Herculés, followed by 3-nil and 4-1 victories at home over CD Águila and Real Estelí, respectively. Xelajú then fell 3-nil at Club Olimpia and advanced to Quarterfinals, claiming second place in the group with a 3-0-1 record for a total nine points.
The Quarterfinals presented a matchup against Sporting San Miguelito. Xela took the lead with a 2-nil victory at home in the First Leg with goals from Kevin Ruiz and Derrickson Quirós.
The Second Leg away in Panama presented a 2-nil win for Sporting San Miguelito in regulation to send the match to extra time to decide the winner of the series. Romario Da Silva was the hero late in extra time, striking in the 119’ for Xelajú to win the series 3-2 on aggregate and advance to the Semifinals of an international tournament for the second time in its history.
Xelajú then faced Honduran side Real España in the Semifinals. The First Leg resulted in a 1-1 draw on the road, with Jesús López the team’s scorer.
The Second Leg at home presented a 1-1 draw in regulation as the match went into extra time, with Juan Cardona equalizing dramatically in the 90’+7’ after Real España initially pulled ahead. Following a scoreless extra time, a penalty shootout would be necessary to decide the first Finalist of the 2025 edition. A thrilling penalty shootout, which saw goalkeeper Nery Lobos make a key save, resulted in a 2-1 victory for Los Chivos to secure a berth in the Final.
Xelajú’s road to the Final has been driven by top performances. Jesús López has been the team’s top contributor in attack with two goals and four assists in seven appearances, with the midfielder currently second amongst the top assist providers this 2025 edition.
On the other end, goalkeeper Rubén Darío Silva has started in each of the eight matches and has kept three clean sheets along the way. Silva has also made 26 saves and is tied for second place amongst the goalkeepers with the most saves.
