MIAMI, Florida – Wednesday night at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia will be the setting for a long-awaited Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League return for both the Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Espana of Honduras in the first leg of the 2023 SCCL Round of 16.
The Whitecaps will be making their third appearance in the SCCL and their first since their semifinal run in 2016-17. Meanwhile, Real Espana are back in the SCCL for the first time since the 2014-15 edition.
It will be the ninth meeting between clubs from Canada and Honduras, with the North Americans holding a slight edge of 4W-2D-2L.
Vancouver’s SCCL return came courtesy of their title-winning run in the 2022 Canadian Championship in which attacker Brian White stood out with three goals.
Another player to watch for the home side will be Julian Gressel, who played a big role for the Atlanta United team that reached the 2019 SCCL quarterfinals with two goals in three games.
1️⃣ week from today, ‘Caps will play one of their most important home games of the season in @TheChampions 🏆
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) March 2, 2023
Hear the latest on our opponents, Real C.D. España ⬇️
🆚 @rcdespana
🗓 Mar 8 @ 7pm PT
🏟 @BCPlace
Get your tickets today! 🎟 https://t.co/TLzzLNQ3uA#VWFC | #SCCL23
Real Espana’s fourth SCCL qualification came via their top six finish in the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf League, as they reached the semifinals before succumbing to Costa Rican side Alajuelense.
The star of the tournament for Real Espana was FW Ramiro Rocca, who took home Top Scorer honors with six goals. Helping Rocca to get on the scoresheet is Jhow Benavidez, who led the entire SCL in completed passes with 453.
Game Notes Stats Vancouver Whitecaps and Real Espana
Real Espana are also in good hands in goal with GK Luis Lopez, a member of the Real Espana team that played in the 2014-15 SCCL. Lopez delivered a top performance in the 2022 SCL by making 23 saves in helping his side qualify for this year’s SCCL.
