Alajuelense and Motagua battle for spot in Central American Cup Final

LD Alajuelense and FC Motagua will battle for a place in the Final on Thursday.

MIAMI - The 2026 Central American Cup continues on Thursday with LD Alajuelense hosting FC Motagua in the Second Leg of their Semifinals Series at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

The First Leg in Honduras ended in a hard-fought scoreless draw.

This will mark the fifth match between the clubs in the Central American Cup, making it the most frequent fixture in tournament history. Alajuelense holds the advantage in an overall 2W-1D-1L record, with Motagua as the responsible team for that one loss after a 1-nil defeat in last year’s Quarterfinals.

The Honduran side is coming off three consecutive clean sheets and remains undefeated in this year’s edition of the tournament. They have conceded the fewest goals in the competition (two) and have the lowest average expected goals conceded per game (0.56 xG).

Alajuelense’s Ronaldo Cisneros is the top scorer in this year’s edition of the tournament with five goals so far. He is also the only player to have resisted double-digit shots on target in the competition (10).

The Costa Rican club have drawn six of their seven Semifinal matches in tournament history, but they have progressed to the Final in every edition, doing so via penalties in 2023 and 2025, and with a win in 2024.

Pre-Match Stats: LD Alajuelense vs. FC Motagua

• LD Alajuelense and FC Motagua will meet for the fifth time in the Concacaf Central American Cup, making it the most frequently played fixture in the competition's history. The Costa Rican side lead the head-to-head series (W2 D1 L1). However, Motagua handed Alajuelense one of their only two home defeats in the tournament, securing a 1-0 victory in the 2025 Quarterfinals.
• LD Alajuelense have drawn six of their seven semifinal matches in Concacaf Central American Cup history (W1 D6). Despite this record, the Costa Rican club have reached the final in all three previous editions, advancing through penalty shootouts in 2023 and 2025, and securing victory in 2024.
• FC Motagua have kept a clean sheet in all three of their knockout-stage matches in the 2026 Concacaf Central American Cup (W1 D2). Las Águilas Azules have conceded the fewest goals in the competition, with just two, tied with Herediano, and boast the lowest average expected goals against per match (0.56 xG).
• LD Alajuelense's Ronaldo Cisneros is the leading scorer in the 2026 Concacaf Central American Cup, with five goals. He is also the only player to have registered double-digit shots on target in this year's competition, with 10.
• FC Motagua's Alejandro Reyes leads all players in the 2026 Concacaf Central American Cup in open-play sequences ending in a shot, having been involved in 48 such sequences. He has taken 20 shots, created 14 chances, and contributed to the build-up of another 14 shot-ending sequences.