MIAMI, Florida – After suffering defeats in their respective 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf League quarterfinals, Motagua of Honduras and Nicaragua’s Real Esteli will look to rebound in the second of two 2020 SCL Play-In matches at the Estadio Tiburcio Carias Andino in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
Both sides were unable to punch their ticket to the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League at the first time of asking, but another opportunity awaits in Wednesday’s contest with a victory.
The 2020 SCL has been a rollercoaster for Motagua. The 2018 and 2019 SCL finalists survived a historic 18-round penalty shootout with Comunicaciones of Guatemala in the Preliminary Round, winning 15-14 after a 2-2 comeback draw. In the Round of 16 another late comeback was needed to draw Alianza of El Salvador 1-1 and then win another penalty shootout, 4-3.
But that run of success came to an end in the quarterfinal round against domestic rivals Olimpia, with Los Albos earning a 2-0 win, sending Motagua to the Play-In match.
Real Esteli got the attention of everyone in the region with a 1-0 win over 2018 SCL champions Herediano of Costa Rica in the Round of 16, only to valiantly fall 2-1 to Costa Rica’s Alajuelense in the final eight.
Juan Barrera scored against Alajuelense and will once again be one of the main attacking forces for the Pinoleros on Wednesday, along with midfielders Henry Garcia and Jorge Betancur.
Motagua are loaded up front with 2018 SCL Golden Boot winner Rubilio Castillo, plus MF wizard Matias Galvaliz pulling the strings.
A hungry Real Esteli side looking to make their return to the SCCL since 2016/17 against a Motagua team out for its sixth SCCL appearance has all the makings for a Concacaf classic.
Kick-off is scheduled for 10:00 PM ET and can be seen via TSN.ca/TSN App (Canada), TUDN (USA-Spanish), FS1 (USA-English), ESPN 2 (Central America) and Fox Sports 2 (Mexico).