MEXICO CITY – The chance to claim continental glory awaits as Pumas of Liga MX and the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer (MLS) begin the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Final with the first leg on Wednesday night at the Estadio Olimpico Universitario
For Pumas, a win in this Final would mark their fourth Concacaf title and first in the SCCL era, while the Seattle Sounders are looking to become the first team from MLS to win the SCCL.
The home side reached this stage by eliminating Costa Rican club Saprissa in the Round of 16 the New England Revolution in the quarterfinals and fellow Liga MX club Cruz Azul in the semifinals.
Along the way, they have scored 11 goals, with FW Juan Ignacio Dinenno leading the way with seven goals, making him the top scorer in the tournament. Perhaps more telling is that as a whole, Pumas have created 74 scoring chances in their six matches thus far, and they will be keen to add more to that tally on Wednesday.
Helping matters in the back is veteran GK Alfredo Talavera. A member of the Toluca side that narrowly fell to Cruz Azul in the 2013-14 SCCL Final, Talavera has recorded 15 saves in the 2022 SCCL, while keeping two clean sheets.
The Sounders reached their first SCCL Final thanks to victories over Motagua of Honduras, Club Leon of Mexico and New York City FC in the Round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, all while outscoring their opponents 13-3.
MF Cristian Roldan has been the fulcrum of the Seattle attack, with five assists to go along with a goal. The Sounders have also gotten big contributions from Fredy Montero and Jordan Morris, who each have three goals. GK Stefan Frei has been pivotal as well, making 22 saves to lead all GKs in the tournament.
This Final marks the third SCCL Final between teams from Mexico and the United States, with Mexico claiming the previous two in 2010-11 when Monterrey topped Real Salt Lake 3-2 and in 2020 when Tigres edged Los Angeles FC 2-1.
While Mexican sides own a big advantage in home games against U.S. teams with a 35W-6D-4L record, teams from the U.S. have a 1W-1D-1L record when playing at Pumas.
Game Notes, Stats Pumas UNAM vs Seattle Sounders FC
It should all make for a very compelling first 90 minutes of football in this great SCCL Final match-up.
PUMAS UNAM (Mexico) vs SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC (USA)
Referee: IVAN BARTON (El Salvador)
1st assistant referee: DAVID MORAN (El Salvador)
2nd assistant referee: ZACHARI ZEEGELAAR (Suriname)
Fourth official: JUAN GABRIEL CALDERON (Costa Rica)
VAR: ISMAEL CORNEJO (El Salvador)
AVAR1: TATIANA GUZMAN (Nicaragua)
