MIAMI. - Club Sport Herediano meets Pachuca in the first leg of their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal series at the National Stadium in San Jose, Costa Rica.
This will be the first time these two sides have played each other. Pachuca has been successful in its last five encounters with teams from Costa Rica but has never won on Costa Rican soil.
Herediano faced another Liga MX side, Toluca FC in Round One, drawing 4-4 on aggregate and advancing on away goals. Herediano defeated SV Robinhood 3-1 on aggregate in Round of 16.
Mexican forward Adrian Garza leads Herediano with two goals in the tournament. His goals came in the series against Robinhood, coming on as a substitute in both legs.
Andy Rojas leads the team with seven shots and will be another name to keep an eye on for the Pachuca defense. The 18-year-old Costa Rican scored against Toluca in Round One.
Elías Aguilar is Herediano’s captain and holds 31 international appearances across Concacaf tournaments. He has contributed five shots in four CCC 2024 appearances, including four against Toluca in the opening round.
Pachuca looks to add to its five Concacaf trophies after winning the Champions Cup in 2002, 2007, and 2008, and two editions under the Champions League name in 2009–10 and 2016–17.
The Tuzos began its 2024 campaign in the Round of 16 by virtue of being the Liga MX club with the most accumulated points. Pachuca defeated the Philadelphia Union, 6-0 on aggregate, to advance to its ninth quarterfinals.
Venezuelan forward Salomon Rondon scored his first three CCC goals in the second leg against Philadelphia. He joined Ulises Mendivil and Hirving Lozano as the only players to score a hat-trick in the competition for Pachuca.
Erick Sanchez provided two assists in the previous round for Pachuca. He previously helped the club win the 2016/17 edition of the tournament.
Oussama Idrissi scored one goal and provided one assist in Pachuca’s win over Philadelphia. He became the first European footballer to score for Pachuca in the tournament’s history.
Match Officials CS Herediano (CRC) vs CF Pachuca (MEX)
REF: TORI PENSO (USA)
AR1: BROOKE MAYO (USA)
AR2: KATHRYN NESBITT (USA)
4TH: ARMANDO VILLARREAL (USA)
VAR: TATIANA GUZMAN (Nicaragua)
VAR1: DANEON PARCHMENT (Jamaica)
