MIAMI, Florida – A pair of Central American giants will square off in the first leg of the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf League quarterfinals with Deportivo Saprissa of Costa Rica hosting Guatemala’s Comunicaciones on Thursday night at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Jose, Costa Rica.
While it will be their first ever meeting in the SCL, these two sides have 28 previous matches in the books, with 13 wins for the Ticos, nine for the Chapines and six draws.
2019 SCL champions Saprissa marched into the final eight on the strength of a 6-2 aggregate win over Santa Lucia of Guatemala in the previous round.
Saprissa are a side boasting a blend of promising young players and seasoned veterans, with 24-year-old Jimmy Marin as one of the top youngsters in Costa Rican football. An SCL champion with Herediano in 2018, Marin leads the 2021 SCL in assists with three.
Saprissa can also rely on a trio of players who know a thing or two about Concacaf success. Attacker Christian Bolanos leads the team in scoring in the SCL with two goals, Michael Barrantes is a lynchpin in midfield and will be playing his 18th SCL match, while center back Kendall Waston (1 goal) will be a strong defensive presence and a threat on attacking set pieces.
As for Comunicaciones, they did very well to navigate their way past El Salvador’s Alianza to reach the quarterfinal stage with a 3-1 win on aggregate.
The Guatemalan side got a big boost from Junior Lacayo, who supplied two goals against Alianza and will be called on again to provide more scoring against Saprissa.
Lacayo has three goals in the tournament and forms a deadly duo in attack with Andres Lezcano, who has two goals himself.
Comunicaciones are also well-protected in the back, with GK Kevin Moscoso registering an impressive 14 saves and two clean sheets in 294 minutes played.
Game Notes, Stats, Deportivo Saprissa vs Comunicaciones
Match Officials
Referee: |
Selvin Brown (HON) |
Assistant Referee 1: |
Christian Ramirez (HON) |
Assistant Referee 2: |
Roney Salinas (HON) |
Fourth Official: |
Melvin Matamorros (HON) |