2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

Tournament details
Dates	1 August – 7 December
Teams	20 (from 7 associations)
Final positions
Champions	Alajuelense (1st title)
Runners-up	Real Estelí
Tournament statistics
Matches played	58
Goals scored	166 (2.86 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Agustín Auzmendi (7 goals)
Best player(s)	Aarón Suárez
Best young player	Doryan Rodríguez
Best goalkeeper	Leonel Moreira
2024 →

The 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup was the first edition of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Central American region. It was contested by clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.

The winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup qualified to the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, while the second through sixth place teams qualified to Round One in the same competition. ^[1]

Teams

Twenty teams from the seven UNCAF member associations qualified for the tournament based on results from their domestic leagues. ^{[2] [3] [4]} For this edition only, Honduras and Costa Rica have been awarded an extra berth based on performance in the 2022 CONCACAF League. ^[5]

• Costa Rica and Honduras: 4 berths
• El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama: 3 berths
• Nicaragua: 2 berths
• Belize: 1 berth

Association	Team	Qualifying method
Belize (1 berth)	Verdes	2022–23 Premier League (Opening and Closing) champions.
Costa Rica (4 berths)	Saprissa	2022–23 Liga FPD Apertura and Clausura champions [6]
	Herediano	2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table best team not yet qualified [6]
	Alajuelense	2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified [6]
	Cartaginés	2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified [6]
El Salvador (3 berths)	FAS	2022–23 Primera División Apertura champions [7] [8]
	Jocoro	2022–23 Primera División Apertura runners-up [7] [8] [Note SLV]
	Águila	2022–23 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualified [7] [8]
Guatemala (3 berths)	Cobán Imperial	2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Apertura champions [9]
	Xelajú	2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Clausura champions [9]
	Comunicaciones	2022–23 Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified [9]
Honduras (4 berths)	Olimpia	2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura and Clausura champions [10]
	Olancho	2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified [10]
	Real España	2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified [10]
	Motagua	2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified [10]
Nicaragua (2 berths)	Real Estelí	2022–23 Liga Primera Apertura and Clausura champions
	Diriangén	2022–23 Liga Primera aggregate table best team not yet qualified
Panama (3 berths)	Independiente	2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura champions [11] [12]
	Sporting San Miguelito	2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table best team not yet qualified [11] [12]
	Universitario	2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified [11] [12]

Notes

1. El Salvador (SLV): Originally, El Salvador's berths were reserved for the 2022 Apertura tournament champions, the 2023 Clausura tournament champions and the best team in the aggregate table, ^[13] however the Clausura tournament was terminated early without proclaiming a champion due to the events that occurred on 20 May 2023 during the match between Alianza and FAS at Estadio Cuscatlán. As a result, the Salvadoran Football Federation decided to reassign the Clausura champions' berth to the Apertura runners-up. ^[8]

Draw

Verdes

Saprissa

Herediano

Alajuelense

Cartaginés

FAS

Jocoro

Águila

Cobán Imperial

Xelajú

Comunicaciones

Tegucigalpa

Olancho

Real España

Real Estelí

Diriangén

Independiente

Sporting San Miguelito

Universitario

Tegucigalpa teams
Olimpia
Motagua

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Location of teams of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

The draw for the group stage was held on 8 June 2023 in Miami, Florida, United States. The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 28 May 2023. ^{[14] [15]}

Pot 1 Team Rank Olimpia 38 Saprissa 47 Comunicaciones 49 Alajuelense 51

Pot 2 Team Rank Motagua 53 Xelajú 57 Herediano 58 Cobán Imperial 59

Pot 3 Team Rank Real España 60 Independiente 61 Cartaginés 65 Olancho 67

Pot 4 Team Rank Sporting San Miguelito 72 Águila 79 Universitario 95 FAS 109

Pot 5 Team Rank Real Estelí 116 Diriangén 118 Jocoro 132 Verdes 177

For the group stage, the 20 teams were drawn into four groups (Groups A–D) of five containing a team from each of the five pots. Teams from pot 1 were drawn first and were placed in the first position of their group, starting from Group A to Group D. The same procedure was followed for teams from pots 2, 3, 4 and 5, and they were placed in positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, within the group to which they were drawn. Each group must contain no more than two clubs from the same national association. ^[16]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows. ^[14]

Stage	Round	First leg	Second leg
Group stage	Matchday 1	1–3 August
	Matchday 2	8–10 August
	Matchday 3	15–17 August
	Matchday 4	22–24 August
	Matchday 5	29–31 August
Knockout stage	Quarterfinals	26–28 September	3 October – 5 October
	Semifinals and play-in	24–26 October	31 October – 2 November
	Finals	28–30 November	5–7 December

Group stage

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup group stage

In the group stage, each group is played on a single home-and-away round-robin basis, with teams playing against each other once, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SAP	CAR	UNI	COB	JOC
1	Saprissa	4	3	1	0	10	0	+10	10	Advance to Quarter-finals		—	1–0	—	5–0	—
2	Cartaginés	4	2	1	1	8	3	+5	7			—	—	2–2	—	5–0
3	Universitario	4	1	3	0	6	3	+3	6			0–0	—	—	—	4–1
4	Cobán Imperial	4	1	1	2	4	7	−3	4			—	0–1	0–0	—	—
5	Jocoro	4	0	0	4	2	17	−15	0			0–4	—	—	1–4	—

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		IND	EST	OLI	XEL	FAS
1	Independiente	4	3	1	0	11	3	+8	10	Advance to Quarter-finals		—	2–1	—	—	5–0
2	Real Estelí	4	3	0	1	5	2	+3	9			—	—	1–0	1–0	—
3	Olimpia	4	2	1	1	7	4	+3	7			1–1	—	—	2–0	—
4	Xelajú	4	1	0	3	3	7	−4	3			1–3	—	—	—	2–1
5	FAS	4	0	0	4	3	13	−10	0			—	0–2	2–4	—	—

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		HER	COM	RES	ÁGU	DIR
1	Herediano	4	3	1	0	8	4	+4	10	Advance to Quarter-finals		—	—	3–2	2–0	—
2	Comunicaciones	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5	9			1–2	—	3–1	—	—
3	Real España	4	1	1	2	6	6	0	4			—	—	—	3–0	0–0
4	Águila	4	1	0	3	2	9	−7	3			—	1–4	—	—	1–0
5	Diriangén	4	0	2	2	1	3	−2	2			1–1	0–1	—	—	—

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ALA	MOT	SSM	OLA	VER
1	Alajuelense	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9	12	Advance to Quarter-finals		—	5–1	—	1–0	—
2	Motagua	4	3	0	1	9	5	+4	9			—	—	2–0	1–0	—
3	Sporting San Miguelito	4	2	0	2	6	3	+3	6			0–1	—	—	—	4–0
4	Olancho	4	1	0	3	3	6	−3	3			—	—	0–2	—	3–2
5	Verdes	4	0	0	4	2	15	−13	0			0–3	0–5	—	—	—

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Knockout stage

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage was played on a single-elimination tournament with the following rules: ^[2]

• Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The home team of the second leg in each tie was determined separately for each round as follows (Regulations Article 12.11):
  • In the quarter-finals, the group winners hosted the second leg.
  • In the semi-finals and play-in, the higher-ranked teams based on total points accumulated in the group stage and the quarterfinals hosted the second leg.
  • In the finals, the higher-ranked team based on total points accumulated in the group stage, quarterfinals, and semi-finals hosted the second leg.
• In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be directly used to determine the winners (Regulations Article 12.10.2).
• In the play-in and finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would also be used. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time would be played without the away goals rule during this time. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.10.3).

Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group	Winners	Runners-up
A	Saprissa	Cartaginés
B	Independiente	Real Estelí
C	Herediano	Comunicaciones
D	Alajuelense	Motagua

Seeding

Teams were seeded 1–8 based on results in the group stage and assigned a position in a fixed bracket. For example, the first semi-final was contested between the winner of the 1 vs. 8 quarter-final and the winner of the 4 vs. 5 quarter-final. For each round, the host of the second leg was determined based on performance in all previous rounds, including the group stage.

The following was the seeding for the quarter-finals round only:

Seed	Grp	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Matchups
1	D	Alajuelense	4	4	0	0	10	1	+9	12	Match QF1
2	A	Saprissa	4	3	1	0	10	0	+10	10	Match QF3
3	B	Independiente	4	3	1	0	11	3	+8	10	Match QF4
4	C	Herediano	4	3	1	0	8	4	+4	10	Match QF2
5	C	Comunicaciones	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5	9	Match QF2
6	D	Motagua	4	3	0	1	9	5	+4	9	Match QF4
7	B	Real Estelí	4	3	0	1	5	2	+3	9	Match QF3
8	A	Cartaginés	4	2	1	1	8	3	+5	7	Match QF1

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points (1 point for yellow card, 3 points for second yellow card/indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.11.4). ^[2]

Bracket

The bracket was decided based on the quarter-finals seeding.

	Play-in							Quarter-finals							Semi-finals							Finals
								7	Real Estelí	1	2	3
								2	Saprissa	0	2	2
	Motagua		2	0	2										Real Estelí		1	2	3
	Saprissa		2	4	6										Independiente		0	2	2
								6	Motagua	1	0	1
								3	Independiente	1	2	3
																						Real Estelí		0	1	1
																						Alajuelense		3	1	4
								5	Comunicaciones	0	2	2
								4	Herediano	0	3	3
	Cartaginés		1	1	2 (4)										Herediano		2	2	4 (4)
	Comunicaciones (p)		1	1	2 (5)										Alajuelense (p)		2	2	4 (5)
								8	Cartaginés	1	0	1
								1	Alajuelense	3	3	6

1. ^† Order of legs to be decided, with the higher-ranked team in each tie hosting the second leg.

Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 26–28 September, and the second legs were played on 3–5 October 2023. ^[17]

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Cartaginés	1–6	Alajuelense	1–3	0–3
Comunicaciones	2–3	Herediano	0–0	2–3
Real Estelí	3–2	Saprissa	1–0	2–2
Motagua	1–3	Independiente	1–1	0–2

Play-in

The first legs were played on 24–25 October, and the second legs were played on 31 October – 1 November 2023. ^[18]

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Cartaginés	2–2 (4–5 p)	Comunicaciones	1–1	1–1 (a.e.t.)
Motagua	2–6	Saprissa	2–2	0–4

Semi-finals

The first legs were played on 25–26 October, and the second legs were played on 1–2 November 2023. ^[18]

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Herediano	4–4 (4–5 p)	Alajuelense	2–2	2–2
Real Estelí	3–2	Independiente	1–0	2–2

Finals

Main article: 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup finals

Team 1	Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Real Estelí	1–4	Alajuelense	0–3	1–1

Top goalscorers

  Team eliminated for this round.

  Team inactive for this round.

Rank	Player	Team	GS1	GS2	GS3	GS4	GS5	QF1	QF2	PI1	PI2	SF1	SF2	F1	F2	Total
1	Agustín Auzmendi	Motagua	3				1	1		2						7
2	Carlos Small	Independiente	1			1	1		2							5
3	Javon East	Saprissa	1				2		1							4
	Marcel Hernández	Cartaginés				1	1	1			1
	Ariel Rodríguez	Saprissa		2			1				1
	Orlando Sinclair	Saprissa					2		1		1
	Aarón Suárez	Alajuelense	1	1				1	1
8	Jorman Aguilar	Comunicaciones		1			1				1					3
	Michael Barrantes	Alajuelense		1			1							1
	Jorge Benguché	Olimpia	1			2
	Joel Campbell	Alajuelense						1					1		1
	Jesús Godínez	Herediano		2								1
	Freddy Góndola	Alajuelense		1					1					1
	Yeison Mejía	Motagua		2	1
	Joshua Navarro	Alajuelense					2							1
	Ramiro Rocca	Real España					3
	Johan Venegas	Alajuelense					1	1				1

Awards

The following awards were given at the end of the tournament:

Award	Player	Team
Golden Ball [19]	Aarón Suárez	Alajuelense
Golden Boot [19]	Agustín Auzmendi	Motagua
Golden Glove [19]	Leonel Moreira	Alajuelense
Best Young Player [20]	Doryan Rodríguez	Alajuelense
Fair Play Award [20]	—	Alajuelense

Team of the Tournament ^[19]

Position	Player	Team
GK	Leonel Moreira	Alajuelense
DF	Bancy Hernández	Real Estelí
	Evert Martínez	Real Estelí
	José Corena	Comunicaciones
MF	Celso Borges	Alajuelense
	Héctor Hurtado	CAI
	Harold Medina	Real Estelí
	Aarón Suárez	Alajuelense
FW	Joel Campbell	Alajuelense
	Agustín Auzmendi	Motagua
	Carlos Small	CAI

See also

• 2023 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup
• 2023 Leagues Cup
• 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

References

1. "Concacaf launches major expansion of its Champions League as part of new calendar of regional club competitions". Concacaf. 21 September 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
2. "CONCACAF Central American Cup 2023 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. 17 July 2023 [Approved on 24 February 2023]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
3. "Concacaf announces qualification criteria for Confederation's expanded Champions League starting in 2024". Miami: CONCACAF. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
4. "Four teams complete field for 2023 Central American Cup". Miami: CONCACAF. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
5. "Concacaf announces qualification criteria update for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". Miami: CONCACAF. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
6. "NORMAS DE COMPETICIÓN TEMPORADA 2022-2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). UNAFUT. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
7. "BASES DE COMPETENCIA DE LA PRIMERA DIVISION DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL TEMPORADA 2022-2023" (PDF) (in Spanish). Salvadoran Football Federation. 12 September 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
8. "COMUNICADO OFICIAL ENTRE FESFUT Y PRIMERA DIVISIÓN" (PDF) (in Spanish). Salvadoran Football Federation. 24 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
9. Utrera, Alicia (10 May 2023). "Liga Nacional de Guatemala: estos serán los nuevos criterios para la clasificación a la Copa Centroamericana de la Concacaf" [Liga Nacional de Guatemala: these will be the new qualifying criteria for the CONCACAF Central American Cup] (in Spanish). República . Retrieved 30 May 2023.
10. "BASES DEL TORNEO DE APERTURA Y CLAUSURA 2022-2023 DE LA LIGA NACIONAL DE FUTBOL PROFESIONAL DE PRIMERA DIVISIÓN DE HONDURAS" (PDF) (in Spanish). Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional de Honduras. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
11. "REGLAMENTO COMPETENCIA LPF TEMPORADA - 2022" (PDF). lpf.com.pa (in Spanish). Liga Panameña de Fútbol. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
12. "REGLAMENTO COMPETENCIA LPF TEMPORADA - 2023" (PDF). lpf.com.pa (in Spanish). Liga Panameña de Fútbol. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
13. Viana, Diego (10 May 2023). "Águila clasificó a la Copa Centroamericana" [Águila qualified for the Central American Cup] (in Spanish). El Gráfico . Retrieved 30 May 2023.
14. "Draw details announced for inaugural Concacaf Central American Cup". CONCACAF. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
15. "Concacaf Club Ranking as of May 28, 2023". CONCACAF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
16. "Concacaf confirms 2023 Central American Cup draw details". CONCACAF. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
17. "2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Quarterfinal matchups and schedule confirmed". CONCACAF. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
18. "2023 Concacaf Central American Cup Semifinals and Play-In matchups and schedule confirmed". CONCACAF. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
19. "Borges, Medina headline Central American Cup Best XI". CONCACAF. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
20. "Alajuelense arrasó en los premios individuales de la Copa Centroamericana" (in Spanish). CRHoy.com. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2024.