Concacaf today announced the dates and kickoff times for the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Semifinals between Sporting Kansas City and Mexican club CF Monterrey.
Sporting will visit Monterrey for the first leg at Estadio BBVA Bancomer on Thursday, April 4, with kickoff set for 9 p.m. CT. Manager Peter Vermes’ side will then host Los Rayados in the decisive second leg at 8 p.m. CT on Thursday, April 11, at Children’s Mercy Park.
Both matches will stream live in English on YahooSports.com and the Yahoo Sports app while airing live in Spanish on Univision Deportes.
2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Semifinal Schedule
- Thursday, April 4: Sporting at Monterrey (9 p.m. CT)
- Thursday, April 11: Monterrey at Sporting (8 p.m. CT)
Tickets for the monumental second-leg matchup at Children’s Mercy Park are included in Season Ticket Member packages and remain on sale at SeatGeek.com.
The other semifinal pairing features Liga MX rivals Santos Laguna and Tigres UANL, who will lock horns at 9 p.m. CT on April 3 and 7 p.m. CT on April 10. The victors of both semifinal series will meet in the two-legged Concacaf Champions League Finals, slated for April 23-25 and April 30-May 2.
Sporting has advanced to the semifinal stage of the Concacaf Champions League for the first time in club history after claiming a 4-2 aggregate victory over Panamanian outfit Independiente in the quarterfinals, overturning a 2-1 deficit with a dominant 3-0 win in last Thursday’s second leg at Children’s Mercy Park.
Having beaten Mexican club Toluca in the Round of 16, Sporting are the last Major League Soccer team remaining in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League. No MLS club has won the prestigious tournament since the modern era of the Champions League began in 2008. Mexican sides have won each of the last 13 continental titles, including Monterrey’s run of three straight from 2011-2013.
The Concacaf Champions League involves the best teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The 11th edition of the heralded championship features a two-legged, home-and-away format with a fixed bracket from the Round of 16 through the Finals.
Sporting are one of five MLS teams that entered the 2019 competition alongside 2018 finalists Toronto FC, Atlanta United FC, the Houston Dynamo and the New York Red Bulls. Toronto bowed out in the Round of 16 against Independiente, while Atlanta, Houston and New York were ousted by Mexican foes in the quarterfinals.
Coming off a record-breaking MLS campaign that saw the club finish atop the 2018 Western Conference regular season standings, Sporting qualified for the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League as winners of the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Monterrey, currently third in the Liga MX standings with a 6-1-4 record, punched their ticket as 2017 Apertura (fall season) runners-up in Mexico’s top division.
In addition to pursuing Major League Soccer’s first Champions League title, Sporting stand the chance to win $500,000 in prize money and a potential berth in the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup should they win the tournament.
Sporting has made four Champions League appearances under Vermes’ guidance. The club reached the 2013-14 quarterfinals, falling to eventual champion Cruz Azul, and exited in the group stage in 2014-15 and 2016-17.
