FC Cincinnati collapse leaves Concacaf Champions Cup with four MLS-Liga MX quarterfinals – The Athletic
An intense yet brutal round for MLS clubs in the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 was completed with the wrong kind of exclamation point.
Despite carrying a 3-0 edge into the second leg vs. Tigres UANL, FC Cincinnati crumbled in sensational fashion in Mexico Thursday night, with Fernando Gorriarán’s goal in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time sending the Liga MX side through on a 5-4 aggregate after a 5-1 win on the night.
Even after initially blowing its aggregate lead, Cincinnati had pulled ahead on the away-goal tiebreaker following Kevin Denkey’s 65th-minute header, but Tigres persevered and got its dramatic winner to complete a quarterfinal picture that is all MLS vs. Liga MX. The 40-year-old André Pierre-Gignac laid off the ball for Gorriarán, and the Uruguayan’s low blast beat U.S. men’s national team call-up Roman Celentano, whose diving attempt to make the save was futile.
Instead of Cincinnati, it’ll be Tigres that will meet the Seattle Sounders in one quarterfinal, while Nashville SC and Club América will go head-to-head on the same side of the bracket. On the other half, it’ll be the LA Galaxy vs. reigning Liga MX champion Toluca, and LAFC against reigning Champions Cup winner Cruz Azul.
The MLS sides have their work cut out if the round of 16 is any indication. Along with Cincinnati’s ouster, the Philadelphia Union were bounced by América, while San Diego FC was taken out by Toluca. In fact, the only MLS teams to advance did so either by taking out other MLS opposition (Seattle beat Vancouver, while Nashville stunned Inter Miami) or by beating non-Mexican foes (LAFC edged Costa Rica’s Alajuelense, while the Galaxy eased by Jamaica’s Mount Pleasant FA).
While Cincinnati’s elimination was the most staggering from a collapse standpoint, Miami’s exit was the most seismic when it comes to MLS and its aspirations in the competition. The club made its intentions to win Concacaf Champions Cup known moments after winning the 2025 MLS Cup, with owner Jorge Mas talking up the possibility amid all the celebration. Miami attempted to back that up by spending big in the offseason, landing reigning MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair and luring Mexico international forward Germán Berterame from Monterrey for $15 million. The new additions did not make any positive impact, though, and Nashville kept Messi & Co. at bay before advancing on away goals in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw. All that’s left for Miami in 2026 is domestic success.
The Champions Cup serves as Concacaf’s entry into the next FIFA Club World Cup, which takes place in 2029. Only one MLS team (Seattle, 2022) has won a Concacaf title in the modern era, but in order for the league to have any representation in the next CWC, that’ll have to change – either in the coming weeks or subsequent seasons.
