Cruz Azul and Vancouver meet in CONCACAF final with history at stake
MEXICO CITY, May 30 (Reuters) - Hosts Cruz Azul will look to clinch a record-equalling seventh continental title in Sunday's CONCACAF Champions Cup final, while their opponents the Vancouver Whitecaps are aiming to be the first Canadian club to be crowned champions.
The winner of the final at Mexico City's Estadio Olimpico Universitario will also qualify for the expanded 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and this year's Intercontinental Cup.
Cruz Azul are eager to end their season on a high and bounce back from a Mexican league semi-final loss to Club America by claiming a CONCACAF crown that would draw them level with their arch rivals in continental honours.
The nine-time Liga MX winners cemented their status as favourites with a 7–0 aggregate thrashing of Haiti's Real Hope, a commanding 4–1 win over MLS side Seattle Sounders, and back-to-back 2–1 victories over America and fellow Mexican heavyweights Tigres UANL en route to the final.
Sunday could also mark coach Vicente Sanchez's farewell, with local media reporting he is set to step down after just six months in charge.
"Reaching the final takes a lot of hard work and a lot of gratitude," Sanchez told reporters as his side reached their first CONCACAF final since 2014.
"We want to repay all the support we have and try to win things because Cruz Azul demands to win things."
The Canadians, however, have been no strangers to the underdog label throughout the competition.
After a first-round win over Costa Rica's Saprissa, the 2024 Canadian Championship winners stunned Mexican sides Monterrey and Pumas UNAM before a stunning 5-1 aggregate win over Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the semis.
Unlike their opponents, Vancouver arrive in good form, on the back of a 15-game unbeaten streak across all competitions while leading the MLS Western Conference standings.
"We don't back down under any circumstances," said Vancouver midfielder Andres Cubas ahead of the final.
"We've achieved important victories in Mexico to reach the final ... We'll go out there knowing that it's just one game, that we have one chance to make history."
Vancouver are just the third Canadian club to reach the CONCACAF final, following in the footsteps of Montreal (2015) and Toronto (2018), who both fell short against Mexican opposition.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors reaction: Dressing room tears shed as admission made over defeat to Leinster
Franco Smith accepts Glasgow beaten by 'world class' opponents Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Franco Smith admitted that Leinster are way out in front in the United Rugby Championship after the Irish side ended Glasgow Warriors' tenure as champions with a comprehensive victory in Dublin. Smith expressed pride in his side's reign but they were ultimately outplayed by the hosts who won the semi-final 37-19 at the Aviva Stadium. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leinster, who also knocked Glasgow out of the Champions Cup this season, thrashing them 52-0 in the quarter-finals, will now meet the Bulls in the final at Croke Park next weekend and there will be a new name added to the URC roll of honour. Neither side has won the trophy before. Franco Smith accepted that Leinster were just too strong for his Glasgow Warriors side. (Photo by) | Getty Images Leinster, for all their brilliance, have lost in the semi-finals in each of the last three seasons but will be hot favourites to lift silverware for the first time since 2021 when they won the old Pro14 Championship. Glasgow were overwhelmed in the first half, conceding four tries through Dan Sheehan (two), Jamie Osborne and Thomas Clarkson, with George Horne replying for the visitors. Osborne and Ciaran Frawley pressed home Leinster's superiority after the break before Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu scored late consolations for the Warriors. 'Tears were shed in the changing room, to be honest,' said Smith. 'In the first 20 minutes, we just had no luck. We turned the ball over too many times and we made 70 tackles in the first quarter of the game, which is way too many and ended up going into the sheds at half-time 25-5 down. That means you're chasing against a world-class team. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'You chase the scoreline and Leinster were very good. I was never in any doubt that they would be. I know the press asked a lot of questions around their mentality but I never had doubt. There are too many class A players. I sat here a month ago talking about the [Champions Cup] quarter-final and it's still a world-class team, nothing's changed. So, if we were going to lose the URC Championship title, I'd rather it was against them than anybody else. 'That said, we're a proud team. I thought we gave it everything. I see this holistically, not just in terms of today's game. We defended our title bravely but today we fell short.' Ronan Kelleher of Leinster is tackled by Kyle Rowe of Glasgow Warriors during the United Rugby Championship semi-final match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images) | Sportsfile via Getty Images Smith refused to use an extensive injury list as an excuse but there is no doubt Glasgow suffered in the absence of Zander and Matt Fagerson, Jack Dempsey, Huw Jones and Gregor Brown. 'I don't want to make excuses because I definitely felt the team that we named could have won the game,' said the Glasgow coach. 'So, yes, it would have been good to have had some of those boys back, but I backed the team that we picked. I backed the depth and the growth of the club that we've seen, with more players becoming eligible for Scotland and putting their hands up to play at this level this whole season.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Leinster are ahead of everybody else,' he added. 'They started this process way back when. I think I was still coaching Benetton and they were already on top of their game. With Joe Schmidt bringing in certain structures and certain expectations, they've got an unbelievable feeding source here from the schools and a huge academy.
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Glasgow Warriors' URC title defence buried in Scottish graveyard as relentless Leinster march into final
Argy-bargy at the Aviva as Warriors comprehensively beaten Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... No Scottish team has won at the Aviva and this impressive arena continues to be a graveyard for tartan travellers who come to Dublin more in hope than expectation. Glasgow Warriors have experienced their own particular horror stories at the stadium and added a fresh chapter on Saturday as their reign as kings of the United Rugby Championship came to an end. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Leinster pummelled them into submission, winning this semi-final 37-19, and they will now host the final next weekend at Croke Park. Glasgow Warriors suffered their third defeat of the season at the Aviva Stadium to relinquish their URC crown as Leinster claimed a 37-19 semi-final victory. (Photo by) | Getty Images Glasgow were comprehensively beaten and a couple of late converted scores from Jamie Dobie and Sione Tuipulotu made the scoreline less grizzly than it could have been. Leinster won the game in the first half, punishing every small error made by the visitors and playing with a relentlessness that was hard to live with. Their kicking game was excellent and in James Lowe they had a player who dominated the aerial battle. They seemed able to pick off their opponents at will, making a mockery of claims that they are a team on the slide. They scored six tries in total, four of them in the first half, and the margin of victory would have been far greater had stand-off Sam Prendergast been more accurate off the tee. Dan Sheehan and Jamie Osborne, with two tries apiece, did the bulk of the damage and there were also scores from Thomas Clarkson and replacement Ciaran Frawley as the boys in blue swept Glasgow away in the Dublin rain. George Horne scored a well-worked try after five minutes to keep the Warriors in touch but things went awry soon after. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This was the third time Leinster had beaten Glasgow at the Aviva this season and the aggregate score stands at 102-24. It wasn't as bad as the 52-0 game in the Champions Cup in April but there were times you feared it might be. The Warriors came with hopes that their creative trio of Tuipulotu, Tom Jordan and Adam Hastings could ask questions of Leinster but the hosts were physically outstanding and snuffed out most of the threat. It was a final bow in a Glasgow jersey for Henco Venter, Jordan and Jack Mann but they couldn't go out on a high. Worst possible start It started badly for the champions and got progressively worse. Venter took the Leinster kick-off but was quickly isolated and conceded a penalty. There were only 18 seconds on the clock and the first try quickly followed. Leinster built the phases, hammering away at the Glasgow defence until the outstanding Jamison Gibson-Park flipped it out to Sheehan to score the first of his two first-half tries. The acrid smell of the pre-match pyro was still in the air as Prendergast slotted the conversion. The game would run away from the visitors in the final 15 minutes of the half but their initial response was impressive and they scored a fine try through Horne. Tuipulotu's sharp flat pass found Josh McKay and he played in Kyle Rowe haring down the left. The winger's chip inside was perfectly judged for Horne to run on to and no-one was catching him. The scrum-half was off target with the conversion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Unsurprisingly, it was a full-blooded affair and things spilled over at times. When Scott Penny had a 'try' disallowed for crossing by James Lowe, the Leinster winger took out his frustration on Scott Cummings, shoving him to the ground and sparking an all-in melee. A few minutes later, referee Andrea Piardi felt compelled to speak to both captains after another flashpoint. Amid the argy-bargy, Prendergast was pushing and probing with his kicking game. He also landed a penalty to push the hosts 10-5 ahead at the midway point of the half and things unravelled for the visitors thereafter. Jordan couldn't hold on to a no-look pass from Tuipulotu and Leinster capitalised. Osborne thought he'd scored but Gibson-Park's pass to the centre had been forward and the score was chalked off. Osborne was not to be denied, though. Two minutes later he took receipt off Lowe's one-handed offload and hared down the left wing to score - and there was nothing wrong with this one. Relentless Leinster That made it 15-5 and Leinster would add two more tries before the half was out. They both originated at the lineout and relied on brawn. Clarkson was just far too strong as he barged his way past Fin Richardson, Horne and Euan Ferrie. And then Sheehan was at the back of a lineout maul to score his second of the afternoon. The only saving grace for Glasgow was that Prendergast was off target with both pots at goal and Leinster went in at the turn 25-5 ahead. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Jordie Barrett came close to adding a fifth Leinster try in the early stages of the second half but the home fans in the sparsely populated Aviva didn't have long to wait. They hammered away at the Glasgow defence before the imperious Gibson-Park picked out Osborne who scored his second. Prendergast, who had struck the post with a straightforward penalty moments earlier, converted this one. It was gruelling for Glasgow in the face of relentless opponents. The home side were fortified by their bench and one of the replacements, Frawley, plundered try number six. Lowe, a menace throughout, won an aerial duel with Kyle Steyn to put Leinster on the attack, Tommy O'Brien made headway down the right before finding Frawley who finished gratefully.
BreakingNews.ie
3 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Connor Roberts: Wales will go toe-to-toe with any team under Craig Bellamy
Connor Roberts says Wales are heading into their crunch World Cup qualifier against Belgium driven on by a change of mindset under Craig Bellamy. Wales boss Bellamy has overseen a dramatic improvement in fortunes since succeeding Rob Page, with the Dragons currently sitting top of their qualifying group for next summer's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Advertisement Monday's World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Brussels marks the 12-month anniversary of their last defeat – a 4-0 beating in Slovakia that marked the end of the Page era. Connor Roberts, left, says Wales' mindset has radically changed under Craig Bellamy (Nigel French/PA) Bellamy has embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run since taking charge – by far the best start of any Wales manager – and has promised to go on the attack against group favourites Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium. 'Yes. Straightforward answer,' Roberts said when asked if Wales were profiting from a mindset change under Bellamy. 'The manager has come in – and obviously I know him from his time at Burnley – and we will go toe-to-toe with any team. Advertisement 'I'm not saying we'll win every single game but one thing is for sure, we are one as a team. Bellamy extended his unbeaten start as Wales manager to nine games on Friday (Adam Davy/PA) 'As the Wales national team, we will give everything, and do the right things to try and win every game we play.' Former Wales captain Bellamy has spoken at length about the demanding playing style he has introduced since his appointment last July. It is a high-pressing and high-energy possession game with the aim to dominate possession and win the ball back as soon as it is lost. Advertisement Roberts said: 'It's massively enjoyable for everyone. None more so than me having been here quite a while, and trying to play the way I know how to after being at Burnley. Hapus iawn 😁 — Wales 🏴 (@Cymru) June 6, 2025 'If you win games and put in good performances you will enjoy it.' Wales moved clear at the top of Group J after beating Liechtenstein 3-0 in Cardiff on Friday. Goals from Joe Rodon, Harry Wilson and Kieffer Moore completed a routine victory after Liechtenstein, ranked 205th out of the 210 teams in world football, had held out for 39 minutes. Advertisement Wales hold a two-point lead from North Macedonia after taking seven points from their opening three World Cup qualifiers. Joe Rodon, centre, scored his first Wales goal against Liechtenstein (Nigel French/PA) Belgium began their campaign on Friday with a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia after conceding a late equaliser. Roberts said: 'We just have to concentrate on ourselves, go into every game to try and win, and that will be exactly the same against Belgium. 'Of course it's a big switch (from playing against Liechtenstein) but we have to keep being ourselves and not change. Advertisement 'Why can't we go there and dominate and put in a really good performance? That is the aim, that is the plan, and hopefully we can achieve that.'
