Pumas in search of comeback against San Diego FC | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup continues with three-time winners Pumas UNAM hosting debutants San Diego FC in the Second Leg of their Round One series on Tuesday at Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City, Mexico.  

The winner on aggregate will advance to the Round of 16. Away goals serve as the primary tiebreaker. If necessary, extra time and a penalty shootout will decide the winner.

San Diego FC enters the match with a three-goal advantage following its 4-1 win at home in the First Leg, in what marked the MLS side’s debut in the competition. Robert Morales placed Pumas in the lead, before goals from Manu Duah, David Vazquez, Alex Mighten, and Luca Bombino secured the historic comeback victory for San Diego.

Manu Duah also netted the first-ever goal in San Diego FC history in the Concacaf Champions Cup and became the youngest player to score the first goal for an MLS club since MLS teams began competing in the tournament in 1996, at 20 years, 7 months, and 29 days.

Pumas UNAM will look to rally behind its home crowd at Estadio Universitario to turn the series around. This campaign marks the 13th participation in the tournament for the Universitarios. The club previously won the Concacaf Champions Cup in 1980, 1982, and 1989.

Post-Match Data

With the 4-1 victory by San Diego FC over Pumas UNAM, the MLS side became the third club in tournament history to win its first-ever Concacaf Champions Cup match while scoring four goals against a Liga MX opponent. 

For Pumas UNAM, it was the second defeat against a debuting club in the history of the competition. The previous instance came in 1978, when they lost 1-0 to U. de Guadalajara (MEX) in the first leg of the North America Second Round on Aug-9-1978, with a goal by Belarmino “Nené” de Almeida, 47 years, 5 months, and 25 days ago.

The loss marked the ninth time Pumas UNAM fell away from home in the first leg of a two-legged series. In that scenario, they advanced on four occasions.

Since the 2008-09 edition, it marked the first time that Pumas UNAM had a lead overturned in a Concacaf Champions Cup match.

Pumas UNAM also became the third Mexican club to concede four goals away from home in the first leg of a two-legged series in tournament history. Of the two previous cases, only Atlas FC advanced after losing to Olimpia in the Round of 16 in 2023, while CF Monterrey were eliminated by Petrotela (HON) in the First Round of Group 1 of North and Central America in 1994.