Cincinnati shock Tigres, Sounders top Whitecaps in Champions Cup | OneFootball

By Jaime Uribarri

FC Cincinnati and Seattle Sounders FC earned statement wins in their 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 openers on Thursday night.

Kévin Denkey's brace powered Cincinnati to a shock 3-0 defeat of LIGA MX powerhouse Tigres UANL. Meanwhile, Paul Arriola scored a brace of his own to guide the Sounders to a 3-0 victory at Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 

The series winners will advance to the tournament quarterfinals in April, chasing a CCC crown that grants a spot in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

FC Cincinnati 3, Tigres UANL 0

Cincinnati are in the driver's seat against one of LIGA MX's top sides thanks to Thursday's lopsided result at TQL Stadium. 

Kévin Denkey led the way with a standout 2g/1a performance. The club-record signing took advantage of a goalkeeping mishap from Nahuel Guzmán to open the score early, before assisting on Tom Barlow's 53rd-minute breakaway goal.  

Denkey completed his brace in the final minutes to give Cincy a three-goal cushion ahead of Leg 2 at Estadio Universitario on March 19. The aggregate winner will face Vancouver or Seattle in the quarterfinals.

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Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0, Seattle Sounders FC 3

Paul Arriola, who tore his ACL during the 2025 CCC, marked his first start in over a year by scoring twice in a 3-0 Sounders win at BC Place. 

Arriola struck on the verge of halftime after a nice linkup with Jesús Ferreira, then got a fortuitous rebound to make it a brace in the second half. Substitute Paul Rothrock came off the bench and added a late goal that rounded out the result.

Seattle will have three away goals to work with when hosting Leg 2 at ONE Spokane Stadium on March 18. FC Cincinnati or Tigres UANL await in the quarterfinals next month.

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