Cruz Azul, Vancouver FC meet in second leg | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup continues with defending champions Cruz Azul hosting Vancouver FC in the second leg of their Round One series on Thursday at Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla, Mexico.  

The winner of the series 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.

La Maquina is coming off a 3-nil win on the road in the first leg, which puts the Mexican side in good position to advance with three away goals. Gabriel Fernandez and Agustín Palavecino were the standouts on offense for the Mexican side, along with a good showing from young goalkeeper Emmanuel Ochoa.  

Cruz Azul is now unbeaten in its last nine matches against Canadian opposition in Champions Cup, with seven wins and two losses. 

Vancouver FC, making its tournament debut, is aiming for its first win in the competition. Mohamed Amissi was one of the top creators in attack with two shots, one on target, in the series-opening bout.

Post-Match Data

Vancouver FC became the second Canadian club to lose its first-ever home match against a Liga MX opponent in the history of the Concacaf Champions Cup, and the one to do so while conceding the most goals (3-0). The only previous case was Forge FC’s 1-0 loss to Cruz Azul on Feb-16-2022, in the first leg of the Round of 16, with a goal by Rómulo “El Escorpión” Otero.

Cruz Azul reached 120 matches played and 70 victories in Concacaf Champions Cup history. The club is the Mexican team with the most matches played in the tournament and the only one to surpass 100 games in the competition (W-70 D-27 L-23 GF-274 GA-94). It is also the Liga MX team with the most wins in tournament history and the first to reach this milestone.

It was the first time in Concacaf Champions Cup history that Cruz Azul won a first-leg match away from home by a 3-0 scoreline. The victory represented its first away win in a first-leg match; history records that Cruz Azul has always advanced to the next round when achieving this result.