# 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup

The 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup was the first edition of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Central American region. It was contested by clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF.
The winners of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup qualified to the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16, while the second through sixth place teams qualified to Round One in the same competition.

## Teams

Twenty teams from the seven UNCAF member associations qualified for the tournament based on results from their domestic leagues. For this edition only, Honduras and Costa Rica have been awarded an extra berth based on performance in the 2022 CONCACAF League.
* Costa Rica and Honduras: 4 berths
* El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama: 3 berths
* Nicaragua: 2 berths
* Belize: 1 berth
| Association | Team | Qualifying method |
| Belize (1 berth) | Verdes | 2022–23 Premier League (Opening and Closing) champions. |
| Costa Rica (4 berths) | Saprissa | 2022–23 Liga FPD Apertura and Clausura champions |
| Costa Rica (4 berths) | Herediano | 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Costa Rica (4 berths) | Alajuelense | 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified |
| Costa Rica (4 berths) | Cartaginés | 2022–23 Liga FPD aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified |
| El Salvador (3 berths) | FAS | 2022–23 Primera División Apertura champions |
| El Salvador (3 berths) | Jocoro | 2022–23 Primera División Apertura runners-up |
| El Salvador (3 berths) | Águila | 2022–23 Primera División aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Guatemala (3 berths) | Cobán Imperial | 2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Apertura champions |
| Guatemala (3 berths) | Xelajú | 2022–23 Liga Nacional Torneo Clausura champions |
| Guatemala (3 berths) | Comunicaciones | 2022–23 Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Honduras (4 berths) | Olimpia | 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura and Clausura champions |
| Honduras (4 berths) | Olancho | 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Honduras (4 berths) | Real España | 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified |
| Honduras (4 berths) | Motagua | 2022–23 Honduran Liga Nacional aggregate table 3rd best team not yet qualified |
| Nicaragua (2 berths) | Real Estelí | 2022–23 Liga Primera Apertura and Clausura champions |
| Nicaragua (2 berths) | Diriangén | 2022–23 Liga Primera aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Panama (3 berths) | Independiente | 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura champions |
| Panama (3 berths) | Sporting San Miguelito | 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table best team not yet qualified |
| Panama (3 berths) | Universitario | 2022 Liga Panameña Torneo Clausura and 2023 Liga Panameña Torneo Apertura aggregate table 2nd best team not yet qualified |

### Notes

* El Salvador (SLV): Originally, El Salvador's berths were reserved for the 2022 Apertura tournament champions, the 2023 Clausura tournament champions and the best team in the aggregate table, however the Clausura tournament was terminated early without proclaiming a champion due to the events that occurred on 20 May 2023 during the match between Alianza and FAS at Estadio Cuscatlán. As a result, the Salvadoran Football Federation decided to reassign the Clausura champions' berth to the Apertura runners-up.

## Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 8 June 2023 in Miami, Florida, United States. The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 28 May 2023.
Pot 1 :
| Team | Rank |
| Olimpia | 38 |
| Saprissa | 47 |
| Comunicaciones | 49 |
| Alajuelense | 51 |
Pot 2 :
| Team | Rank |
| Motagua | 53 |
| Xelajú | 57 |
| Herediano | 58 |
| Cobán Imperial | 59 |
Pot 3 :
| Team | Rank |
| Real España | 60 |
| Independiente | 61 |
| Cartaginés | 65 |
| Olancho | 67 |
Pot 4 :
| Team | Rank |
| Sporting San Miguelito | 72 |
| Águila | 79 |
| Universitario | 95 |
| FAS | 109 |
Pot 5 :
| Team | Rank |
| Real Estelí | 116 |
| Diriangén | 118 |
| Jocoro | 132 |
| Verdes | 177 |
For the group stage, the 20 teams were drawn into four groups (Groups A–D) of five containing a team from each of the five pots. Teams from pot 1 were drawn first and were placed in the first position of their group, starting from Group A to Group D. The same procedure was followed for teams from pots 2, 3, 4 and 5, and they were placed in positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, within the group to which they were drawn. Each group must contain no more than two clubs from the same national association.

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.
| Stage | Round | First leg | Second leg |
| Group stage | Matchday 1 | 1–3 August | 1–3 August |
| Group stage | Matchday 2 | 8–10 August | 8–10 August |
| Group stage | Matchday 3 | 15–17 August | 15–17 August |
| Group stage | Matchday 4 | 22–24 August | 22–24 August |
| Group stage | Matchday 5 | 29–31 August | 29–31 August |
| Knockout stage | Quarterfinals | 26–28 September | 3 October – 5 October |
| Knockout stage | Semifinals and play-in | 24–26 October | 31 October – 2 November |
| Knockout stage | Finals | 28–30 November | 5–7 December |

## Group stage

In the group stage, each group is played on a single home-and-away round-robin basis, with teams playing against each other once, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

### Group A

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | SAP | CAR | UNI | COB | JOC |
| 1 | Saprissa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 10 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 1–0 | — | 5–0 | — |
| 2 | Cartaginés | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | — | 2–2 | — | 5–0 |
| 3 | Universitario | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | | 0–0 | — | — | — | 4–1 |
| 4 | Cobán Imperial | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 4 | | — | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | — |
| 5 | Jocoro | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 17 | −15 | 0 | | 0–4 | — | — | 1–4 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | IND | EST | OLI | XEL | FAS |
| 1 | Independiente | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 10 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 2–1 | — | — | 5–0 |
| 2 | Real Estelí | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Olimpia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 7 | | 1–1 | — | — | 2–0 | — |
| 4 | Xelajú | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | | 1–3 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | FAS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 0 | | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | — | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HER | COM | RES | ÁGU | DIR |
| 1 | Herediano | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 10 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | — | 3–2 | 2–0 | — |
| 2 | Comunicaciones | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Advance to Quarter-finals | 1–2 | — | 3–1 | — | — |
| 3 | Real España | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | | — | — | — | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| 4 | Águila | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 3 | | — | 1–4 | — | — | 1–0 |
| 5 | Diriangén | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 2 | | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ALA | MOT | SSM | OLA | VER |
| 1 | Alajuelense | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 12 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | 5–1 | — | 1–0 | — |
| 2 | Motagua | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 9 | Advance to Quarter-finals | — | — | 2–0 | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Sporting San Miguelito | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 | | 0–1 | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 4 | Olancho | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | | — | — | 0–2 | — | 3–2 |
| 5 | Verdes | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 15 | −13 | 0 | | 0–3 | 0–5 | — | — | — |

## Knockout stage

The knockout stage was played on a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:
* Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The home team of the second leg in each tie was determined separately for each round as follows (Regulations Article 12.11):
** In the quarter-finals, the group winners hosted the second leg.
** In the semi-finals and play-in, the higher-ranked teams based on total points accumulated in the group stage and the quarterfinals hosted the second leg.
** In the finals, the higher-ranked team based on total points accumulated in the group stage, quarterfinals, and semi-finals hosted the second leg.
* In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be directly used to determine the winners (Regulations Article 12.10.2).
* In the play-in and finals, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would also be used. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time would be played without the away goals rule during this time. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.10.3).

### Qualified teams

The winners and runners-up of each of the four groups in the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals.
| Group | Winners | Runners-up |
| A | Saprissa | Cartaginés |
| B | Independiente | Real Estelí |
| C | Herediano | Comunicaciones |
| D | Alajuelense | Motagua |

### Seeding

Teams were seeded 1–8 based on results in the group stage and assigned a position in a fixed bracket. For example, the first semi-final was contested between the winner of the 1 vs. 8 quarter-final and the winner of the 4 vs. 5 quarter-final. For each round, the host of the second leg was determined based on performance in all previous rounds, including the group stage.
The following was the seeding for the quarter-finals round only:
| Seed | Grp | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Matchups |
| 1 | D | Alajuelense | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 12 | Match QF1 |
| 2 | A | Saprissa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 10 | Match QF3 |
| 3 | B | Independiente | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 10 | Match QF4 |
| 4 | C | Herediano | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 10 | Match QF2 |
| 5 | C | Comunicaciones | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Match QF2 |
| 6 | D | Motagua | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 9 | Match QF4 |
| 7 | B | Real Estelí | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | Match QF3 |
| 8 | A | Cartaginés | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 | Match QF1 |

### Bracket

The bracket was decided based on the quarter-finals seeding.
| Play-in | Play-in | Play-in | Play-in | Play-in | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| | | | | | 7 | Real Estelí | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Saprissa | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Motagua | Motagua | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | Real Estelí | Real Estelí | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | |
| Saprissa | Saprissa | 2 | 4 | 6 | | | | | | Independiente | Independiente | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | |
| | | | | | 6 | Motagua | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 3 | Independiente | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Real Estelí | Real Estelí | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Alajuelense | Alajuelense | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| | | | | | 5 | Comunicaciones | 0 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 4 | Herediano | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cartaginés | Cartaginés | 1 | 1 | 2 (4) | | | | | | Herediano | Herediano | 2 | 2 | 4 (4) | | | | | |
| Comunicaciones (p) | Comunicaciones (p) | 1 | 1 | 2 (5) | | | | | | Alajuelense (p) | Alajuelense (p) | 2 | 2 | 4 (5) | | | | | |
| | | | | | 8 | Cartaginés | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 1 | Alajuelense | 3 | 3 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
* $^†$ Order of legs to be decided, with the higher-ranked team in each tie hosting the second leg.

### Quarter-finals

The first legs were played on 26–28 September, and the second legs were played on 3–5 October 2023.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cartaginés | 1–6 | Alajuelense | 1–3 | 0–3 |
| Comunicaciones | 2–3 | Herediano | 0–0 | 2–3 |
| Real Estelí | 3–2 | Saprissa | 1–0 | 2–2 |
| Motagua | 1–3 | Independiente | 1–1 | 0–2 |

### Play-in

The first legs were played on 24–25 October, and the second legs were played on 31 October – 1 November 2023.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cartaginés | 2–2 (4–5 p) | Comunicaciones | 1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
| Motagua | 2–6 | Saprissa | 2–2 | 0–4 |

### Semi-finals

The first legs were played on 25–26 October, and the second legs were played on 1–2 November 2023.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Herediano | 4–4 (4–5 p) | Alajuelense | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Real Estelí | 3–2 | Independiente | 1–0 | 2–2 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Real Estelí | 1–4 | Alajuelense | 0–3 | 1–1 |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Team | GS1 | GS2 | GS3 | GS4 | GS5 | QF1 | QF2 | PI1 | PI2 | SF1 | SF2 | F1 | F2 | Total |
| 1 | Agustín Auzmendi | Motagua | 3 | | | | 1 | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | 7 |
| 2 | Carlos Small | Independiente | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | | 2 | | | | | | | 5 |
| 3 | Javon East | Saprissa | 1 | | | | 2 | | 1 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 3 | Marcel Hernández | Cartaginés | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 3 | Ariel Rodríguez | Saprissa | | 2 | | | 1 | | | | 1 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 3 | Orlando Sinclair | Saprissa | | | | | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 3 | Aarón Suárez | Alajuelense | 1 | 1 | | | | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | 4 |
| 8 | Jorman Aguilar | Comunicaciones | | 1 | | | 1 | | | | 1 | | | | | 3 |
| 8 | Michael Barrantes | Alajuelense | | 1 | | | 1 | | | | | | | 1 | | 3 |
| 8 | Jorge Benguché | Olimpia | 1 | | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 8 | Joel Campbell | Alajuelense | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Jesús Godínez | Herediano | | 2 | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | 3 |
| 8 | Freddy Góndola | Alajuelense | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | | | | 1 | | 3 |
| 8 | Yeison Mejía | Motagua | | 2 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 8 | Joshua Navarro | Alajuelense | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | 1 | | 3 |
| 8 | Ramiro Rocca | Real España | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 8 | Johan Venegas | Alajuelense | | | | | 1 | 1 | | | | 1 | | | | 3 |

## Awards

The following awards were given at the end of the tournament:
| Award | Player | Team |
| Golden Ball | Aarón Suárez | Alajuelense |
| Golden Boot | Agustín Auzmendi | Motagua |
| Golden Glove | Leonel Moreira | Alajuelense |
| Best Young Player | Doryan Rodríguez | Alajuelense |
| Fair Play Award | — | Alajuelense |
Team of the Tournament :
| Position | Player | Team |
| GK | Leonel Moreira | Alajuelense |
| DF | Bancy Hernández | Real Estelí |
| DF | Evert Martínez | Real Estelí |
| DF | José Corena | Comunicaciones |
| MF | Celso Borges | Alajuelense |
| MF | Héctor Hurtado | CAI |
| MF | Harold Medina | Real Estelí |
| MF | Aarón Suárez | Alajuelense |
| FW | Joel Campbell | Alajuelense |
| FW | Agustín Auzmendi | Motagua |
| FW | Carlos Small | CAI |