# 2018 CONCACAF Champions League

The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 53rd edition of the premier football club competition organized by CONCACAF, the regional governing body of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
The format of the tournament was changed as part of a new CONCACAF club competition platform consisting of two tournaments (CONCACAF League and CONCACAF Champions League) and a total of 31 teams competing during the season (an increase from the previous 24 teams), with 16 teams competing in the newly created CONCACAF League from August to October, and the winners of the CONCACAF League joining the 15 direct entrants competing in the CONCACAF Champions League from February to April. As a result, the 2018 edition was played using a new format that included the removal of the group stage, a reduction in participating teams from 24 to 16, and a total reduction in matches from 62 to 30.
Guadalajara defeated Toronto FC in the final to win their second CONCACAF club title and their first in the Champions League era, and qualified as the CONCACAF representative at the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Pachuca won the previous tournament but did not qualify for this tournament and were unable to defend their title.

## Qualification

A total of 16 teams participated in the CONCACAF Champions League:
* North American Zone: 9 teams (from three associations)
* Central American Zone: 5 teams (from four associations; ordinarily from five associations, but Guatemalan teams were excluded from this season's tournament)
* Caribbean Zone: 1 team (from one association)
* Winners of the CONCACAF League (from one association, from either Central American Zone or Caribbean Zone)
Therefore, teams from either 8 or 9 out of the 41 CONCACAF member associations could participate in the CONCACAF Champions League.

### North America

The nine berths for the North American Football Union (NAFU) were allocated to the three NAFU member associations as follows: four berths each for Mexico and the United States, and one berth for Canada.
For Mexico, the champions and runners-up of the Liga MX Apertura and Clausura Liguilla (playoff) tournaments qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. If there was any team which were finalists of both tournaments, the vacated berth was reallocated using a formula, based on regular season records, that ensured that two teams qualified via each tournament.
For the United States, four teams qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League, three through the Major League Soccer (MLS) season and one through its domestic cup competition:
* The champions of the MLS Cup, the championship match of the MLS Cup Playoffs
* The champions of the Supporters' Shield, awarded to the team with the best MLS regular season record
* The MLS regular season champions of either the Eastern Conference or Western Conference which were not the Supporters' Shield champions
* The champions of the U.S. Open Cup
If there was any team which qualified through multiple berths, or if there was any Canada-based MLS team which were champions of the MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, or conference regular season, the vacated berth was reallocated to the U.S.-based team with the best MLS regular season record not yet qualified.
For Canada, the champions of the Canadian Championship, its domestic cup competition which awards the Voyageurs Cup, qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. While some Canada-based teams competed in MLS, they could not qualify through either the MLS regular season or playoffs. In line with the launch of the new format, which placed the Canadian representative directly in the CONCACAF Champions League beginning in early 2018, the Canadian Soccer Association announced in March 2017 that a special one-match playoff between the 2016 champions Toronto FC and the 2017 champions would be played on 9 August 2017 in Toronto to determine who would qualify for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League, except in the case that Toronto FC won the 2017 edition, in which the playoff would be unnecessary and Toronto FC would qualify automatically. As Toronto FC did later win the 2017 Canadian Championship, the playoff was not played.

### Central America

The five berths for the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) were allocated to five of the seven UNCAF member associations as follows: one berth for each of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama. As all of the leagues of Central America employed a split season with two tournaments in one season, the champions with the better aggregate record (or any team which were champions of both tournaments) in the leagues of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.
If teams from any Central American associations were excluded, they were replaced by teams from other Central American associations, with the associations chosen based on results from previous CONCACAF Champions League tournaments. For this season, the team from Guatemala was excluded due to the suspension of their federation by FIFA and was replaced by an additional team from Costa Rica.

### Caribbean

The sole berth for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) was allocated via the Caribbean Club Championship, a subcontinental tournament open to the clubs of all 31 CFU member associations. To qualify for the Caribbean Club Championship, teams had to finish as the champions or runners-up of their respective association's league in the previous season, but professional teams could also be selected by their associations if they played in the league of another country. The champions of the Caribbean Club Championship qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

### CONCACAF League

Besides the 15 direct entrants of the CONCACAF Champions League, another 16 teams (13 from Central America and 3 from the Caribbean) entered the CONCACAF League, a tournament held from August to October prior to the CONCACAF Champions League. The champions of the CONCACAF League qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League.

## Teams

The following 16 teams (from eight associations) qualified for the tournament.
In the following table, the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best result count only those in the CONCACAF Champions League era starting from 2008–09 (not counting those in the era of the Champions' Cup from 1962 to 2008).
Qualified teams from North America (9 teams) :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Mexico (4 berths) | UANL | 2016 Apertura champions and 2017 Clausura runners-up | 4th (2016–17) | Runners-up (2016–17) |
| Mexico (4 berths) | Guadalajara | 2017 Clausura champions | 2nd (2012–13) | Group stage (2012–13) |
| Mexico (4 berths) | América | 2016 Apertura runners-up | 4th (2015–16) | Champions (2015–16) |
| Mexico (4 berths) | Tijuana | Non-finalists with best regular season record in 2017 Clausura | 2nd (2013–14) | Semi-finals (2013–14) |
| United States (4 berths) | Seattle Sounders FC | 2016 MLS Cup champions | 5th (2015–16) | Semi-finals (2012–13) |
| United States (4 berths) | FC Dallas | 2016 MLS Supporters' Shield and 2016 U.S. Open Cup champions | 3rd (2016–17) | Semi-finals (2016–17) |
| United States (4 berths) | New York Red Bulls | 2016 MLS Eastern Conference regular season champions | 4th (2016–17) | Quarter-finals (2016–17) |
| United States (4 berths) | Colorado Rapids | 2016 MLS Supporters' Shield runners-up | 2nd (2011–12) | Group stage (2011–12) |
| Canada (1 berth) | Toronto FC | 2016 Canadian Championship and 2017 Canadian Championship champions | 5th (2012–13) | Semi-finals (2011–12) |
Qualified teams from Central America (6 teams) :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Costa Rica (1 + 1 berths) | Saprissa | Champions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2016 Invierno) | 7th (2016–17) | Semi-finals (2010–11) |
| Costa Rica (1 + 1 berths) | Herediano | Champions with worse aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Verano) | 8th (2016–17) | Semi-finals (2014–15) |
| Honduras (1 berth + CL winner) | Motagua | 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions | 4th (2015–16) | Group stage (2015–16) |
| Honduras (1 berth + CL winner) | Olimpia | 2017 CONCACAF League champions | 10th (2016–17) | Quarter-finals (2014–15) |
| Panama (1 berth) | Tauro | Champions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season (2017 Clausura) | 6th (2014–15) | Group stage (2014–15) |
| El Salvador (1 berth) | Santa Tecla | 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura champions | 2nd (2015–16) | Group stage (2015–16) |
Qualified teams from Caribbean (1 team) :
| Association | Team | Qualifying method | App. (last) | Previous best (last) |
| Dominican Republic | Cibao | 2017 Caribbean Club Championship champions | 1st | Debut |

### Notes

* ^ Canada (CAN): Due to the tournament's restructuring, Canada was to be represented by the winners of a play-off match between the Canadian Championship champions in 2016 and 2017. However, as Toronto FC won both tournaments, they qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League automatically. This arrangement was used for this season only.
* ^ Guatemala (GUA): On 28 October 2016, FIFA suspended the National Football Federation of Guatemala for political interference by the Government of Guatemala. Until 31 May 2018, when Guatemala's football federation suspension was lifted, Guatemalan teams were not permitted to participate in international competitions. CONCACAF set the deadline of 1 May 2017 for the suspension to be lifted in order for Guatemala's teams to participate in this tournament, and expelled all Guatemalan teams from the tournament on 5 May 2017 after the federation failed to be reinstated by FIFA. Municipal (2017 Clausura champions) would have qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League as champions with better aggregate record in 2016–17 season. To replace Municipal in the CONCACAF Champions League, Herediano, which qualified for the first Costa Rican berth in the CONCACAF League, were moved from the CONCACAF League to the CONCACAF Champions League, giving Costa Rica two direct qualifiers to the CONCACAF Champions League.
* ^ Mexico (MEX): Since UANL qualified for both the 2016 Apertura and 2017 Clausura finals, the berth that they earned through the Clausura passed to the non-finalists with the best regular season record in the 2017 Clausura, Tijuana Xolos.
* ^ United States (USA): FC Dallas won both the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup, so one of these berths passed to the next best U.S.-based team in the Supporters' Shield table, the Colorado Rapids.

## Draw

The draw for the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League was held on 18 December 2017, 19:00 EST (UTC−5), at the Univision Studios in Miami, Florida, United States, and was streamed on YouTube.
The draw determined each tie in the round of 16 (numbered 1 through 8) between a team from Pot 1 and a team from Pot 2, each containing eight teams. The "Bracket Position Pots" (Pot A and Pot B) contained the bracket positions numbered 1 through 8 corresponding to each tie. The teams from Pot 1 were assigned a bracket position from Pot A and the teams from Pot 2 were assigned a bracket position from Pot B. Teams from the same association could not be drawn against each other in the round of 16 except for "wildcard" teams which replaced a team from another association.
The seeding of teams was based on the new CONCACAF Club Index. Each team qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League based on criteria set by the respective associations (e.g., tournament champions, runners-up, cup champions), resulting in an assigned slot (e.g., MEX1, MEX2) for each team. The CONCACAF Club Index, instead of ranking each team, was based on the on-field performance of the teams that had occupied the respective qualifying slots in the previous five editions of the CONCACAF Champions League. To determine the total points awarded to a slot in any single edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, CONCACAF used the following formula:
| Points per | Participation | Win | Draw | Stage advanced | Champions |
| Points per | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The 16 teams were distributed in the pots as follows:
| Pot | Rank | Slot | 2012–13 | 2013–14 | 2014–15 | 2015–16 | 2016–17 | Total | Team |
| Pot 1 | 1 | MEX3 | 11 | 29 | 32 | 23 | 15 | 110 | América |
| Pot 1 | 2 | MEX1 | 16 | 22 | 11 | 33 | 27 | 109 | UANL |
| Pot 1 | 3 | MEX2 | 27 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 30 | 103 | Guadalajara |
| Pot 1 | 4 | MEX4 | 35 | 29 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 101 | Tijuana |
| Pot 1 | 5 | USA3 | 16 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 76 | New York Red Bulls |
| Pot 1 | 6 | CAN1 | 10 | 10 | 23 | 8 | 22 | 73 | Toronto FC |
| Pot 1 | 7 | USA1 | 20 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 73 | Seattle Sounders FC |
| Pot 1 | 8 | USA2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 71 | FC Dallas |
| Pot 2 | 9 | USA4 | 11 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 8 | 71 | Colorado Rapids |
| Pot 2 | 10 | CRC1 | 16 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 65 | Saprissa |
| Pot 2 | 11 | CRC2 | 11 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 14 | 62 | Herediano (wildcard) |
| Pot 2 | 12 | HON1 | 9 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 56 | Motagua |
| Pot 2 | 13 | PAN1 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 53 | Tauro |
| Pot 2 | 14 | SLV1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 32 | Santa Tecla |
| Pot 2 | 15 | CCC1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 27 | Cibao |
| Pot 2 | 16 | SCL1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Olimpia |

## Format

In the CONCACAF Champions League, the 16 teams played a single-elimination tournament. Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. If the aggregate score was tied after the second leg, the away goals rule would be applied, and if still tied, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations, II. D. Tie-Breaker Procedures).

## Schedule

The schedule of the competition was as follows.
| Round | First leg | Second leg |
| Round of 16 | 20–22 February 2018 | 27 February – 1 March 2018 |
| Quarter-finals | 6–7 March 2018 | 13–14 March 2018 |
| Semi-finals | 3–4 April 2018 | 10 April 2018 |
| Final | 17 April 2018 | 25 April 2018 |
Times up to 10 March 2018 (round of 16 and quarter-finals first legs) were Eastern Standard Time, i.e., UTC−5, thereafter (quarter-finals second legs and beyond) times were Eastern Daylight Time, i.e., UTC−4 (local times are in parentheses).

## Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| Colorado Rapids | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Toronto FC | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Toronto FC | 2 | 0 | 2 | Toronto FC (a) | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | UANL | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| Herediano | 2 | 1 | 3 | UANL | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | | | | |
| UANL | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UANL | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | Toronto FC | 3 | 1 | 4 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | América | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| Saprissa | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | América | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| América | 5 | 1 | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| América | 5 | 1 | 6 | América | 4 | 3 | 7 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Tauro | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Tauro (a) | 1 | 2 | 3 | Tauro | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| FC Dallas | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | Toronto FC | 1 | 2 | 3 (2) |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Guadalajara (p) | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) |
| Santa Tecla | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Guadalajara (p) | 2 | 1 | 3 (4) |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 4 | 5 | Seattle Sounders FC | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Guadalajara | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| Cibao | 0 | 0 | 0 | Guadalajara | 0 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| Guadalajara | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Guadalajara | 2 | 5 | 7 | | | | | Guadalajara | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Motagua | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | New York Red Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | | |
| Tijuana | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tijuana | 1 | 1 | 2 | Tijuana | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | New York Red Bulls | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| Olimpia | 1 | 0 | 1 | New York Red Bulls | 2 | 3 | 5 | | | | | | | | | |
| New York Red Bulls | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Round of 16

In the round of 16, the matchups were decided by draw: R16-1 through R16-8. The teams from Pot 1 in the draw hosted the second leg.

### Summary

The first legs were played from 20 to 22 February, and the second legs were played from 27 February – 1 March 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Cibao | 0–7 | Guadalajara | 0–2 | 0–5 |
| Santa Tecla | 2–5 | Seattle Sounders FC | 2–1 | 0–4 |
| Olimpia | 1–3 | New York Red Bulls | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| Motagua | 1–2 | Tijuana | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Herediano | 3–5 | UANL | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Colorado Rapids | 0–2 | Toronto FC | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Tauro | 3–3 (a) | FC Dallas | 1–0 | 2–3 |
| Saprissa | 2–6 | América | 1–5 | 1–1 |

### Matches

Guadalajara won 7–0 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders FC won 5–2 on aggregate.
New York Red Bulls won 3–1 on aggregate.
Tijuana Xolos won 2–1 on aggregate.
UANL won 5–3 on aggregate.
Toronto FC won 2–0 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Tauro won on away goals.
América won 6–2 on aggregate.

## Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:
* QF1: Winner R16-1 vs. Winner R16-2
* QF2: Winner R16-3 vs. Winner R16-4
* QF3: Winner R16-5 vs. Winner R16-6
* QF4: Winner R16-7 vs. Winner R16-8
The winners of round of 16 matchups 1, 3, 5, 7 hosted the second leg.

### Summary

The first legs were played from 6–7 March, and the second legs were played from 13 to 14 March 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Seattle Sounders FC | 1–3 | Guadalajara | 1–0 | 0–3 |
| Tijuana | 1–5 | New York Red Bulls | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Toronto FC | 4–4 (a) | UANL | 2–1 | 2–3 |
| América | 7–1 | Tauro | 4–0 | 3–1 |

### Matches

Guadalajara won 3–1 on aggregate.
New York Red Bulls won 5–1 on aggregate.
4–4 on aggregate. Toronto FC won on away goals.
América won 7–1 on aggregate.

## Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the matchups were determined as follows:
* SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2
* SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4
The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 (SF1) | New York Red Bulls | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 10 | Second leg |
| 2 (SF1) | Guadalajara | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 9 | First leg |
| 1 (SF2) | América | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 10 | Second leg |
| 2 (SF2) | Toronto FC | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 7 | First leg |

### Summary

The first legs were played on 3–4 April, and the second legs were played on 10 April 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Guadalajara | 1–0 | New York Red Bulls | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Toronto FC | 4–2 | América | 3–1 | 1–1 |

### Matches

Guadalajara won 1–0 on aggregate.
Toronto FC won 4–2 on aggregate.

## Final

In the final (Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2), the finalist which had the better performance in previous rounds hosted the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 | Guadalajara | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 13 | Second leg |
| 2 | Toronto FC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | First leg |

### Summary

The first leg was played on 17 April, and the second leg was played on 25 April 2018.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Toronto FC | 3–3 (2–4 p) | Guadalajara | 1–2 | 2–1 |

### Matches

3–3 on aggregate. Guadalajara won 4–2 on penalties.

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round | By round |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals | 1R1 | 1R2 | QF1 | QF2 | SF1 | SF2 | F1 | F2 |
| 1 | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC | 4 | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | | | 1 |
| 1 | Jonathan Osorio | Toronto FC | 4 | 1 | | 1 | | | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC | 3 | | | 1 | | 1 | | | 1 |
| 3 | Cecilio Domínguez | América | 3 | 2 | | 1 | | | | | |
| 3 | Henry Martín | América | 3 | | | 1 | 2 | | | | |
| 3 | Mateus Uribe | América | 3 | 2 | | | | | 1 | | |
| 3 | Bradley Wright-Phillips | New York Red Bulls | 3 | | 1 | 2 | | | | | |
| 8 | Edwin Aguilar | Tauro | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Oswaldo Alanís | Guadalajara | 2 | | 1 | | 1 | | | | |
| 8 | Jairo Arrieta | Herediano | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | André-Pierre Gignac | UANL | 2 | | | | 2 | | | | |
| 8 | Andrés Ibargüen | América | 2 | | | 1 | | 1 | | | |
| 8 | Nicolás Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | José Macías | Guadalajara | 2 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Gerson Mayen | Santa Tecla | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Alan Pulido | Guadalajara | 2 | | 1 | | | | | 1 | |
| 8 | Eduardo Vargas | UANL | 2 | | | 1 | 1 | | | | |
| 8 | Enner Valencia | UANL | 2 | | 2 | | | | | | |
Source: CONCACAF

## Awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Golden Ball | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC |
| Golden Boot | Jonathan Osorio | Toronto FC |
| Golden Glove | Rodolfo Cota | Guadalajara |
| Best Young Player | Rodolfo Pizarro | Guadalajara |
| Fair Play Award | — | New York Red Bulls |
| Goal of the Tournament | Alan Pulido | Guadalajara |
Best XI :
| Position | Player | Team |
| GK | Rodolfo Cota | Guadalajara |
| DF | Oswaldo Alanís | Guadalajara |
| DF | Alejandro Mayorga | Guadalajara |
| DF | Michael Amir Murillo | New York Red Bulls |
| DF | Edwin Hernández | Guadalajara |
| MF | Jonathan Osorio | Toronto FC |
| MF | Mateus Uribe | América |
| MF | Nicolás Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders FC |
| MF | Isaác Brizuela | Guadalajara |
| FW | Sebastian Giovinco | Toronto FC |
| FW | Rodolfo Pizarro | Guadalajara |