# 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup knockout stage

The 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup knockout stage was played from 26 September to 5 December 2023. A total of 8 teams competed in the knockout stage to decide the champions of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.

## 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.

## Format

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).

## Bracket

The bracket of the final stages was determined as follows:
| Round | Matchups |
| Quarter-finals | (Group winner team host second leg) Match QF1: Team seeded 1 vs. Team seeded 8 Match QF2: Team seeded 4 vs. Team seeded 5 Match QF3: Team seeded 2 vs. Team seeded 7 Match QF4: Team seeded 3 vs. Team seeded 6 |
| Play-in round | (Higher-ranked team in each tie host second leg) Match PI1: Loser QF1 vs. Loser QF2 Match PI2: Loser QF3 vs. Loser QF4 |
| Semi-finals | (Higher-ranked team in each tie host second leg) Match SF1: Winner QF1 vs. Winner QF2 Match SF2: Winner QF3 vs. Winner QF4 |
| Finals | (Higher-ranked team host second leg) Winner SF1 vs. Winner SF2 |
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

In the quarter-finals, the teams were seeded based on their results in the group stage, with the group winners seeded 1–4, and the group runners-up seeded 5–8. The group winners hosted the second leg.
| Seed | Grp | Team | 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 |

### Summary

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 |

### Matches

Alajuelense won 6–1 on aggregate, advanced to the semi-finals (Match SF1) and qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One at minimum. Cartaginés advanced to the play-in.
Herediano won 3–2 on aggregate, advanced to the semi-finals (Match SF1) and qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One at minimum. Comunicaciones advanced to the play-in.
Real Estelí won 3–2 on aggregate, advanced to the semi-finals (Match SF2) and qualifies for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One at minimum. Saprissa advanced to the play-in.
Independiente won 3–1 on aggregate, advanced to the semi-finals (Match SF2) and qualifies for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One at minimum. Motagua advanced to the play-in.

## Semi-finals and Play-in
### Play-in

In the play-in, the team in each tie which have the better performance across all previous rounds (group stage and quarter-finals) host the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 (PI1) | Comunicaciones | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 10 | Second leg |
| 2 (PI1) | Cartaginés | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 7 | First leg |
| 1 (PI2) | Saprissa | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 | +9 | 11 | Second leg |
| 2 (PI2) | Motagua | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 10 | First leg |

#### Summary

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 |

#### Matches

Tied 2–2 on aggregate, Comunicaciones won on penalties and qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One.
Saprissa won 6–2 on aggregate and qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One.

### Semi-finals

In the semi-finals, the team in each tie which have the better performance across all previous rounds (group stage and quarter-finals) host the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 (SF1) | Alajuelense | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | +14 | 18 | Second leg |
| 2 (SF1) | Herediano | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 14 | First leg |
| 1 (SF2) | Independiente | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 14 | Second leg |
| 2 (SF2) | Real Estelí | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 13 | First leg |

#### Summary

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 |

#### Matches

Tied 4–4 on aggregate, Alajuelense won on penalties and advanced to the finals.
Real Estelí won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the finals.

## Finals

In the finals, the team which has the better performances across all previous rounds (group stage, quarter-finals, and semi-finals) host the second leg.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Host |
| 1 | Alajuelense | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 6 | +14 | 20 | Second leg |
| 2 | Real Estelí | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 17 | First leg |

### Summary

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

### Matches

Alajuelense won 4–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16.