With Atlas and Zacatepec completing their delayed Jornada 6 game this Thursday, the group stage of the Apertura 2018 Copa Corona MX has officially wrapped up, with 16 teams advancing to the knockout rounds.
Twelve Liga MX teams and four from Ascenso MX will now face off as they look for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Round of Sixteen will be played between September 25th and 27th, with the exact dates and times to be announced shortly.
The matchups are as follows:
Mexico bowed out of the 2018 World Cup with a 2-0 loss to Brazil in the Round of Sixteen. El Tri was trying to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986, but they ultimately came up short in their quest to reach the elusive “fifth game”.
The game started off well for Mexico, who took the game to Brazil. El Tri found success attacking down the wings, with Brazil’s outside backs having trouble dealing with Mexico’s speed. Hirving Lozano had an early opportunity after goalkeeper Alisson didn’t deal with a cross, but his second-minute shot was blocked.
They needed some last-day help from South Korea, but in the end Mexico was able to advance out of their group for the seventh consecutive time. El Tri now faces a tough task as they look to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 1986 when they take on Brazil.
Brazil topped Group E with two wins and a draw, against Costa Rica, Serbia, and Switzerland, respectively, while Mexico finished second in Group F after wins against Germany and South Korea and a loss to Sweden.
The group stage has wrapped up and sixteen teams have advanced to the knockout rounds of the Clausura 2018 Copa Corona MX.
Some extensive tie-breaking procedures were needed to find who would advance out of Groups 8 and 9 after all three teams in each group finished with six points. With head-to-head results between the tied teams not separating them, and with the same goal difference for each team, it was away goals that eventually proved decisive, with Celaya and Pachuca advancing out of Group 8 and Monarcas Morelia and Querétaro moving on from Group 9.
In all, 11 teams from Liga MX and five from Ascenso MX advanced to the Round of Sixteen; the complete group standings can be found here.
América drew 1-1 with Saprissa in the second leg of their 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Round of Sixteen series, which was more than enough to put the Águilas into the quarterfinals with a 6-2 aggregate win.
The Costa Ricans were facing an uphill battle to get back into this series after a 5-1 loss in the first leg, and América gave them no time to do so: the Águilas opened the second-leg scoring in just the first minute of the game.
Chivas de Guadalajara earned a commanding 5-0 victory against Cibao FC in the second leg of their 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Round of Sixteen series, which put El Rebaño into the quarterfinals with a 7-0 aggregate victory.
After earning a 0-2 away win in the first leg, Chivas put out a largely alternative lineup for this second leg as Matías Almeyda looked to rest players for the SuperClásico this weekend. Chivas nevertheless dominated the game, with more than 70% possession, although it wasn’t until the 44th minute that they were able to open the scoring.
Tijuana drew 1-1 with Motagua in the second leg of their 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Round of Sixteen series, which was enough to put the Xolos into the quarterfinals with a 2-1 aggregate win.
The hosts started the game off perfectly with a goal in just the 3rd minute. Motagua couldn’t get the ball out of the box and after a series of rebounds and attempted clearances, José García put it away to give Tijuana the 1-0 (2-0 aggregate) lead.
Tigres UANL advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League with a 3-1 (5-3 aggregate) victory against Herediano in the second leg of their Round of Sixteen series.
The universitarios had the advantage going into this game after a 2-2 draw in the first leg, with Tigres leading on away goals. They looked to take the aggregate lead in front of their home fans here and they controlled possession for most of the first half.
The 2018 CONCACAF Champions League continues this week with the second legs of the Round of Sixteen. This round is an aggregate goals series; away goals are tiebreakers.
Mexico’s representatives will be in action on Tuesday and Wednesday, with all four teams hosting these second legs. Tigres UANL, the first Liga MX team in action, drew 2-2 with Herediano in their first leg in Costa Rica, meaning the universitarios will advance with a win or a 0-0 or 1-1 draw on Tuesday; a 2-2 draw would send the game to extra time, and a draw of 3-3 or higher would advance Herediano.
The revamped 2018 CONCACAF Champions League kicks off this week with the first legs of the round of sixteen.
The new CCL format has done away with the group stage and will be a straight knockout format throughout the competition. The round of sixteen is a home-and-away, two-legged aggregate goals series. Away goals are tiebreakers.
Mexico’s qualifiers are Tigres UANL, América, Tijuana, and Chivas de Guadalajara, and they will be facing, respectively, Costa Rica’s Herediano, Costa Rica’s Saprissa, Honduras’s Motagua, and the Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC.
All times Eastern, home team listed first.
