What’s Happening In North American Soccer?

By Gael Garcia-Flores

Concacaf’s 2023 Season is winding
down, and here we will explore how all of North American soccer’s major competitions are going.

The MLS: The MLS, the top league for American soccer, is currently in its final matchday. Conference leaders Cincinnati and St. Louis are the favorites to win it all. Currently, our hometown team, the Chicago Fire, are 11th in the Eastern Conference. In order for Chicago to make the play-in round, we need to hope the NY Red Bulls lose and that Charlotte doesn’t win a game. We can also hope that Montreal loses as well, as both spots are still up for grabs.

The Liga MX: The Apertura season of the Liga MX is in its international break.
So far, league leaders Club America are the favorites to win the Liguilla/Play-Offs. Some other contenders for the title are Tigres, Monterrey, Toluca, and Pumas. The disappointment so far in the season is Cruz Azul, standing in 16th place (out of 18 teams) with 3 wins, 7 losses, and 2 ties. Even with a big gap in records between the 8 win Club America and the 1 win Necaxa side, all teams can still qualify for at least the play-in round, making this an extremely competitive league.

Central American Cup: The Central American Cup, the qualifying tournament for the Concacaf Champions Cup, is now in the Semi-Finals of its competition. Alajuelense of Costa Rica will go against inter-city rivals Herediano for the 1st spot in the final. In the other semi-final, Real Esteli, a team from Nicaragua, will go against Club Atletico Independiente, from the city of La Chorrera. The losers of the quarterfinals will go against another loser to see who gets to go to the Concacaf Champions League. Cartagines, based in Cartago, Costa Rica, will go against Comunicaciones of Guatemala City. In the other play-in, Saprissa of Costa Rica, will go against Motagua of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Caribbean Cup: The Concacaf Caribbean Cup will be having its semi-finals at the end of October. Harbour View of Jamaica will be going against their rivals Cavalier, also from Jamaica. In the other semi-final, it is SV Robinhood from the South American country of Suriname against the Dominican team of Moca. The winners will progress to the final, and the losers will play for 3rd place. The finalists and 3rd place will advance to Concacaf’s premier competition, the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The Champions Cup will be played from February to June in 2024, in which the winners will qualify for both the 2024 and 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Good luck to all the teams out there!