The Mexican team UANL Tigers qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions Cup of Concacaf after beating Forge of Canada 4-1 with a double from Uruguayan Rodrigo Aguirre in the series definition. The Argentine Ángel Correa and the Brazilian Joaquim Pereira completed the account for the club from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León.
In the match played at the Universitario stadium, Tigres took the lead in the 22nd minute when Aguirre headed a pass from Uruguayan Fernando Gorriarán with his head on the goal line. Aguirre scored his double in the 71st minute when he put the ball into the right corner with a shot inside the area after receiving a pass from Diego Lainez. The Forge pulled one back in the 80th minute with a penalty scored by Brian Wright.
But a minute later, the home team scored the third goal through Correa, who hit the ball close to the left post with a shot at the entrance of the area. Pereira scored the fourth goal for Tigres in the 86th minute by volleying a corner kick sent by Lainez from the right sector. The first leg ended in a goalless draw.
Previously, debutant San Diego advanced to the next phase despite losing 1-0 on their visit to Pumas UNAM. The MLS club, which won 4-1 in the first leg, reached the round of 16 with an overall score of 4-2. On Wednesday the tie between América from Mexico and Olimpia from Honduras will be defined. The ‘Águilas’ of América won the match 2-1.
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The tie between Monterrey of Mexico and Xelajú of Guatemala will also be resolved on Wednesday. In the first game they tied at one goal. On Thursday, Cruz Azul, the current champion of the competition, will try to seal their place in the round of 16 when they play at home against Vancouver of Canada. The Mexican club won 3-0 in the first leg. The winner of the Concacaf Champions Cup will get a ticket to the 2026 Intercontinental Cup and the 2029 Club World Cup.
