D.C. United will travel to Querétaro, Mexico, on Tuesday, February 23, for the first match of the 2015-16 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals, CONCACAF announced in Miami yesterday. The Black-and-Red advanced out of the group stage for the second consecutive year.
United, winners of the tournament in 1998 (when it was previously called the Champions' Cup) are one of four MLS teams that advanced from the group stage earlier this year, joining Seattle Sounders FC, Real Salt Lake and the LA Galaxy.
Gallos Blancos de Querétaro, while qualifying for the tournament this year for the first time in the club's 55-year history, should not be taken lightly. Forward Emanuel Villa has scored the most goals of any player through the SCCL group stage with six, and also finished the Liga MX 2015 Apertura season tied for first in goals scored, with thirteen.
The Black-and-Red will host the first match of the second legs, welcoming Querétaro at RFK Stadium on March 1 at 8 pm ET. Tickets for the match will go on sale at a later date.
Should D.C. United advance over Gallos Blancos, they will match up against the winner of the Real Salt Lake - Tigres pairing in the other semifinal. The winner of the Club América - Seattle Sounders quarterfinal will face the winner of the Santos Laguna - LA Galaxy quarterfinal in the semifinals.
The provisional range of dates for the first leg of each of the semifinals is March 15-17, 2015, with the return legs will be played from April 5-7, next year.
The final home-and-away series will be during the last two weeks of April of 2016.
Twenty-four clubs from across the confederation began the quest for the crown in this season’s Champions League group phase, played between August and October, with the top team from each of the eight three-team groups advancing to the knockout round.
Following the completion of group play, the eight group-topping teams were ranked 1-8, based on the number of points they achieved in the group stage, and using goal difference as the tie-breaker among teams tied with the same amount of points. Those rankings yielded four pairings: 1-8, 2-7, 3-6 and 4-5, now set to face off in the quarterfinals early next year.
Rankings
1. Club América (MEX) – 10 points, +7 GD
2. D.C. United (USA) – 10 points, +6 GD
3. Real Salt Lake (USA) – 10 points, +3 GD
4. Santos Laguna (MEX) – 9 points, +9 GD
5. LA Galaxy (USA) -- 8 points, +9 GD
6. Tigres (MEX) – 8 points, +2 GD
7. Querétaro (MEX) – 7 points, +9 GD
8. Seattle Sounders (USA) – 7 points, +3 GD
The CONCACAF Champions League is the region’s most prestigious club tournament, qualifying its champion directly to the FIFA Club World Cup. Current confederation champion Club América, winner of the 2014/15 CONCACAF Champions League, will participate in the 2015 edition of the Club World Cup in Japan later this year.
Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League 2015/16 Quarterfinals Schedule
*ET (local time)
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
8:00pm ET (7:00 pm) Querétaro (MEX) vs. D.C. United (USA) – Estadio Corregidora, Querétaro, Mexico
10:00pm ET (7:00pm) Seattle Sounders (USA) vs. Club America (MEX) – CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA, USA
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
8:00pm ET (7:00pm) Tigres (MEX) vs. Real Salt Lake (USA) – Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Mexico
10:00pm ET (7:00pm) LA Galaxy (USA) vs. Santos (MEX) – StubHub Center, Carson, CA, USA
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
8:00pm ET (8:00pm) D.C. United (USA) vs Querétaro (MEX) – R.F.K. Stadium, Washington D.C., USA
10:00pm ET (9:00pm) Santos (MEX) vs. LA Galaxy (USA) – Estadio Corona, Torreon, Mexico
Wednesday, March 02, 2016
8:00pm ET (7:00pm) Club America (MEX) vs. Seattle Sounders (USA) – Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
10:00pm ET (8:00pm) Real Salt Lake (USA) vs. Tigres (MEX) – Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT, USA
