The Houston Dynamo will open their 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League campaign against CD Guastatoya (GUA) in the Round of 16, Concacaf announced this evening. The matchup was determined via a blind draw conducted in Miami this evening.
The Concacaf Champions League is the region’s premier club championship. The 2019 tournament will be the 11th edition of the competition and will feature representatives from nine Concacaf Member Associations. Sixteen clubs from the United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic were divided into two pots for the draw, with the Dynamo in Pot 1 and CD Guastatoya among the clubs in Pot 2.
Houston will visit CD Guastatoya for the first leg Feb. 19-21, 2019 and will host the second leg Feb. 26-28 at BBVA Compass Stadium. Specific dates and times for the two matches will be announced at a later date. The winner of the two-leg series will be determined based on total number of goals scored across both matches, with goals scored away from home serving as a tiebreaker.
Tickets to the home leg in Houston are included in 2019 Dynamo 365 Season Memberships, on sale now. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.
CD Guastatoya is the eighth different Guatemalan team to play in the tournament after they qualified by defeating Antigua GFC in Guatemala’s Concacaf Champions League two-leg playoff. Guasta forced the playoff by winning the 2018 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Clausura championship, their first honor. The club is currently defending their title as they face Cobán Imperial in the semifinals of the 2018 Apertura tournament on Wednesday.
This will be Houston’s seventh appearance in an international competition and the club’s first since the 2012-13 Champions League. The Dynamo have competed in the Champions League five times and made two appearances in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the predecessor to the Champions League. The Dynamo advanced to the quarterfinal round of the tournament in the 2008-09 and 2012-13 editions. Houston’s best finish in an international competition was a semifinal appearance in the 2008 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Houston qualified for the Champions League by winning the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Dynamo defeated the Philadelphia Union 3-0 on Sept. 26 at BBVA Compass Stadium to claim the Open Cup title for the first time in club history.
Team A – Pot 1 |
vs. |
Team B – Pot 2 |
|---|---|---|
Santos Laguna (MEX) |
vs. |
CD Marathón (HON) |
Portland Timbers/New York Red Bulls (USA) |
vs. |
Atletico Pantoja (DOM) |
Tigres UANL (MEX) |
vs. |
Deportivo Saprissa (CRC) |
<strong>Houston Dynamo (USA)</strong> |
<strong>vs.</strong> |
<strong>CD Guastatoya (GUA)</strong> |
CD Toluca (MEX) |
vs. |
Sporting Kansas City (USA) |
Toronto FC (CAN) |
vs. |
Club Atletico Independiente (PAN) |
Atlanta United (USA) |
vs. |
CS Herediano (CRC) |
CF Monterrey (MEX) |
vs. |
Alianza FC (SLV) |
