The 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup was the 61st season of the CONCACAF Champions Cup, the premier men's club association football tournament for North, Central America, and the Caribbean organized by CONCACAF. It was a five-round knockout tournament, with 27 teams qualified based on their national and zonal league and cup competitions; the first four rounds were played as a two-legged series at the home stadiums of the respective teams, ending with a one-legged final.
Toluca and Tigres UANL met in the final at the Nemesio Diez Stadium, with the host earning the right to stage the match for a superior goal difference in the earlier rounds. The match finished 1–1 after extra time. Toluca prevailed 6–5 on penalties, earning a direct qualification to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
Qualification Twenty-seven teams qualified for the tournament, with five qualifying directly to the round of 16. The remaining 22 teams entered in round one.
In addition to national league competitions in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, 12 of 27 berths were determined by international competitions, including the 2025 Leagues Cup (three), 2025 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup (three), and 2025 CONCACAF Central American Cup (six).
Two Canadian Premier League teams qualified automatically, while the United States-only 2025 U.S. Open Cup knockout competition and Canada-only equivalent, the 2025 Canadian Championship, provided one berth each.
The winners of the three international competitions, along with the winner of MLS Cup 2025 and champion of the 2024–25 Liga MX season, received the five byes into the round of 16.
Distribution Twenty-seven teams (from ten associations) qualified for the tournament.
North American Zone: 18 teams (from three associations) Central American Zone: 6 teams (from four associations) Caribbean Zone: 3 teams (from three associations)
Five teams received a bye into the round of 16.
The champion of the regional competitions for each of CONCACAF's constituent zones; North American, Central American, and Caribbean The champions of Liga MX of Mexico and Major League Soccer of the United States and Canada (Liga MX had a split Apertura and Clausura system, so the champion team with the higher aggregate points took this place. If a team won both Apertura and Clausura, they took this place.)
The remaining 22 teams entered in round one.
The runners-up and third-place team from the MLS–Liga MX Leagues Cup The runners-up and third-place team from the Caribbean Cup The runners-up, remaining semi-finalists, and two play-in winners from the Central American Cup The U.S. Open Cup winners The Canadian Championship winners The Canadian Premier League regular season winners and playoff champions The remaining winner with the worse record, two runners-up, and the two best next clubs by season aggregate from Liga MX The MLS Supporters' Shield winners The remaining MLS Conference regular-season leader, and the next two teams in the Supporters' Shield table
Teams The following table includes the number of appearances, last appearance, and previous best from the CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament. +Teams entering in round of 16 (5)CompetitionTeamQualifying method Previous best Caribbean Cup Mount Pleasant2025 Caribbean Cup champions1stDebutCentral American Cup Alajuelense2025 Central American Cup champions29th Champions Leagues Cup Seattle Sounders FC2025 Leagues Cup champions9th Champions Liga MX Toluca2024–25 Liga MX Clausura winners with the higher aggregate table points14th Champions Major League Soccer Inter Miami CFMLS Cup 2025 champions 3rd Semi-finals
+Teams entering in Round one (22)CompetitionTeamQualifying method Previous best Canadian Championship Vancouver FC2025 Canadian Championship runners-up1stDebutCanadian Premier League Atlético Ottawa2025 Canadian Premier League champions1stDebut Forge FC2025 CPL Shield winners4th Round of 16 Caribbean Cup O&M2025 Caribbean Cup finalists1stDebut Defence Force2025 Caribbean Cup third place13th Champions Central American Cup Xelajú2025 Central American Cup runners-up7th Quarter-finals Real España2025 Central American Cup semi-finalists14th Round of 16 Olimpia39th Champions Cartaginés2025 Central American Cup play-in winners8th Champions Sporting San Miguelito2nd Group stage Leagues Cup LA Galaxy2025 Leagues Cup third place12th Champions Liga MX América2024–25 Liga MX Apertura winners with the lower aggregate table points and Clausura runners-up17th Champions Monterrey2024–25 Liga MX Apertura runners-up13th Champions Cruz AzulNext three best clubs in 2024–25 Liga MX aggregate table19th Champions Tigres UANL13th Champions Pumas UNAM13th Champions Major League Soccer Philadelphia Union2025 Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield winners4th Semi-finals San Diego FC2025 Major League Soccer Western Conference regular season winners1stDebut Vancouver Whitecaps FCNext best clubs in the 2025 Supporters' Shield standings6th Runners-up FC Cincinnati3rd Round of 16 Los Angeles FC4th Runners-up U.S. Open Cup Nashville SC2025 U.S. Open Cup winners2nd Round of 16
Draw The draw for the tournament took place on 9 December 2025 in Miami. The ceremony was streamed on CONCACAF's YouTube channel and broadcast live on Fox Sports in the United States and Mexico and ESPN in most of the Americas. Teams were seeded and placed in draw pots based on their CONCACAF club ranking as of 8 December 2025.
The champions of CONCACAF's three regional cup competitions, as well as the Liga MX winners with the most accumulated points and the MLS Cup winners, received a bye to the round of 16. The three remaining highest-ranked clubs were pre-seeded into a round one bracket position.
+Entering in round of 16SeedTeam1 Toluca12532 Inter Miami CF12493 Seattle Sounders FC12174 Alajuelense 11755 Mount Pleasant1082+Seeded in Round oneSeedTeam1 Cruz Azul12622 Tigres UANL12413 América1234
+Pot 1Team Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1233 Los Angeles FC 1222 Monterrey 1216 Philadelphia Union 1205 FC Cincinnati 1202 LA Galaxy 1184 Nashville SC 1182 Pumas UNAM 1182+Pot 2Team San Diego FC 1171 Olimpia 1155 Forge FC 1121 Atlético Ottawa 1111 Cartaginés 1106 Xelajú 1102 Sporting San Miguelito 1093 Real España 1088 Defence Force 1051 Vancouver FC 1041 O&M 996
Schedule The competition schedule was as follows.
+RoundFirst legSecond legRound one3–4 and 17–19 February 10–12 and 24–26 FebruaryRound of 1610–12 March17–19 MarchQuarter-finals7–8 April 14–15 April Semi-finals28–29 April5–6 MayFinal30 May Times are EST or EDT, as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).
Bracket
Round one Summary Round one was played during four weekly windows: on 3–4 February, 10–12 February, 17–19 February, and 24–26 February.
Matches
San Diego FC won 4–2 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. LA Galaxy won on away goals.
Cruz Azul won 8–0 on aggregate.
Monterrey won 3–1 on aggregate.
Los Angeles FC won 7–1 on aggregate.
Nashville SC won 7–0 on aggregate.
América won 2–1 on aggregate.
Philadelphia Union won 12–0 on aggregate.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC won 2–0 on aggregate.
FC Cincinnati won 13–0 on aggregate.
Tigres UANL won 4–1 on aggregate.
Round of 16 Summary
The first legs were played on 10–12 March, and the second legs were played on 17–19 March 2026.
Matches
Toluca won 6–3 on aggregate.
LA Galaxy won 6–0 on aggregate.
Cruz Azul won 4–3 on aggregate.
Los Angeles FC won 3–2 on aggregate.
1–1 on aggregate. Nashville SC won on away goals.
América won 2–1 on aggregate.
Tigres UANL won 5–4 on aggregate.
Seattle Sounders FC won 5–1 on aggregate.
Quarter-finals Within each matchup, the team which had the better performance in the round of 16 hosted the second leg.
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Summary
The first legs were played on 7 and 8 April, and the second legs were played on 14 and 15 April 2026.
Matches
Toluca won 7–2 on aggregate.
Los Angeles FC won 4–1 on aggregate.
Nashville SC won 1–0 on aggregate.
3–3 on aggregate. Tigres UANL won on away goals.
Semi-finals The semi-finalists in each tie which had the better performance in previous rounds (excluding round one) hosted the second leg.
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Summary
The first legs were played on 28 and 29 April, and the second legs were played on 5 and 6 May 2026.
Matches
Toluca won 5–2 on aggregate.
Tigres UANL won 2–0 on aggregate.
Final
The finalist with the better record during the competition's earlier stages (excluding round one), Toluca, hosted the match, at Nemesio Diez Stadium in Toluca.
Match
Statistics Top goalscorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Paulinho Toluca82 Gabriel Pec LA Galaxy63 Denis Bouanga Los Angeles FC54 Rodrigo Aguirre Tigres UANL4 Kévin Denkey FC Cincinnati David Martínez Los Angeles FC7 Jesús Angulo Toluca3 Tom Barlow FC Cincinnati Jesús Gallardo Toluca Ozziel Herrera Tigres UANL Joaquim Tigres UANL Luka Romero Cruz Azul David Vazquez San Diego FC
Best XI CONCACAF selected the following players as the team of the tournament. PlayerTeam Luis García Toluca Ryan Porteous Los Angeles FC Joaquim Tigres UANL Jesús Gallardo Toluca Nicolás Castro Toluca Mathieu Choinière Los Angeles FC David Martínez Los Angeles FC Juan Brunetta Tigres UANL Helinho Toluca Gabriel Pec LA Galaxy Paulinho Toluca
Awards Award Player Team Ref. Best Player Award Paulinho Toluca Best Goalkeeper Award Luis García Toluca Young Player Award David Martínez Los Angeles FC Top Scorer Award Paulinho Toluca Fair Play Award Nashville SC
Notes
See also
2025–26 CONCACAF W Champions Cup (women's edition of this tournament)
References
Reports
External links
Official website