Motagua vs. FC Cincinnati: How to watch, stream 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup Leg 1
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025, 03:11 AM
FC Cincinnati begin their 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign Wednesday evening at Honduran side FC Motagua with Leg 1 of a Round One series.
Leg 2 awaits on Feb. 26 at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium. The winner meets LIGA MX powerhouse Tigres UANL, who already reached the Round of 16 with a 3-1 aggregate win over Nicaraguan side Real Estelí FC.
Ten MLS clubs are participating in the 27-team continental tournament that grants a spot in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup. The single-match final will be held on June 1.
Motagua are making their 21st all-time CCC appearance after qualifying by winning their play-in series in the Concacaf Central American Cup.
The club’s last appearance in the competition (2023) equaled their best-ever finish as quarterfinalists.
Ⓜ️ FC Motagua sumará su aparición 2️⃣1️⃣ en la #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/PhHgpjzrN7
FC Cincinnati have made headlines in recent days, first trading 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Luciano Acosta to FC Dallas for up to $6 million.
Shortly after, the Orange & Blue acquired Evander from the Portland Timbers for an MLS trade-record $12 million plus incentives and a sell-on fee.
Can the Brazilian No. 10 form a fruitful partnership with club-record signing Kévin Denkey? The Togo international No. 9 was acquired this offseason for reportedly over $16 million.
FC Cincinnati returns for their second straight year! 🔵🟠🇺🇸
🔜 #ConcaChampions 2025, kicking off in Round One vs. Motagua pic.twitter.com/cwW3PP2c1f
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“We’re nowhere near our best.’ FC Cincinnati romps in win over FC Motagua
After seeing his side pull away from FC Motagua late, FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said he team wasn’t close to hitting its ceiling.
That’s a scary thought.
In its first competitive match of 2025, FC Cincinnati defeated FC Motagua of Honduras, 4-1, on Wednesday in CONCACAF Champions Cup at Estadio Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. FCC can close out the two-match, aggregate-score series on Wednesday at TQL Stadium (6:30 p.m.).
While FC Cincinnati went into the halftime break tied, 1-1, FCC scored three times in the second half to win the first leg. And FC Cincinnati didn’t just score − it scored stylishly.
“We’re nowhere near our best but I think going into this game we had a confident group based on how we have gotten through the last month,” Noonan said. “I think the character of the group is very strong, and that was evident when we were dealing with some challenging moments throughout preseason. When you see that behind the scenes and see how guys deal with difficult situations, that gives me plenty of hope for a high ceiling and expecting even more than what we saw tonight.”
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More:Here’s what FC Cincinnati’s Kévin Denkey had to say at MLS media day in Miami
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Pavel Bucha notched two goals, tallying in the 28th and 77th minutes. Kévin Denkey scored on his debut for the club, and made the goal the eventual game-winner in the 49th minute too.
Rounding out the scoring was the newly-acquired Evander, the replacement for Luciano Acosta who entered the match as a second-half substitute and notched an assist prior to netting in the 87th minute.
FC Cincinnati hit some significant high notes in the game even though Noonan managed to find some fault in the performance. But considering the club had just exited a preseason of major personnel comings and goings, some drama in the midst of those moves and star goal-scorer Luca Orellano being left out of the team via a coach’s decision, the victory was an impressive start to 2025.
“I don’t think I’m surprised because I’ve seen the last couple weeks (and) our attacking production and kind of the progress that we’ve made,” Noonan said. “You don’t expect to go into a difficult atmosphere and a good team and score four goals every game, but based on the personnel and the talent we have, of course that’s a possibility… This counts.”
FC Cincinnati returns to Cincinnati Thursday to prepare for its MLS regular-season opener Saturday against reigning Eastern Conference champion New York Red Bulls (7:30 p.m.)
FC Cincinnati’s competitive calendar opens Wednesday night in Honduras as the Orange and Blue play the first leg of their opening Concacaf Champions Cup matchup against CF Motagua.
As the 2025 season begins for The FC Wednesday night, here’s what to watch for in the first leg of Cincinnati and Motagua’s meeting. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m.
It’s been an offseason of major change for Cincinnati, who said goodbye to a club staple last week while bringing in another difference maker in his stead. The acquisition of Evander earlier this week was the cherry on top of a busy offseason of bringing in players expected to make an impact.
Cincinnati’s newest addition, who comes to the Queen City as part of a record in-league deal, has compiled 24 goals and 24 assists in 55 regular season games over the last two years with the Timbers, including a 34-goal contribution season (15 goals, 19 assists) in an MVP-caliber season in 2024.
Prior to Evander’s signing, Kévin Denkey was the prize of FC Cincinnati’s offseason. At the time, he was brought to Cincinnati in a record-setting fee (which has since been broken by Atlanta United’s signing of Middlesborough’s Emmanuel Latte Lath) of $16.2 million, according to MLS insider Tom Bogert.
A Togolese international, Denkey has made over 200 professional appearances in Europe, scoring 78 goals and adding 22 assists. Over the last two seasons, only four players in Europe have scored more goals than him, including Manchester City star Erling Haaland and England captain Harry Kane.
The duo, along with returners Luca Orellano and Yuya Kubo, should give Cincinnati one of the most formidable forward lines in the Major League Soccer and could see more double-figure goal scorers than last year (three).
Another recent addition was brought in to shore up a defense that found itself thin at times last year in Danish wingback Lukas Engel. While it may take him some MLS minutes to get acclimated to the league, he’s been with Cincinnati for most of the preseason and should be ready to go.
Motagua — which was founded in 1928 as the joint effort of three near-failing clubs in the Honduran capital – are the reigning champions of the Honduran Liga Nacional after finishing second on the table, with a 10-4-4 record in the Apertura tournament (much like Liga MX, the HLN splits their seasons into two halves, with a winner being crowned in each).
Seven matches into the Clausura tournament, Motagua sits third on the table, with a 3-2-2 mark, the best offense in the country (15 goals for) and the second-best goal differential (+8).
This year marks the club’s fourth appearance in the Champions Cup since the 2020 season. In each of their three appearances from 2018-2022, Motagua made the round of 16. In their last appearance, in 2023, they were a quarterfinalist, falling to Liga MX’s UANL 6-0 on aggregate.
Leg one will be played in Honduras while the second leg will come to TQL Stadium next week (Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m.).
It is not uncommon for MLS teams to use non-league games, Concacaf Champions Cup matches included, as vehicles to play less-than-full strength squads for one reason or another. Pat Noonan will almost assuredly not use his full A-squad Wednesday night, with the team announcing three players from FC Cincinnati 2 have been called to the first-team roster ahead of the first leg.
However, if past is prologue, we might see a lineup similar to what The FC trot out Saturday on Wednesday night.
Of FCC’s Starting XI in their MLS opener last season, a 0-0 draw against Toronto, 10 started four days prior in their first leg win over Cavalier (however, with a 2-0 aggregate lead, a home match, and an MLS match under their belt, the starting lineup in the second leg did look quite different).
The only player to not start both matches, Kipp Keller, later subbed into the match (for Matt Miazga), which happened in the Champions Cup game.
Pat Noonan on Evander: “MVP-caliber player. His ability to score and assist on a consistent level is going to be something our group is going to benefit from immediately.”
Noonan said Evander could debut on Wednesday night in the club’s Champions Cup opener in Honduras. #FCCincy… pic.twitter.com/grZ8yUmnfw
While Evander might not start Wednesday’s match, head coach Pat Noonan said he could make his Orange and Blue debut in Honduras, laying a solid foundation ahead of Saturday’s MLS opener against New York Red Bulls.
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