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Photo Credit: Cruz Azul
Champions Cup: Cruz Azul Cruises To Next Round In Win Over Vancouver FC
By Vancouver FC’s first foray into the Concacaf Champions Cup proved short, but will still be a badge of pride for a side that got to go toe-to-toe against a Liga MX giant with over twenty times the budget. In the end, however, individual mistakes cost the CPL side its chance at an unlikely comeback tonight.
Cruz Azul had fairly comfortably won the first leg 3-0 in front of a sellout crowd at Willoughby Community Park, drawing Toluca last weekend ahead of their home leg against Vancouver FC.
The second leg saw Cruz Azul comfortably secure an expected victory, with the hosts grabbing a five-nil win to finish with an eight-nil aggregate scoreline over Vancouver FC to secure a spot in the Round of 16.
Stepping in to Mexico City’s Estadio Cuauhtemoc – the Azteca is under renovations, unfortunately – saw Martin Nash keep his starting eleven largely unchanged, with Kian Proctor replacing Tyler Crawford for the second leg and a formation built to absorb pressure with five men at the back.
The first half hour offered a muted affair with a relatively tame tempo and no significant chances for either side. While the hosts had the bulk of possession, Vancouver did a decent job up to that point in neutralizing any real danger from the Liga MX side.
Referee Tori Pensi would cue up the set piece that signaled a rise in tempo for the first half, however, with the resultant Cruz Azul freekick forcing VFC captain Callum Irving to make a stop from close.
The hosts would get the opening goal of the game just moments later, however, with a no-look pass fooling the bulk of the VFC defensive line while in slipped Luka Romero, who dinked the ball beyond Callum Irving to make it four-nil on aggregate.
The Canadian Premier League visitors had a chance to pull one back when Elage Bah went down but Mohamed Amissi was first to the loose ball, getting enough power on the effort but firing it straight into the mitts of Cruz Azul keeper Emmanuel Ochoa.
Disaster nearly struck the visitors when they nearly conceded from a corner kick just before half-time, with a glancing header looping awkwardly towards the net before bouncing off the post.
Cruz Azul would go up two-nil out of nothing just before the half-time whistle, however, with Luka Romero somehow sneaking through both Paris Gee and Matteo Campagna to head it home without even needing to jump.
The first half would finish with a two-nil scoreline, with Cruz Azul making good on two of its four shots on target.
Cruz Azul head coach Nicolas Larcamon felt comfortable enough to make three changes to start the second half, resting some tired legs with the expectation of controlling the aggregate result for the second forty-five.
Toro Fernandez should have made it three-nil after a defensive scramble to a rebound saw G Fernandez blast a close-range effort that flew high of the net, much to Irving’s relief.
With just over a half hour to go and nothing to lose, Martin Nash dipped into his own bench, with Tyler Crawford, David Norman Jr, and Abdoulaye Ouattara coming on for Kian Proctor, Luis Toomey, and Damiano Pecile.
A blistering run from Morey yDoner saw the energetic full-back brought down, earning Vancouver a good opportunity with a free kick to the right of the box. VFC’s first continental goal would have to wait, however, with substitute Crawford launching the ball beyond the box and wasting the opportunity.
Striking quickly at the other end, a counter from Cruz Azul saw a cutback cross from Romero appear to smack Campagna square in the chest, with the ball bouncing right into the net as Irving went the wrong way. It was an unorthodox goal and looked to have been a hat-trick sealer from Luka Romero, but it was officially credited to Jorge Rodarte:
Having put in a good shift as one of Vancouver’s brighter sparks, Marcello Polisi came off to be replaced by the fresh legs of Nicolas Mezquida with 25 minutes to go, though the veteran Uruguayan could do little to shift the sands of fate for this match.
The scoring didn’t stop, with the aggregate expanding to seven-nil as Matteo Campagna’s rough night continued after the defender was beaten to a header, allowing Jorge Rodarte to wallop home a powerful header from close range.
The theme of individual defensive errors would continue to haunt Vancouver FC, with Morey Doner being first to a cross from Cruz Azul. Unfortunately, the defender’s touches soon saw the ball poached by debutant Nicolas Ibanez, who was able to whack the ball straight into the net.
The 90th minute almost brought a blooper reel ending for the Eagles, with Callum Irving rushing out of his box to clear the ball before it was chased down by Cruz Azul. Instead, his clearance ricocheted against his own defender, and while it looked sure to ricochet directly back into goal, it stopped and was tapped home by an offside player, so the goal was called back.
By that point, of course, it changed nothing.
Referee Tori Pensi’s final whistle brought an end to Vancouver FC’s first-ever continental adventure, where the small club from Langley fell to a hefty eight-nil scoreline against the tournament’s reigning champion Cruz Azul. It’s been quite an interesting adventure for Vancouver, who finished last in league play in 2025 but qualified for the tournament after a miracle run in the Canadian Championship – and even then, their berth was sent down by a Whitecaps that had qualified separately through MLS play.
“We knew it would be difficult, but I’m proud of my teammates,” said Mezquida after the match. “I’m excited for the season in the CPL, because we are much better this year and I’m so excited to keep going.”
Forge FC also crashed out against Liga MX opposition, succumbing to a four-one aggregate loss against Tigres on Tuesday. Reigning CLP champion Atletico Ottawa will kick off its first continental clash against Nashville SC next Tuesday.
Cruz Azul can now look ahead to an all-Liga MX clash in the Round of 16, with the Rayados up next. For Vancouver FC, the club has a near-two-month wait until its 2026 Canadian Premier League season begins at home against Vanni Sartini’s Halifax Wanderers on April 4.
Header Image Photo Credit: Cruz Azul
