The 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup group stage was played from 1 to 31 August 2023.[1] A total of 20 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 8 places in the knockout stage of the 2023 CONCACAF Central American Cup.[2]
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 8 June 2023 in Miami, Florida. The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 28 May 2023.[1][3]
For the group stage, the 20 teams were drawn into four groups (Groups A–D) of five containing a team from each of the five pots. Teams from pot 1 were drawn first and were placed in the first position of their group, starting from Group A to Group D. The same procedure was followed for teams from pots 2, 3, 4 and 5, and they were placed in positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, within the group to which they were drawn. Each group must contain no more than two clubs from the same national association.[4]
In the group stage, each group is played on a single home-and-away round-robin basis, with teams playing against each other once, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The teams are ranked according to the following criteria (Regulations Article 12.10.1).:[2]
Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss);
Matches in the competition are being played on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday as decided by CONCACAF. The schedule of each week is as follows (Regulations Article 2).[2][5][6]
Weeks
Dates
Matches
Week 1
1–3 August 2023
Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 5 vs. Team 2
Week 2
8–10 August 2023
Team 5 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 4
Week 3
15–17 August 2023
Team 4 vs. Team 5, Team 2 vs. Team 3
Week 4
22–24 August 2023
Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 3 vs. Team 5
Week 5
29–31 August 2023
Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Groups
All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) and local times are in parentheses, as listed by CONCACAF.[6]
^ a bJocoro played their home matches at Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula (Honduras) instead of their regular stadium Complejo Deportivo Municipal Tierra de Fuego, Jocoro which did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[7]
^The Cartaginés v Universitario match, originally scheduled at 18:00 EDT,[6] was re-scheduled to 20:00 EDT in order to allow both matchday 5 matches to be played simultaneously.
^ a bFAS played their home matches at Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla (originally scheduled at Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador[6] which underwent renovations) instead of their regular stadium Estadio Óscar Quiteño, Santa Ana which did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[8]
^The Independiente v FAS match, originally scheduled at 20:00 EDT,[6] was re-scheduled to 22:00 EDT in order to allow both matchday 5 matches to be played simultaneously.
^ a bÁguila played their home matches at Estadio Las Delicias, Santa Tecla (originally scheduled at Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador[6] which underwent renovations) instead of their regular stadium Estadio Juan Francisco Barraza, San Miguel which did not meet CONCACAF requirements.[9]
^The Sporting San Miguelito vs Verdes match, originally scheduled at 18:00 EDT,[6] was delayed until 18:45 EDT due to adverse weather conditions (thunderstorm).[10][11]
References
^ a b"Draw details announced for inaugural Concacaf Central American Cup". CONCACAF. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
^ a b c"CONCACAF Central American Cup 2023 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. 17 July 2023 [Approved on 24 February 2023]. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^"Concacaf Club Ranking as of May 28, 2023". CONCACAF. 28 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
^"Concacaf confirms 2023 Central American Cup draw details". CONCACAF. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ a b"Draw delivers groups for inaugural Concacaf Central American Cup". CONCACAF. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
^ a b c d e f g"Schedule and stadiums confirmed for 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup". CONCACAF. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
^Gutiérrez, Omar (17 July 2023). "Jocoro jugará la Copa Centroamericana en Honduras, FAS y Águila sin sede" [Jocoro will play the Central American Cup in Honduras, FAS and Águila without venue] (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
^Gutiérrez, Omar (22 July 2023). "FAS tendrá como sede el estadio Las Delicias para jugar la Copa Centroamericana 2023" [FAS will have Las Delicias stadium as their venue for the 2023 Central American Cup] (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
^Gutiérrez, Omar (22 July 2023). "Águila anuncia que el estadio Las Delicias será su sede para la Copa Centroamericana 2023" [Águila announces that Las Delicias stadium will be their venue for the 2023 Central American Cup] (in Spanish). El Mundo. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
^"Copa Centroamericana 2023: Partido de Sporting vs Verdes se retrasa" [2023 Central American Cup: Sporting vs Verdes match delayed] (in Spanish). RPC. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^CONCACAF Champions Cup [@TheChampions] (August 16, 2023). "¡Comienza el juego!" [The game is on!] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2023 – via Twitter.
Saprissa
Universitario
Cobán Imperial
Jocoro
65' (pen.)
Real Estelí
Olimpia
Verdes