Match Reports – Inside World Football

LA Galaxy dominate but still have to come from behind at Sporting San Miguelito

Paul Nicholson — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:18:17 +0000

February 20 – Los Angeles Galaxy struggled to find the back of the net in Panama but eventually came away with a draw and a crucial away goal in Panama.

The 2025 season was one to forget for the Los Angeles Galaxy as the MLS Cup Champions completely flamed out and returned one of the worst season records ever for a defending champion.

With a new campaign comes renewed hope in the form of the Concacaf Champions Cup and the 1st leg versus Sporting San Miguelito of Panama,

CS Cartaginés rearguard keeps Whitecaps grounded

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:37:45 +0000

February 19 – Costa Rica’s CS Cartaginés held last year’s Champions Cup finalists to a 0-0 draw in the round one, first leg of their tie at Estadio Fello Meza, Cartago, Costa Rica.

It was a solid defensive performance from the Costa Rican side that won the competition in 1994 but have never played a Canadian club side before.

They were faced with a star-studded line up under head coach Jesper Sørensen that won a fourth straight Canadian Championship in 2025,

Philadelphia Union breach Defence Force’s resistance

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:20:14 +0000

February 19 – Philadelphia Union wasted no time stamping their authority on the Champions Cup with a 5-0 hammering of a shell-shocked Defence Force team in Trinidad and Tobago.

Defence Force did have passages of play, especially in the first half, but ultimately Philadelphia Union dominated where it mattered in front of goal with a shot count of 18 with nine on target. A total of 10 corners peppering the Defence Force rearguard.

Jabbari brace secures FC Cincinnati 4-0 first leg lead at O&M

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:20:10 +0000

February 19 – Two goals in the final 10 minutes from Ayoub Jabbari pushed FC Cincinnati to a 4-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League tie against O&M FC in the Dominican Republic.

O&M were making their debut in the competition and being 2-0 down at half time had battled valiantly to stay in the tie until Jabbari, on as a substitute, scored in the 86th minute and again two minutes into added time at Estadio Cibao FC in Santiago.

Fast starting LAFC hit Real España for six

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:50:49 +0000

February 17 – There are good starts to a game, and then there are dream starts. At Estadio Francisco Morazán in the capital of Honduras, San Pedro Sula, LAFC had the latter.

After just 55 seconds when David Martínez was fouled in the penalty area by Juan Capeluto after a sensational dummy. LAFC all time goal scorer, Denis Bouanga, made no mistake from 12 yards, and the tone was set for a 6-1 thumping in the 1st leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup,

The post Fast starting LAFC hit Real España for six appeared first on Inside World Football.

Nashville take 2-goal lead and Atletico Ottawa back to Tennessee

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:45:49 +0000

February 17 – Nashville SC made it a difficult Champions Cup debut for Atletico Ottawa at Hamilton Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, securing a 2-0 lead for the second leg at home next Tuesday.

Atleti, who only debuted in the Canadian Premier League in 2025, were playing their ‘home’ leg in Hamilton due to renovations at TD Place, Ottawa City.

Atlético Ottawa started with just five players whos from the CPL Final.

FC Cincinnati face the unknown of O&M FC in the Dominican Republic

Paul Nicholson — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 01:27:23 +0000

February 17 – The Dominican Republic is one of Concacaf’s challenger nations looking to join its elite group of countries that are competitive in qualification for major international tournaments.

Underpinning that is a fast improving and competitive domestic club game that enables its players to develop at home.

The next big test of how fast they are developing is the first round Champions Cup tie between O&M FC (Universidad Organización y Método) and FC Cincinnati.

Romero hat-trick leads Cruz Azul rout of Vancouver FC

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:36:41 +0000

February 13 – With a three-nil lead from the 1st leg of their Champions Cup two-legged affair versus Vancouver FC, Mexican powerhouse, Cruz Azul, coasted to an eight-nil aggregate win.

A hat trick from Luka Romero (pictured) underpinned the five-goal dismantling of Vancouver.

At the fourth biggest stadium in Mexico, the Estadio Cuauhtémoc was only partially full for this display of ruthless attacking football.

From the opening whistle, La Máquina Celeste showed that they were a class above their Canadian opposition;

Monterrey clean up at home as Xelajú miss chance

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:09:43 +0000

February 12 – Last week in Guatemala, a 1-1 draw gave both CF Monterrey and CSD Xelajú M.C. plenty to play for as they hunted a last 16 spot. Ultimately Xelajú didn’t have enough and went down 2-0.

A much-changed CF Monterrey XI had six new faces from the first leg as Domènec Torrent looked to play his strongest side. With Sergio Canales and the well-travelled Anthony Martial, supporting the big Serbian striker,

Scoreless draw is enough for Club América to progress past Olimpia

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:04:47 +0000

February 11 – A 0-0 draw at Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City was enough to see Club America into the last 16. Olimpia will rue their missed opportunity to upset a giant of the world game.

Club América came into the match with a 2-1 lead after winning the first leg in Honduras with a controlled performance that showed their ability to flex their line up and change their tactics seamlessly.

Vancouver FC have a mountain to climb in Puebla

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:00:46 +0000

February 12 – The Concacaf Champions Cup defending champions Cruz Azul made short work of tournament debutants, Vancouver FC, in British Columbia.

Despite an almost 6,000-mile round trip, La Máquina, scored twice in the first half through Gabriel Fernandez, who was the man-of-the-match, and Amaury Morales.

Agustín Palavecino provided the insurance in the 65th minute, and despite a short spell of pressure by the Canadians, Emmanuel Ochoa kept the clean sheet to give Los Cementeros a comfortable 3-0 win as they head back to Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla.

Pumas lack bite as San Diego lay down title creds

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 23:33:05 +0000

February 11 – After one of the most dominating Champions Cup displays ever seen by a Major League Soccer team, San Diego FC carried a three-goal cushion to the home of Pumas UNAM in the 1st round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

It would prove enough as the three-time winners of the tournament could only find one goal, losing 4-2 on aggregate.

San Diego coach, Mikey Varas, obviously loved what he saw last week at Snapdragon Stadium and named the same team that had scored four in an explosive 20-minute period in the second-half.

Tigres too hot for battling Forge FC

Paul Nicholson — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 23:10:03 +0000

February 10 – Two goals from Rodrigo Aguirre in a 4-1 win over Forge FC put Tigres UANL into the last 16 of the Champions Cup.

In a game that Tigres dominated from the start, it still took three second half goals to overcome the obstinate Canadian resistance.

Tigres had more than 70% of possession and with all that time on the ball they had 17 shots, but still allowed Forge nine shots of their own who were competitive until the last 10 minutes.

The post Tigres too hot for battling Forge FC appeared first on Inside World Football.

Monterrey salvage a draw in added time at Xelajú

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 06:59:17 +0000

February 4 – It took added time and a thunderous strike for LigaMx’s Monterrey to salvage a draw against Xelajú MC in Guatemala City.

Xelajú thought they had done enough to take a 1-0 lead to Monterrey next week with a goal in the 83’. Joffré Escobar headed in powerfully from a deep cross by Javier González.

But with the clock 2’ into added time Jesús Corona equalised for Rayados with a spectacular right-footed hit from outside the box.

Cruz Azul hand Vancouver FC a big league lesson

Paul Nicholson — Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:59:15 +0000

February 4 – When making your Concacaf Champions Cup debut, you’re always hopeful of a favorable draw; unfortunately for Canada’s Vancouver FC, they were paired with the defending and seven-time champions, Cruz Azul.

Having earned a Champions Cup berth by reaching the Canadian Championship final last year, VFC prepared in Phoenix to build fitness ahead of the fixture; however, with La Máquina (The Machine) having four games under their belts in Liga MX,

San Diego stun Pumas with four goals in 18 minutes

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:46:31 +0000

February 3 – While not a full house at Snapdragon Stadium, a tasty atmosphere greeted Pumas UNAM as they travelled north to meet San Diego FC.

Without a full pre-season behind them, SDFC, making their debut in the tournament, would have to get off to a hot start against a club that was already four games into their domestic season, and fresh off spanking Santos 4-0 in Liga MX.

Mikey Varas had his team press and press high from the opening whistle.

Club América squeeze past Olimpia in final minutes

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:41:07 +0000

February 3 – Seven times Champions Cup winners Club América opened their quest for an eighth title with a 2-1 away win against CD Olimpia at the Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

An at times pedestrian first half gave way to a pulsating second half that saw Olimpia equalise Victor Davila’s opener with a Jorge Alvarez beauty from outside the box, only for Ramon Juarez (pictured) to sneak in the winner with three minutes to go.

Tigres founder on Forge’s cast iron defence

Paul Nicholson — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:40:41 +0000

February 3 – Forge FC’s debut goalkeeper Dimitry Bertaud welded his goal shut to keep out a marauding Tigres UANL for a 0-0 first leg draw in Hamilton, Canada.

It was a big performance from the Canadians who were only formed in 2019 but are already in their fourth Champions Cup. They have been knocked out every time by Liga MX teams and are yet to get a win in the competition but they have now given themselves an outside chance to progress to the last 16.

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