Published on Tuesday, March 5, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services

The two soccer professional teams of Alajuela of Costa Rica and New England Revolution of Boston, U.S. will begin their journey in the 2024 Champions Cup.

According to the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concaf), the game is set to be held Wednesday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

These two sides have met before in Champions Cup play, as they were opponents in both the 2003 and 2006 editions. On both occasions, the Ticos team emerged with the series victory with a combined record of 2W-1D-1L and they will be looking to improve upon that on Wednesday.

Alajuela qualified directly for the Round of 16 as champions of last fall’s Central American Cup and now one of the most talented sides in the Central American region will target a deep run in the Champions Cup.

It is their 27th appearance in the tournament, with two of those ending with Alajuela lifting the trophy in 1986 and 2004.

Goalkeeper Leonel Moreira is set to appear in his 10th different Champions Cup, while another veteran, midfielder Celso Borges, will have to play an integral part in the Ticos’ success. Borges led all players in passes in the Central American Cup with 530.

In attack, Alajuela has a plethora of options, led by Joshua Navarro, who led the side in assists in the Central American Cup with four, while also scoring three goals.

New England countered with a squad that was very impressive in eliminating Panama’s CA Independiente 4-0 on aggregate in Round One with two clean-sheet victories (1-0 and 3-0).

Tomas Chancalay was one of the leaders with two goals, while midfield maestro Carles Gil served as the primary playmaker. Gil took five shots against CAI and had an assist, giving him three career Champions Cup assists in four matches.

The Revolution also has a dangerous striker in Giacomo Vrioni, who set the table as well for teammates against CAI with a pair of assists.

Last week, the U.S. Philadelphia Union won 3-2 against Costa Rica Deportivo Saprissa in the first leg of their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One series.

Also, the Canada women's team played a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in the 2024 Concacaf Women's Gold Cup last week.

The game will be broadcast live on National TV: FS2 (English) TUDN (Spanish), and Star+ or ESPN international channels. The game starts at 6 p.m EST  or 5 p.m. Costa Rican time.

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