2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup

2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup
CONCACAF Central American Cup logo
Tournament details
Dates28 July – 6 December 2026
Teams20 (from 7 associations)
Tournament statistics
Matches played40
Goals scored111 (2.78 per match)
Top scorer(s)Mexico Ronaldo Cisneros
(4 goals)
← 2025
2027 →
All statistics correct as of 27 August 2026.

The 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup will be the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Central American Cup, the first-tier annual international club football competition in the Central American region. It is contested by clubs whose football associations are affiliated with the Central American Football Union (UNCAF), a sub-confederation of CONCACAF. The competition will take place from 28 July to 6 December 2026.[1]

Alajuelense are the three-time defending champions, having won the first three editions of the tournament, most recently defeating Xelajú in the 2025 final.[1]

The four semi-finalists and the two play-in winners will qualify for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup. The tournament champions will receive a bye to the Champions Cup Round of 16, while the remaining five qualified clubs will enter in Round One.[1]


Teams

Twenty teams from the seven UNCAF member associations qualified for the tournament based on their results in their respective domestic competitions.

The allocation of slots for this edition was as follows:

  • Costa Rica and Guatemala: 4 berths
  • El Salvador, Honduras and Panama: 3 berths
  • Nicaragua: 2 berths
  • Belize: 1 berth
Association Team Qualifying method
 Belize (1 berth) Verdes 2025–26 Premier League of Belize Apertura champions with the most points accumulated in the overall standings
 Costa Rica
(4 berths)		 Alajuelense 2025–26 Liga FPD Apertura champions
Herediano 2025–26 Liga FPD Clausura champions
Saprissa 2025–26 Liga FPD best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
Cartaginés 2025–26 Liga FPD next best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
 El Salvador
(3 berths)		 L.A. Firpo 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador Apertura champions
FAS 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador Clausura champions
Alianza 2025–26 Primera División de El Salvador best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
 Guatemala
(4 berths)		 Antigua 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Apertura champions
Municipal 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Clausura champions and Apertura runners-up
Xelajú 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala Clausura runners-up
Mixco 2025–26 Liga Nacional de Guatemala best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
 Honduras
(3 berths)		 Olimpia 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional Apertura champions
Motagua 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional Clausura champions
Marathón 2025–26 Honduran Liga Nacional best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
 Nicaragua
(2 berths)		 Diriangén 2025–26 Liga Primera de Nicaragua Apertura champions
Real Estelí 2025–26 Liga Primera de Nicaragua Clausura finalists
 Panama
(3 berths)		 Plaza Amador 2025 Liga Panameña de Fútbol Clausura champions
Alianza 2025–26 Liga Panameña de Fútbol best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified
UMECIT 2025–26 Liga Panameña de Fútbol next best club in the overall standings not otherwise qualified

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on 26 May 2026, at 20:00 ET (UTC−4), in Miami, Florida, United States.[2] The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 25 May 2026.[2][3]

Pot 1
Team Rank
Costa Rica Alajuelense 39
Costa Rica Herediano 42
Honduras Olimpia 43
Guatemala Municipal 45
Pot 2
Team Rank
Costa Rica Saprissa 46
Panama Plaza Amador 55
Guatemala Antigua 57
Honduras Motagua 58
Pot 3
Team Rank
Guatemala Xelajú 59
Costa Rica Cartaginés 60
Honduras Marathón 62
Guatemala Mixco 64
Pot 4
Team Rank
Panama Alianza 68
El Salvador Firpo 71
Nicaragua Real Estelí 72
El Salvador FAS 75
Pot 5
Team Rank
Nicaragua Diriangén 80
El Salvador Alianza 82
Panama UMECIT 88
Belize Verdes 182

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.[2]

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is as follows.[4]

Stage Round First leg or match dates Second leg
Group stage Matchday 1 28–30 July
Matchday 2 4–6 August
Matchday 3 11–13 August
Matchday 4 18–20 August
Matchday 5 25–27 August
Knockout stage Quarter-finals 8–10 September 15–17 September
Semi-finals and play-in 20–22 October 27–29 October
Final 2 December 6 December

Group stage

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 winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALA FIR PLA XEL DIR
1 Costa Rica Alajuelense 4 3 0 1 7 3 +4 9 Advance to Quarter-finals — — 3–1 1–0 —
2 El Salvador Firpo 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4 7 1–0 — — — 4–0
3 Panama Plaza Amador 4 2 0 2 10 10 0 6 — 2–1 — 5–2 —
4 Guatemala Xelajú 4 1 1 2 5 7 −2 4 — 1–1 — — 2–0
5 Nicaragua Diriangén 4 1 0 3 5 11 −6 3 1–3 — 4–2 — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ALI MAR HER EST ANT
1 El Salvador Alianza 4 3 0 1 5 4 +1 9 Advance to Quarter-finals — — 1–0 — 2–1
2 Honduras Marathón 4 2 1 1 6 1 +5 7 0–1 — — 3–0 —
3 Costa Rica Herediano 4 2 1 1 4 2 +2 7 — 0–0 — — 2–1
4 Nicaragua Real Estelí 4 2 0 2 5 6 −1 6 3–1 — 0–2 — —
5 Guatemala Antigua 4 0 0 4 2 9 −7 0 — 0–3 — 0–2 —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification OLI SAP MIX AFC UME
1 Honduras Olimpia 4 4 0 0 9 3 +6 12 Advance to Quarter-finals — 2–1 2–0 — —
2 Costa Rica Saprissa 4 3 0 1 8 4 +4 9 — — 3–0 2–1 —
3 Guatemala Mixco 4 2 0 2 6 6 0 6 — — — 2–0 4–1
4 Panama Alianza 4 1 0 3 3 7 −4 3 1–3 — — — 1–0
5 Panama UMECIT 4 0 0 4 3 9 −6 0 1–2 1–2 — — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification CAR MOT MUN FAS VER
1 Costa Rica Cartaginés 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8[a] Advance to Quarter-finals — — — 2–0 4–0
2 Honduras Motagua 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8[a] 1–1 — — 1–0 —
3 Guatemala Municipal 4 1 3 0 4 3 +1 6 1–1 1–1 — — —
4 El Salvador FAS 4 1 1 2 5 5 0 4 — — 1–1 — 4–1
5 Belize Verdes 4 0 0 4 1 14 −13 0 — 0–5 0–1 — —
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results (points, goal difference, goals scored); 5) Fair play points; 6) Drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. 1 2 Fair play points: Cartaginés –6, Motagua –8.

Knockout stage

The knockout stage will be played in a single-elimination tournament with the following rules:

  • Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis. The home team of the second leg in each tie will be determined separately for each round as follows (Regulations Article 12.12):
    • In the quarter-finals, the group winners will host the second leg.
    • In the semi-finals and play-in, the higher-ranked teams based on total points accumulated in the group stage and the quarterfinals will host the second leg.
    • In the finals, the higher-ranked team based on total points accumulated in the group stage, quarterfinals and semi-finals will host the second leg.
  • In each round, if tied on aggregate, the away goals rule would be used. If still tied, 30 minutes of extra time would be played but the away goals scored during this time would not serve as a tie-breaking criteria. If still tied after extra time, the penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner (Regulations Article 12.11.2.1).

Qualified teams

Group Winners Runners-up
A Costa Rica Alajuelense El Salvador Firpo
B El Salvador Alianza Honduras Marathón
C Honduras Olimpia Costa Rica Saprissa
D Costa Rica Cartaginés Honduras Motagua

Seeding

Teams will be seeded 1–8 based on results in the group stage and assigned a position in a fixed bracket. For each round, the host of the second leg will be determined based on performance in all previous rounds, including the group stage.

The following was the seeding for the quarter-finals round only:

Seed Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Matchups
1 C Honduras Olimpia 4 4 0 0 9 3 +6 12 Match QF1
2 A Costa Rica Alajuelense 4 3 0 1 7 3 +4 9 Match QF3
3 B El Salvador Alianza 4 3 0 1 5 4 +1 9 Match QF4
4 D Costa Rica Cartaginés 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8 Match QF2
5 C Costa Rica Saprissa 4 3 0 1 8 4 +4 9 Match QF2
6 D Honduras Motagua 4 2 2 0 8 2 +6 8 Match QF4
7 B Honduras Marathón 4 2 1 1 6 1 +5 7 Match QF3
8 A El Salvador Firpo 4 2 1 1 7 3 +4 7 Match QF1
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Away goals scored; 5) Wins; 6) Away wins; 7) Disciplinary points (1 point for yellow card, 3 points for second yellow card/indirect red card, 4 points for direct red card, 5 points for yellow card and direct red card); 8) Drawing of lots (Regulations Article 12.11.4).

Bracket

The bracket was decided based on the quarter-finals seeding.

Play-inQuarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinals
7Honduras Marathón
2Costa Rica Alajuelense
Loser QF3Winner QF3
Loser QF4Winner QF4
6Honduras Motagua
3El Salvador Alianza
Winner SF2
Winner SF1
5Costa Rica Saprissa
4Costa Rica Cartaginés
Costa Rica Loser QF2Costa Rica Winner QF2
Loser QF1Winner QF1
8El Salvador Firpo
1Honduras Olimpia

Quarter-finals

The first legs will be played from 8 to 10 September, and the second legs from 15 to 17 September 2026.[4]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Olimpia HondurasQF1El Salvador Firpo8–10 Sep15–17 Sep
Cartaginés Costa RicaQF2Costa Rica Saprissa8–10 Sep15–17 Sep
Alajuelense Costa RicaQF3Honduras Marathón8–10 Sep15–17 Sep
Alianza El SalvadorQF4Honduras Motagua8–10 Sep15–17 Sep

Play-in

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Loser QF1PI1Costa Rica Loser QF220–22 Oct27–29 Oct
Loser QF3PI2Loser QF420–22 Oct27–29 Oct

Semi-finals

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner QF1SF1Costa Rica Winner QF220–22 Oct27–29 Oct
Winner QF3SF2Winner QF420–22 Oct27–29 Oct

Finals

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Winner SF1FWinner SF22 Dec6 Dec

Top goalscorers

  Team eliminated for this round.
  Team inactive for this round.
As of 30 October 2025
Rank Player Team GS1 GS2 GS3 GS4 GS5 QF1 QF2 PI1 PI2 SF1 SF2 F1 F2 Total
1 Honduras Jorge Benguché Honduras Olimpia 1111121 8
2 Costa Rica Marco Ureña Costa Rica Cartaginés 3111 6
3 Costa Rica Johan Venegas Costa Rica Cartaginés 32 5
4 Honduras Brayan Moya Honduras Real España 1111 4
Panama Everardo Rose Panama Plaza Amador 1111
6 Nicaragua Junior Arteaga Nicaragua Diriangén 111 3
Paraguay Pedro Báez Guatemala Xelajú 111
Honduras Jerry Bengtson Honduras Olimpia 111
Paraguay Mauro Caballero El Salvador Águila 21
Costa Rica Anthony Hernández Costa Rica Alajuelense 111
Cuba Marcel Hernández Costa Rica Herediano 111
Panama Martín Ruíz Panama Sporting San Miguelito 111
Panama Jorlian Sánchez Panama Plaza Amador 21
Brazil Gustavo Souza Honduras Real España 21

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Qualified Teams for 2026 Central American Cup". Miami, Florida: CONCACAF. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "2026 Central American Cup Participating Clubs and Draw Pots Confirmed". CONCACAF. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  3. ↑ "Concacaf Club Ranking as of May 25, 2026". CONCACAF. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 "2026 Central American Cup Schedule Confirmed". Miami, Florida: CONCACAF. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.

Category:2026 in Central American football Category:July 2026 sports events in North America Category:August 2026 sports events in North America Category:September 2026 sports events in North America Category:October 2026 sports events in North America

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