2025 Concacaf Champions Cup: Cavalry FC to play Pumas UNAM, Forge FC take on CF Monterrey in round one
The two Canadian Premier League entrants in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup now know their potential route to the final, after the tournament’s draw was conducted on Tuesday night. Both CPL teams’ journeys will begin with a clash against a Mexican giant, as Cavalry FC take on Pumas UNAM, and Forge face CF Monterrey.
Both Mexican sides qualified for the tournament by placing among the next highest-ranked non-champions in the 2023-24 Liga MX aggregate table.
The journey to the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup has officially begun. 🙌⚽
— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) December 11, 2024
Who will be crowned champion? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/90snnqn6g7
Pumas, managed by Gustavo Lima and featuring stars like César Huerta and Guillermo Martinez, have won the Concacaf Champions Cup three times, but not since 1989, and will therefore be hungry to return to the competition for the first time since 2022. They finished fourth in the 2024 Apertura competition, losing in the quarter-final stage.
For Cavalry, the potential round of 16 opponent is already determined: whichever of they or Pumas wins this first round tie will take on Central American Cup winners Alajuelense of Costa Rica.
Meanwhile, Monterrey are a fellow Liga MX giant, managed by former Bayern Munich and Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis. They have won this tournament five times, including in 2019 and 2021, going as far as the semifinals of the 2024 competition — in which they eliminated Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in the quarter-finals.
Rayados, as they’re often known, have plenty of attacking talent, including Spanish midfielder Sergio Canales, Argentine striker Lucas Ocampos, and domestic forward Germán Berterame. Plus, their side features other Mexican national team familiar faces like Jesús Corona and Héctor Moreno.
The winner of the Forge-Monterrey tie will play either TELUS Canadian Championship winners Vancouver Whitecaps or Costa Rican side Saprissa.
The 2025 competition will be Cavalry’s second, and Forge’s third, appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup, after both sides also represented the CPL last year. They qualified for this edition of the continental tournament by virtue of Cavalry winning the North Star Cup as playoff champions and Forge claiming the CPL’s regular season title.
Exact dates and times for each matchup are yet to be determined, but the first round of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup is slated to begin the first week of February.
