TORONTO – Wednesday night’s CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final meeting between Toronto FC and Mexican club Tigres is a full-blown clash of champions.

One day after TFC completed its historic treble-winning season in a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders in the MLS Cup final in December, Tigres officially clinched its sixth Mexican league title by claiming the Apertura crown.

Based in Monterrey, Tigres is one of the top teams in Mexico’s Liga MX, having reached the finals of the past two Champions League tournaments. They also have a litany of international stars and a larger payroll than TFC, which has the most expensive roster in MLS.

While the Reds have been the most dominant side in MLS the past two years, they haven’t tested themselves against the best teams in the CONCACAF region. Wednesday’s showdown against Tigres, and next week’s return match in this Round of 16 series, figures to be the toughest test TFC has ever faced.

“This is the best team in Mexico for the last few years consistently,” Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio offered. “To win this tournament you have to beat the best teams, so it doesn’t matter that we’re playing them now. This group is very willing and excited, and we’re ready to go.”

It’s not often that Toronto enters a game as the underdog, but that’s the situation it faces against the Mexican champions. Still, TFC coach Greg Vanney believes his side can beat Tigres in this two-legged, aggregate series.

“I think our team is capable of getting a result anywhere on its day, and it comes down to executing,” Vanney stated. “We tend to be pretty good at creating chances. We’ve been stingy in the past defensively, and so we have to continue to do that.”

History, though, is working against the MLS champs.

Mexican clubs have won each of the last nine Champions Leagues finals since the inaugural tournament in 2008-09. Seven of those nine finals have pitted one Liga MX side against another. Mexican domination of this competition can’t be overstated.

TFC will also have to put the memory of Saturday’s 2-0 home loss to the Columbus Crew in its MLS season opener behind them.

“We have to start aggressive. We’re playing at home. … We have to forget about Saturday and start aggressive [versus Tigres]. We have so much quality in this team,” Dutch defender Gregory van der Wiel said.

“Just be aggressive and don’t let them play, and just play our game when we have the ball.”

The second leg of this quarter-final is scheduled for March 13 in Mexico.

Either TFC or Tigres will meet the winner of Club America (Mexico) versus Tauro (Panama) in the semifinals.

Sportsnet Tonight John Molinaro on TFC's loss to Columbus and match against Tigres March 04 2018 Your browser does not support the audio element.



Share Download

Gignac a threat for Tigres

Aside from a host of Mexican internationals, Tigres’ roster also includes French forward Andre-Pierre Gignac, former West Ham United winger Enner Valencia, and Chilean midfielder Eduardo Vargas.

“A very good player, very clever around the box,” Vanney said of Gignac. “He can be used in different ways. Sometimes they’ll use him as a second forward, and Valencia will stay high and he’ll kind of threaten space, and Gignac will drop as a midfielder and arrive in the box.

“We have to be heightened in terms of our awareness, we need to be collective in how we defend, we can’t get separated and split apart. We have to be pretty close to each other and we’ve got to team-defend well.”

Vazquez in doubt

TFC’s Victor Vazquez might not play in Wednesday’s match against Tigres after being subbed out in the second half of Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Columbus with a hip injury.

Vazquez trained with the team on Monday and Tuesday, but Vanney said he remains “day to day,” and that the club will see how he responds ahead of the Tigres match before deciding if he’ll play.

The potential loss of Vazquez would be a big blow for TFC beyond losing its star playmaker. Vazquez spent one season in Mexican club Cruz Azul before coming to Toronto last year, so he has experience playing in Mexico.

Regular season break

The Reds enjoy a bye in MLS this week and will next travel to Montreal to take on the Impact on March 17 in Week 3. Back-to-back home games against Real Salt Lake and D.C. United follow their trip to Montreal.