Why Cruz Azul Will Host Vancouver Whitecaps in the Concacaf Champions Cup Final

The Liga MX side finished higher in the Champions Cup standings.

Cruz Azul will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup Final / Courtesy of Concacaf

Liga MX giants Cruz Azul will host Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup final on June 1 at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario in Mexico City, the usual home of rivals Pumas UNAM.

While the Whitecaps knocked off Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF in the semifinal and Cruz Azul pushed past Tigres UANL, the Mexico City club earned hosting honors after topping the Concacaf Champions Cup points table. 

The points table measured each team’s points through their final six games after the first round of the Champions Cup, with Cruz Azul’s Leg 2 win over Tigres putting them on 11 points, ahead of Vancouver’s nine. 

The Final is set 🔥

🇨🇦 Vancouver vs Cruz Azul 🇲🇽

🗓️ June 1st pic.twitter.com/DES3tIwIw8

— Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) May 2, 2025

If Cruz Azul and Tigres had tied through 90 minutes, Vancouver would have hosted, having a better goal differential. Yet, the 82nd-minute penalty kick goal from Ángel Sepúlveda ensured the final would head to Mexico City. 

Cruz Azul has played at the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, with their usual home, the Estadio Azteca, currently under renovations ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

The stadium, which has Pumas UNAM as a primary tenant, could suit Vancouver just fine, too. In the quarterfinals, the Whitecaps eliminated Pumas on the same pitch with a 2–2 second-leg draw.

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How Many Games is the Concacaf Champions Cup Final?

The Concacaf Champions Cup will be played as a single match final for the third straight season / Courtesy of Concacaf

The 2025 final will be the third year that Concacaf crowns its continental champion through a single game, having ditched the previous home-and-away series that the two other Canadian clubs, Toronto FC and CF Montréal, failed to win in the past. 

The goal of the change was to create a single high-stakes matchup for the two sides while also mirroring Europe’s marquee UEFA Champions League final. However, due to the tournament's limited popularity, the final is hosted at the top team rather than a neutral, pre-established venue. 

Home advantage has also mattered in the final in the past. Last year, Columbus Crew SC fell to CF Pachuca, but they suggested they had suffered food poisoning ahead of the match, which held back their performances. 

In 2023, CF Monterrey won the tournament on their home pitch against Club América. 

Vancouver will look to become the first team in the tournament’s single-match final history to win away, while also seeking just the fourth Concacaf title ever won by an MLS side, after Seattle Sounders FC won the Champions League in 2022, and D.C. United and the LA Galaxy won in 1998 and 2000, respectively. 

The winner of the Concacaf Champions Cup will move on to the 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup and qualify for the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup.

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