MLS performance in the CONCACAF Champions League

Major League Soccer teams have participated in the CONCACAF Champions League each season since the tournament began its current format in 2008–09. Previously, MLS teams played in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. MLS may send up to five teams to the CONCACAF Champions League each season — up to four from the United States, and up to one from Canada.

The first MLS team to finish first in its group was Real Salt Lake in 2010.[1] The best performance by an MLS team to date occurred in 2018, when Toronto FC reached the finals, before losing to Mexico's Guadalajara 4–2 on penalties following a 3–3 scoreline on aggregate.[2] Real Salt Lake and Montreal Impact have both also reached the finals, losing to Monterrey in 2011 and América in 2015, respectively.[1] MLS teams have never won the Champions League under its current format since 2008–09, and therefore have not sent a team to the FIFA Club World Cup.

Performance by round

The following table shows the number of MLS participants in the Champions League each season, as well as the number of MLS teams that have reached various stages in the knockout rounds. MLS teams performed poorly during the first two years, as fixture congestion from the Superliga tournament as well as CONCACAF Champions League preliminary rounds meant that MLS teams often fielded teams without their first choice players.

Beginning in 2018, the Champions League format was changed to eliminate group play and the knockout round starts with sixteen teams rather than eight.[3]

TournamentParticipantsQuarter-
finalists		Semi-
finalists		FinalistsChampions
2008–0941———
2009–1051———
2010–115211—
2011–12531——
2012–13532——
2013–1453———
2014–155211—
2015–1654———
2016–17532——
20185321—
2019541——
202054

Notes:

  • MLS sent only four teams to the Champions League in 2008–09 because the Canadian team, the Montreal Impact, played in the minor-league United Soccer Leagues at the time.

Performance by opposition in knockout series

The following table shows the performance of MLS teams in the knockout rounds for each home-and-away series for opponents from various leagues. During the first nine seasons of the Champions League, MLS teams did not play any foreign teams in knockout stage other than Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the change in tournament format in the 2018 season, specifically with the knockout rounds now including a round of 16, MLS teams play knockout matches against a greater variety of countries.

In the Champions League knockout rounds, MLS teams have played Mexican teams more than any other country, in some years facing multiple matchups.[4] Seattle's 2013 quarterfinal win over Mexico's Tigres was the first time since the Champions League format began in 2008–09 that an MLS team eliminated a Mexican team in the knockout rounds.[5] Montreal repeated the feat in 2015 when they beat Mexico's Pachuca in the quarterfinals.[6] In 2018, Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls both advanced to the semifinals by beating Mexican teams, the first time that two MLS teams eliminated two Mexican teams in the same tournament.[7] MLS' improved performance against Mexican teams was attributed to MLS club academies focused on player development, and an increase in player salaries through the league's Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) program.[8]

Tournament Mexico Costa Rica Panama Honduras El Salvador Guatemala Dominican Republic
2008–090–1——————
2009–100–1——————
2010–110–11–0—————
2011–120–2——————
2012–131–31–0—————
2013–140–3——————
2014–151–11–1—————
2015–160–4——————
2016–170–2—1–0————
20183–3—0–11–01–0——
20191–41–01–1——1–01–0
20201–02–0—1–1———
Totals7–25 (22%)6–1 (86%)2–2 (50%)2–1 (66%)1–0 (100%)1–0 (100%)1–0 (100%)

CONCACAF Club Index

The CONCACAF Club Index was introduced in 2018 as a way of seeding the 16 teams in the knockout rounds.[9] The index does not rank clubs but ranks member association qualification slots and is based on the past five prior years' results.[10] Points are awarded as follows: 4 for participation, 3 for a win, 2 for Champions, 1 for draw, and 1 for stage advanced.

The following table shows the index for the five Canadian and American teams. For context, the table also shows the index for the lowest-ranked Mexican slot and the highest-ranked Central American slot.

2018 Rank: Slot (points) 2019 Rank: Slot (points)
4 — MEX4 (101) 4 — CAN1 (84)
5 — USA3 (76) 5 — USA3 (77)
6 — CAN1 (73) 6 — MEX4 (75)
7 — USA1 (73) 7 — USA4 (65)
8 — USA2 (71) 8 — USA1 (64)
9 — USA4 (71) 9 — PAN1 (57)
10 — CRC1 (65) 10 — USA2 (56)

Performance by team

20 MLS teams have appeared in the CONCACAF Champions League since the inaugural 2008–09 season.

Real Salt Lake in 2010–11, Montreal Impact in 2014–15 and Toronto FC in 2018 are the only teams that played in the competition's finals, but all three have failed to win the continental title.

Canadian teams in MLS – Montreal Impact, Toronto FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – qualify to the Champions League via a separate competition, the Canadian Championship, and they represent the Canadian Soccer Association. The only time MLS standings were used for Canadian teams qualification was the 2014 season to determine the 2015–16 Champions League representative as the Canadian Championship format was changed that season.

Starting in 2018, the group stage was removed, so MLS teams now start in the Round of 16 (first round).

As of February 25, 2020
TeamAppGPWDLGFGAGDBest Result
Atlanta United FC26312107+3Quarterfinals
Chivas USA*1201113–2Preliminary round
Colorado Rapids28224914–5Group stage
Columbus Crew SC2166462022–2Quarterfinals
FC Dallas3189362725+2Semifinals
D.C. United42611693836+2Quarterfinals
Houston Dynamo52811893634+2Quarterfinals
LA Galaxy53015695236+16Semifinals
Los Angeles FC1100102–2TBD
Montreal Impactǂ4156542419+5Finals
New England Revolution1200216–5Preliminary round
New York City FC1110052+3TBD
New York Red Bulls5228862719+8Semifinals
Portland Timbers285122213+9Group Stage
Real Salt Lake32211653422+12Finals
San Jose Earthquakes1622264+2Quarterfinals
Seattle Sounders FC637166155652+4Semifinals
Sporting Kansas City4209473130+1Semifinals
Toronto FCǂ6341410104645+1Finals
Vancouver Whitecaps FCǂ2126241612+4Semifinals

ǂ – teams representing Canada
* – team folded
App – CCL appearances
GP – games played
W, D, L – win, draw, loss

GF, GA – goals for, goals against

Team (# of participation) 08–09 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 2018 2019 2020
Toronto FC (6) • PR GS SF GS • F R16 •
Seattle Sounder (6) • GS QF SF • QF • QF • R16
LA Galaxy (5) • PR QF SF QF • QF • • • •
Houston Dynamo (5) QF GS • QF GS • QF •
New York Red Bulls (5) • PR • GS • QF SF QF •
DC United (4) GS GS • QF QF •
Montreal Impact (4) QF • GS F • TBD
Sporting Kansas City (4) • QF GS • GS • SF •
FC Dallas (3) • GS • SF R16 •
Real Salt Lake (3) • F • GS • QF •
Atlanta United (2) Did Not Exist • QF TBD
Colorado Rapids (2) • GS • R16 •
Columbus Crew (2) • QF QF •
Portland Timbers (2) • GS • GS •
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2) • GS SF •
Chivas USA (1) PR • Team Dissolved
Los Angeles FC (1) Did Not Exist • TBD
NE Revolution (1) PR •
New York City FC (1) Did Not Exist • TBD
San Jose Earthquakes (1) • QF •

Records

Biggest win: 6 goals margin
Portland Timbers 6–0 Alpha United (2014–15 Group stage)

Biggest defeat: 5 goals margin
Santos Laguna 6–1 Seattle Sounders FC (2011–12 Quarter-finals, first leg)
Monterrey 5–0 Sporting Kansas City (2019 Semi-finals, first leg)

Other continental competitions

MLS teams have participated in other continental competitions.

Copa Sudamericana
Main article: Copa Sudamericana
  • 2005 — D.C. United played in the Round of 16, where they lost 3–4 in aggregate over two legs (1–1, 2–3) to Chile's Universidad Católica.
  • 2007 — D.C. United played in the Round of 16, where they lost 2–2 on aggregate on away goals (2–1, 0–1) to Mexico's Guadalajara.

See also

References
  1. "The Throw-In: Real Salt Lake's Champions League run? For MLS' sake, forget it ever happened", MLS Soccer, March 20, 2014.
  2. "TFC suffers heartbreak on penalties in CONCACAF Champions League final". CBC Sports. April 25, 2018.
  3. "CONCACAF Champions League is Different, but Will MLS's Fortunes Change at All?", Sports Illustrated, February 20, 2018.
  4. "It’s MLS vs. Mexico in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals", Washington Post, Steven Goff, October 22, 2015.
  5. "CCL Match Recap: Seattle Sounders 3, Tigres UANL 1", MLS Soccer, March 13, 2013.
  6. "Montreal's epic moment caps CONCACAF Champions League QFs", ESPN FC, Arch Bell, March 6, 2015.
  7. "There's no longer a big gap in the level of play between Mexico's Liga MX and MLS, Donovan says", L.A. Times, Kevin Baxter, March 17, 2018.
  8. "CONCACAF Champions League will benefit from MLS wins over Liga MX", ESPN, Tom Marshall, March 15, 2018.
  9. "Q&A: Club Index for 2018 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League Draw". www.concacafchampionsleague.com. November 29, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  10. "CONCACAF announces draw procedure for 2018 Champions League", MLS Soccer, November 29, 2017.
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