Concacaf defined the dates and times for the Central American Cup between Alajuelense of Costa Rica and Xelaju of Guatemala, after both teams eliminated the Honduran teams Olimpia and Real Espana, where the Costa Rican team will be looking for their third consecutive title.

The first leg will be played in Costa Rica, where the Guatemalans will fight to make history in this competition by vying for their first championship. This match will take place on Wednesday, November 26th at the Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium in Alajuela, Costa Rica.

The decisive leg will be played at the Cementos Progreso Stadium in Guatemala City on Wednesday, December 3rd, where Club Xelaju will attempt to break the Costa Ricans' winning streak. It looks like a difficult task, but not impossible, especially given the high motivation of the Xelaju team.

Xelaju's Path

Xelaju eliminated the tough Real CD Espana of Honduras 2-1 in a dramatic penalty shootout, after both teams finished regulation time tied 1-1. They took the lead in the 50th minute with a goal from Daniel Aparicio, forcing the Guatemalan home team to fight tooth and nail until they found the equalizer in a desperate struggle. Then, in the 90+6 minute, Juan Cardona finally sent the match to a penalty shootout to decide one of the finalists. In the penalty shootout, Ludwin Reyes and Fredy Gondola scored for Xelaju, while only Devron Garcia managed to convert his shot for the Honduran side, securing the historic victory and capping off a successful tournament run with three wins and only one loss.

The Alajuelense Outlook

While Alajuelense reached its third consecutive final thanks to a 3-0 penalty shootout victory over Olimpia of Honduras after a 1-1 draw in regulation time in a tight match, the Honduran side took the lead in the 37th minute with a goal from Jorge Benguche, assisted by a backheel from Jerry Bengtson.

Alajuelense reacted strongly in the second half when Oscar “Machito” Ramirez's men increased the pace and adopted an attacking style of play, allowing Anthony Hernandez, the star of the match, to equalize in the 71st minute with a powerful shot inside the box that beat goalkeeper Edrick Menjivar.

The match remained hard-fought until the penalty shootout, where the Costa Ricans They won 3-0 with successful shots from Alexis Gamboa, Ronald Matarrita, and Guillermo Villalobos, while Carlos Sanchez, Kevin Lopez, and Jorge Benguche missed for the home team, sealing their tragic fate.