FC Cincinnati Face Mexican Club Tigres UANL in First Leg of Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16
MLS FC Cincinnati

FC Cincinnati Face Mexican Club Tigres UANL in First Leg of Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16

Published on March 11, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Cincinnati News Release


FC Cincinnati face Mexican club Tigres UANL on Thursday, March 12 at TQL Stadium in the first leg of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. The Orange and Blue seek to advance to the Champions Cup Quarterfinals for the first time in club history, but must first get past a Tigres side which eliminated Cincinnati in this round last season.

Kickoff from TQL Stadium is set for 8 p.m. ET and tickets remain available at FCCincinnati.com/Tickets or by calling 513-977-KICK. The match airs on Concacaf's broadcast partners: Fox Sports 2, the Fox Sports App and FoxSports.com in English, and on TUDN and ViX in Spanish. The Official English Radio home of FC Cincinnati, iHeart Media ESPN 1530, will broadcast the match.

The second leg of the Round of 16 series will be at Estadio Universitario - nicknamed El Volcán - in San Nicolás de los Garza, Nuevo Leon, Mexico next Thursday, March 19.

HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW #CINvTIG on THURSDAY, MARCH 12 (8 p.m. ET)

Watch: Fox Sports 2 (English) | TUDN (Spanish)

Stream: Fox Sports App & FoxSports.com (English) | ViX (Spanish)

English Local Radio: iHeart Media ESPN 1530

FC Cincinnati Social Media: X/Twitter | FC Cincinnati Communications X/Twitter Account | Instagram | Facebook

FC Cincinnati Official Mobile App: iOS | Android

FC CINCINNATI NOTES

Rematch Awaits - For the third consecutive season, FC Cincinnati advanced past Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup and enter the Round of 16. For the second straight year, it is Mexican club Tigres UANL who the Orange and Blue will face in this stage of the competition.

In 2025, Tigres secured a 1-1 draw in Leg One at TQL Stadium and won 3-1 at home to win on aggregate, 4-2. In the crucial first leg, FC Cincinnati have yet to win the prior two seasons in this round, falling 1-0 at home to CF Monterrey in 2024 and drawing 1-1 last season.

FC Cincinnati Against Liga MX - Thursday marks FC Cincinnati's 12th all-time match against a Liga MX opponent in all competitions. The Orange and Blue are 4-4-3 in the previous 11 matches.

Roman Empire - FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano will make his 150th appearance for FC Cincinnati the next time he takes the field. He will become just the fourth player in the club's all-time history to reach the milestone (Kubo, Hagglund, Acosta).

FC Cincinnati In Non-MLS Regular Season - Since 2019, FC Cincinnati are 21-12-11 in 44 non-MLS Regular Season matches.

A Rare Thursday - The fixture with Tigres marks FC Cincinnati's 12th match on a Thursday since 2019, the first since hosting Chivas Guadalajara in last season's Leagues Cup. FC Cincinnati are 5-6-0 in the prior 11 Thursday matches.

A Refresh On The Champions Cup - FC Cincinnati are 5-3-2 all-time in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The Orange and Blue added two wins to the tally in Round One, defeating Dominican club O&M FC 13-0 on aggregate. The 9-0 win in the second leg set numerous club records for FC Cincinnati, including most goals and goal contributions in a match and the largest margin of victory, all-time, for FC Cincinnati.

SCOUTING TIGRES UANL

Record: 5-4-1 (16 points)

Liga MX Standings: 6th

Head Coach: Gonzalo Pizzaro

Leading Scorer (Apertura): 8 - Ángel Correa, Juan Brunetta

Tigres UANL enter this season's Concacaf Champions Cup seeking their second Champions Cup title in club history, the first since 2020. Three-time runners-up in the competition and eight-time Liga MX champions, Tigres are among Mexico's most historic and successful clubs.

Tigres are 10 matches into their 2026 Apertura campaign. At 5-4-1, a mixed bag of results includes a win over their crosstown rivals CF Monterrey over the weekend, but also three losses in their last five league games.

In Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup, Tigres traveled to Canada to play Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League. After a frigid, scoreless leg one, Tigres won 4-2 in the second leg to advance to the Round of 16.

Head Coach Guido Pizarro leads the side in his second year as manager. The former Tigres midfielder notably took over the job one day prior to playing FC Cincinnati last season in the Champions Cup and just three days after starting at midfield for the side in a Liga MX match. The now-manager appeared for Tigres over 350 times over 12 years before moving into his new role on the bench.

In his first year with the club, Argentine midfielder Ángel Correa has been the standout offensive star for Tigres, earning 18 goal contributions across the Apertura and Clausura seasons. Joining from Spanish giant Atletico Madrid of La Liga, the 31-year-old leads all outfield players in minutes played across those two seasons as well.

His chief running mate, Juan Brunetta, is another Argentine international, who is now in his third year with Tigres after playing in Italy and England in his previous stops. The attacking midfielder has tallied 16 goal contributions in 27 matches, five of which have come in the 2026 Clausura season.

Stay up-to-date and connected with FC Cincinnati! Select your schedule of choice to receive the latest match details, events and other relevant messages directly to your digital calendar. For up-to-the-minute information about FC Cincinnati, visit the team's official website at fccincinnati.com, or follow the team on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok at @FCCincinnati. Additionally, fans are encouraged to download the team's official mobile app on iOS or Android for instant access to mobile tickets, team content and match notifications.

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