FC Cincinnati and Seattle Sounders FC earned statement wins in their 2026Â Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 openers on Thursday night.
Kévin Denkey's brace powered Cincinnati to a shock 3-0 defeat of LIGA MX powerhouse Tigres UANL. Meanwhile, Paul Arriola scored a brace of his own to guide the Sounders to a 3-0 victory at Cascadia rivals Vancouver Whitecaps FC.Â
The series winners will advance to the tournament quarterfinals in April, chasing a CCC crown that grants a spot in the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2026 FIFA Intercontinental Cup.
FC Cincinnati 3, Tigres UANL 0
Cincinnati are in the driver's seat against one of LIGA MX's top sides thanks to Thursday's lopsided result at TQL Stadium.Â
Kévin Denkey led the way with a standout 2g/1a performance. The club-record signing took advantage of a goalkeeping mishap from Nahuel Guzmán to open the score early, before assisting on Tom Barlow's 53rd-minute breakaway goal. Â
Denkey completed his brace in the final minutes to give Cincy a three-goal cushion ahead of Leg 2 at Estadio Universitario on March 19. The aggregate winner will face Vancouver or Seattle in the quarterfinals.
Goals
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0, Seattle Sounders FC 3
Paul Arriola, who tore his ACL during the 2025 CCC, marked his first start in over a year by scoring twice in a 3-0 Sounders win at BC Place.Â
Arriola struck on the verge of halftime after a nice linkup with Jesús Ferreira, then got a fortuitous rebound to make it a brace in the second half. Substitute Paul Rothrock came off the bench and added a late goal that rounded out the result.
Seattle will have three away goals to work with when hosting Leg 2 at ONE Spokane Stadium on March 18. FC Cincinnati or Tigres UANL await in the quarterfinals next month.
Goals
