Red Bulls captain Luis Robles and his teammates hope to have more reason to celebrate in the next month. Z(Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
The final spot in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League comes down to two teams as the Red Bulls or Portland Timbers will clinch the final spot in the tournament for a chance to represent the federation at the Club World Cup.
Portland will clinch a spot if it wins the MLS Cup, while the Red Bulls would clinch if they won the title, or if either Atlanta United or Sporting Kansas City take the championship. With SKC and Atlanta already securing a berth in the tournament, should either team win MLS Cup, the designated slot would go to the next U.S.-based team with the most aggregate points over the 2017-2018 MLS regular seasons (Red Bulls with 121 points).
In addition to competing against the top teams in the region at CCL, the champion of MLS Cup also will win the right to host the 2020 Campeones Cup in what will be the second match between the champions of MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.
2019 CCL qualification scenarios
* Portland clinches a spot in 2019 CCL by winning 2018 MLS Cup
* The Red Bulls clinch a spot in 2019 CCL by winning 2018 MLS Cup
* The Red Bulls clinch a spot in 2019 CCL if Sporting Kansas City or Atlanta MLS Cup
* As SKC and Atlanta already have secured a tournament slot, RBNY would replace them by virtue of having the most aggregate points of any U.S.-based team over the 2017-2018 seasons not already qualified for the tournament
MLS Qualified Teams – 2019 CCL
- Sporting Kansas City (2017 U.S. Open Cup winner)
- Houston Dynamo (2018 U.S. Open Cup winner)
- Toronto FC (2018 Canadian Championship winner)
- Atlanta United*
- 2018 MLS Cup winner TBD
*Replace 2017 MLS Cup winner Toronto FC by virtue of having the most aggregate points over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons with 124 points.
