Concacaf W Champions Cup semifinals: Prediction, where to watch, live stream, players to watch, what to know

The inaugural Concacaf W Champions Cup returns to action with the semifinal round, and the final four teams will battle for a spot in the tournament final on Saturday. Club America and Tigres Femenil, two Liga MX Femenil sides, will face NWSL clubs Portland Thorns and Gotham FC, respectively, as the final teams standing in the inaugural competition. 

The tournament knockout rounds will take place in Estadio Universitario (UNAL) in Monterrey, Mexico. The winners of the semifinal knockout will advance to the final with Club America coming off a runners-up finish in Liga MX Femenil’s Gran Final, where they fell short 2-3 on aggregate, and they’ll face Gotham FC, who are on a two-game losing streak in the NWSL regular season.

Tigres Femenil are weeks removed from competition, and their last game was a quarterfinal elimination on April 28. Their fifth-place finish in the clausura is the worst-ever finish in club history, and there are some injury questions around potential minutes restrictions for Jacqueline Ovalle. They will face a blazing hot Portland Thorns side, who are missing Sophia Wilson on maternity leave, and they are most in-form team to step back into the tournament since games took place in October 2024.

Here are storylines, how you can watch the match, and more:

Concacaf W Champions Cup schedule

Wednesday, May 21

All times Eastern

• Club America vs. Gotham FC, 7:30 p.m. (Paramount+)
• Tigres Femenil vs. Portland Thorns, 10:30 p.m. (Paramount+)

Saturday, May 24

• Third place match: TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. (Paramount+)
• Champions Cup final: TBD vs. TBD, 10 p.m. (Paramount+)

Path to semis

The final four were top of their respective groups after a five-team round robin style group stage. Tigres dominated the field in Group A and went undefeated with three wins and one draw for ten points throughout last year’s preliminary play, and Gotham FC split their four matches with two wins and two draws for eight points and second place in the group.

Club America and Portland Thorns were level on points with nine each after four games in Group B, but Club America held a plus-11 goal differential compared to the Thorns’ plus-eight and claimed the top spot out of the group stage. 

Players to watch

Montserrat Saldívar, Club America:  The versatile left wingback covers tons of ground for Club America and Mexico’s U20 squad. How she’s utilized during the game will have major implications. She was a major part of the club’s success in the journey back to the Gran Final, scoring eight goals during the campaign. 

Midge Purce, Gotham FC: Purce was largely unavailable during Gotham’s group stage last year, but this season, she is back in action and with a vengeance. She’s worked her way back into form over the last four weeks, and it could be just the right time to have a breakout game for the attacker. 

Ana Dias, Tigres Femenil: The Portuguese forward was the clubs leading goal scorer (four goals, two assists) during the group stage, and if manager Pedro Martinez gives her the start to try and mirror some group stage success, it might not be a bad idea given some of the injuries other Tigres attackers are carrying. 

Caiya Hanks, Portland Thorns FC: The rookie forward is hitting a goal-scoring breakthrough for the Thorns during the NWSL regular season. She’s scored two goals and recorded one assist during the Thorns current four-game undefeated streak. 

Prediction: Club America vs. Gotham FC

Club America have plenty of talent and are only a week removed from their last match, the Gran Final against Pachuca, but injuries caught up to them during their run at the Liga MX championship, and it might have implications for the Concacaf title as well. The silver lining is that Gotham FC are also hitting a wall in their recent form.

After an impressive four-game stretch with three wins and seven goals by forward Esther Gonzalez, the club and player have gone cold. Gotham enter the Concacaf semifinal on a three-game winless streak and zero goals. 

It could mean the game is a bit cagey at first before getting a bit more open later on, but roster depth will be the difference maker, and Gotham just barely edge Club America in this one. Pick: Gotham 2, Club America 1

Prediction: Tigres Femenil vs. Portland Thorns

There are far too many question marks around Tigres Femenil to predict how they’ll manage things against a top Thorns side. Tigres have plenty of talent across the roster, but Martinez will be asking a lot of players who haven’t played in weeks.

Meanwhile, the Thorns’ manager, Rob Gale, has plenty of options, including rookies who are capitalizing on playing opportunities whenever they get them. Pick: Portland Thorns 3, Tigres 1

Get your footy fix with CBS Sports Golazo Network and more

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Join Golazo Network as it help fans get their day started on the right foot on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you’ll never have to miss an episode.

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Tuesday, Thursday): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women’s game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long. And don’t miss Wednesday live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET.

⚽  Call it What You Want (Tuesday and Thursday): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and Tony Meola cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can catch the show streaming live on YouTube every Monday at 1 p.m. ET and Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.

🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.

📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.

What else is on Paramount+?

A subscription to Paramount+ not only comes with the best sports coverage in the industry, but you’ll also have access to the vast library of on-demand content which includes more than 40,000 episodes and movies from Paramount, CBS, Nickelodeon and more. From popular shows like “Mayor of Kingstown” to episodes of “Frasier,” there’s no shortage of what to binge watch. 

For more information, click here.