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With around a month of the MLS season left to play, it’s getting down to the nitty gritty. While the race for the Supporters’ Shield and playoff position in the East is important, perhaps the most important race is for the final spot in the 2019 Concacaf Champions League. This spot will be awarded to the top American club in MLS with the most combined points over the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The spot was originally due to go to the winner of the 2017 MLS Cup, but Toronto FC are only allowed to qualify for this tournament through the Canadian Championship and have clinched that spot.
Spot 1: Sporting Kansas City (2017 U.S. Open Cup winner)
Spot 2: Toronto FC (2018 Canadian Champions)
Spot 3: Houston Dynamo (2018 U.S. Open Cup winner)
Spot 4: 2018 MLS Cup Champions (Non-Canadian)
Spot 5: Team with best aggregate record over the 2017 and 2018 MLS regular seasons (Non-Canadian)
CCL Spot Update #5
| Team | Points | Matches Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Points | Matches Remaining |
| Atlanta United | 118 | 4 |
| NYCFC | 110 | 3 |
| Red Bulls | 109 | 4 |
Only three teams remain eligible for the 2019 CCL spot after Atlanta’s highly prosperous three wins in seven days. It’s gotten to a point where it will take a collapse of epic proportions for the spot to slip through the Five Stripes’ grasp. However, this is Atlanta sports. Let’s not tempt fate.
A win over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday would officially clinch the spot for Atlanta. There are plenty of other scenarios, but that’s the simplest one. If it doesn’t come to fruition, we’ll evaluate the others as they become more clear. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.