Antonio Mohamed Puts Toluca - Tigres Favoritism on Home Edge
Toluca - Tigres tilts toward Toluca, at least in Antonio Mohamed’s view. The Toluca coach said his team is favored to beat Tigres UANL in Saturday’s Concacaf Champions Cup final because it will play at home at Estadio Nemesio Díez.
Mohamed Sees Toluca Edge
“El equipo conserva esa voracidad de victoria, sabemos que no será sencillo ante un rival difícil, pero tenemos la ventaja de jugar de local, por eso somos favoritos sobre ellos. Va a ser una final muy cerrada en la que los detalles marcarán la diferencia” Mohamed said Friday before the final. He framed the matchup around one factor that cannot be moved: the venue in Toluca.
The final will be played at Estadio Nemesio Díez, which sits a little more than 2,600 meters above sea level. Mohamed said Tigres will force a close game and that small details will decide it, so Toluca’s margin is not built on comfort alone.
Paulinho On Club World Cup
Paulinho put the trophy’s value in direct terms. “No podemos ir con una carga emocional de que este trofeo no se gana desde el 2003. Sabemos que para este equipo es muy importante porque nos da la oportunidad de jugar el Mundial de Clubes, es algo que nos da mucha ilusión para ganar,” he said.
That adds a second layer to Saturday’s final. The winner does not just take the title; it also earns a place in the Club World Cup, which raises the stakes for a Toluca side seeking its first Concacaf crown since 2003.
Toluca’s Concacaf History
This will be Toluca’s sixth final in Concacaf competition history. It has won two of those finals, in 1968 and 2003, and lost three, in 1998, 2006 and 2014.
Mohamed also said he wants to be remembered forever at Toluca by winning an international title, and he described the final as a game that will require a lot of study because any error can tip the balance. For Toluca, the task on Saturday is simple to state and hard to execute: finish plays, stay clinical and turn home-field advantage into a result.
