2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League group stage explained

The group stage of the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League was played from July 31 to October 25, 2012. A total of 24 teams competed in the group stage.^[1]

Draw

The draw for the group stage was held on June 5, 2012, beginning at 11:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF headquarters in New York City.^[2]

The 24 teams were drawn into eight groups of three, with each group containing one team from each of the three pots. The allocation of teams into pots was based on their national association and qualifying berth. Teams from the same association (excluding "wildcard" teams which replace a team from another association) could not be drawn with each other in the group stage, and each group was guaranteed to contain a team from either the United States or Mexico, meaning U.S. and Mexican teams could not play each other in the group stage.^[3]

Seeding

The following were the group stage seeding of the 24 teams which qualified for the Champions League:

Pot A
width=190	UANL	width=190	Santos Laguna	width=190	Los Angeles Galaxy	width=190	Seattle Sounders FC
Herediano	Olimpia	Xelajú	Chorrillo
Pot B
Guadalajara	Monterrey	Houston Dynamo	Real Salt Lake
Alajuelense	Marathón	Isidro Metapán	Toronto FC
Pot C
Municipal	Tauro	Águila	Real Estelí
FAS	Caledonia AIA	W Connection	Puerto Rico Islanders

Format

In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners of each group advanced to the championship stage.

Tiebreakers

In each group, teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:^[1]

1. Greater number of points earned in matches between the teams concerned
2. Greater goal difference in matches between the teams concerned
3. Greater number of goals scored away from home in matches between the teams concerned
4. Reapply first three criteria if two or more teams are still tied
5. Greater goal difference in all group matches
6. Greater number of goals scored in group matches
7. Greater number of goals scored away in all group matches
8. Drawing of lots

Groups

The matchdays were July 31–August 2, August 21–23, August 28–30, September 18–20, September 25–27, and October 23–25, 2012.^[4]

All times U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)

Group 1

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Group 2

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Group 3

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Group 4

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Group 5

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Group 6

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Group 7

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Group 8

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Notes and References

1. Web site: CONCACAF Champions League Regulations 2012/2013. CONCACAF.com. 2012-07-10. https://www.webcitation.org/6GfzTlMnD?url=http://www.concacaf.com/staticFiles/90/b6/0,,12813~177808,00.pdf. 2013-05-17. dead.
2. Web site: Monterrey draws Chorillo, Municipal for CCL. CONCACAF.com. 6 May 2012. 2012-06-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20120606191747/http://www.concacaf.com/page/CL/NewsDetail/0,,12813~2798152,00.html. 2012-06-06. dead.
3. Web site: CCL Draw procedures unveiled. CONCACAF.com. 6 April 2012. 2012-06-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20120606060104/http://www.concacaf.com/page/CL/NewsDetail/0,,12813~2797493,00.html. 2012-06-06. dead.
4. Web site: Monterrey to open Champions League. CONCACAF.com. June 22, 2012. June 27, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120625230646/http://www.concacaf.com/page/CL/NewsDetail/0,,12813~2819761,00.html. June 25, 2012. dead. mdy-all.