Wanyama's Montreal Impact face 'match of their lives'
Montreal Implact's Victor Wanyama walks into the pitch just before their Major League Soccer (MLS) Is Back Tournament game against DC United at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida on July 22, 2020.
What you need to know:
- A 1-0 win against Olimpia will be enough for Montreal to punch a semi-final ticket against the winner of the New York City FC (MLS) versus Tigres UANL (Mexico) quarter-final match.
- Semi-finals are slated for December 19. The final will be played on December 22. All matches up to the final will be held at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Montreal Impact will bank highly on Kenyan midfielder Victor Mugubi Wanyama when they face CD Olimpia in a do-or-die quarter-final return leg match in the 2020 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League on Tuesday.
It has been nine months since these two met in the first leg in Montreal where Thierry Henry’s men succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Honduran heavyweights on March 11.
Wanyama, 29, was interviewed after the first leg and lamented that his side gifted Olimpia with two easy goals. It was his introductory match after joining the Major League Soccer (MLS) side a week earlier from Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur.
With the tournament resuming in a neutral location, the Canadian side will hope to overturn the loss in order to stay in the hunt for the top prize of Sh55.7 million.
Montreal will have to work overtime to overcome the deficit. They have not been action since being eliminated by New England Revolution in MLS Cup playoffs on November 20, a match which Wanyama missed.
Henry’s men are coming up against an Olimpia side that is in great form. Olimpia has registered 10 victories in their last 14 matches in all competitions.
The presence of Wanyama, Concacaf says, should provide a boost for Frenchman Henry.
“Wanyama has an assist and is Impact’s most precise passer in the tournament at 96 percent,” the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) noted.
Montreal will also hope to get inspiration from striker Romell Quioto. The Honduran – a former Olimpia hero himself - scored once as Montreal knocked out Costa Rican side Saprissa in the round of 16 on away goals rule after the two legs finished 2-2 in February.
Quioto was Montreal’s highest scorer in 2020 MLS regular season with seven goals and had six assists.
Montreal will have to watch out for Colombian forward Yustin Arboleda. He has netted five times in the 2020-2021 Honduras top-tier league.
A 1-0 win against Olimpia will be enough for Montreal to punch a semi-final ticket against the winner of the New York City FC (MLS) versus Tigres UANL (Mexico) quarter-final match.
Semi-finals are slated for December 19. The final will be played on December 22. All matches up to the final will be held at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic.
