What To Know About Revolution's Concacaf Match Against Pumas On Wednesday Night

FOXBORO (CBS) -- The Revolution return to continental competition for the first time in 12 years on Wednesday night, with Pumas UNAM coming to Gillette Stadium for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. The last time New England competed in a continental tournament was in 2010, when the Revs finished as runners-up in the North American SuperLiga.

New England is in the quarterfinals without having to play a match, as semifinal opponent AS Cavaly had to withdraw from the tournament due to issues with their travel visas. The Revs head into Wednesday's match with an 0-2-0 all-time record in Concacaf Champions League play.

But New England has the right man on the sideline for the match, as Bruce Arena coached the 1998 D.C. United to a Concacaf Champions Cup. Arena led a roster that included current assistant coach Richie Williams, Revolution II head coach Clint Peay, and Revolution technical director Curt Onalfo to the title, one of only two MLS teams to win a Champions Cup. Arena also led the LA Galaxy to the 2013 Concacaf Champions League semifinals.

The Revs also added a handful of veteran players with previous Champions League experience over the offseason, highlighted by defender Omar Gonzalez. He leads all current Revolution players with 28 career appearances in the Champions League, scoring a pair of goals and dishing out an assist during his time with the LA Galaxy, Toronto FC, and Mexican club Pachuca. Gonzalez won the 2017 Champions League with Pachuca.

Newcomer Sebastian Lletget has an assist in his four Championship League matches, while A.J. DeLaGarza (a goal and an assist in 24 matches), Tommy McNamara (four matches) and Emmanuel Boateng (two matches) also have prior Champions League experience.

Pumas is making its fifth appearance in the Concacaf Champions League since the tournament was restructured in 2008, and its first berth in the continental competition since 2016-17. A semifinalist in the 2012 iteration and three-time champion of the the previously-named Concacaf Champions Cup (1980, 1982, & 1989), Pumas qualified for this year's tournament as runner-up of the Liga MX 2020-21 Apertura (first half of the season), but finished in seventh place of the overall 2020-21 Liga MX table.

They advanced after squaring off with Deportivo Saprissa in the Round of 16, playing to a 2-2 draw in their first semifinal match before taking the second match with a convincing 4-1 result.

It will be a cold and snowy night in Foxboro on Wednesday, conditions that should favor the Revolution. But Arena said his club needs to play a great match in order to get the outcome that they want.

"Snow and cold conditions, I would have to think, they are favorable for our team. But having said that, this team is a good team, and good teams deal with difficult opponents, difficult conditions in the right way. So, it'll be challenging," he said. "We have to play well for the conditions to be a factor. It's important. If we lose this game, the probability of us advancing is going to be very slim. So, we need to go ahead and win the game."

Wednesday's match is the middle of a three-game home stretch for the Revs, who will resume its MLS schedule Saturday night against Real Salt Lake before playing the second leg against Pumas in Mexica next Wednesday.