Photo: Paul Rudderow

Concacaf has announced the dates for both legs of the Union’s Champions League semifinal fixture against Club America of Liga MX.

The first leg at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (elevation: 7,200 feet) will be played on Thursday, August 12 at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. The late kick is because most of Mexico is due south of the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

The second leg at Subaru Park will be played Wednesday, September 15 at 9:00 p.m.

The home match hosting New England previously scheduled for September 15 has been moved to Friday, September 3rd. It is still at 7:30 p.m.  Additionally, the Union’s first-ever trip to FC Cincinnati’s new stadium has been rescheduled from Saturday, August 14 to Saturday, October 9.

September 3 falls within an official FIFA international window during which qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar will occur. The availability of Union’s international team members will likely be affected.

• Daniel Gazdag should be away for the re-scheduled New England home game, and probably the D.C. match away August 28. Hungary play WC Qualifiers on September 2, 5, and 8.
• Jamiro Monteiro should be away as well. Cape Verde play Central African Republic August 31 and Nigeria September 4.
• Olivier Mbaizo also should be away. Cameroon play twice between August 30 and September 8. Internet sources do not agree on their opponents.
• Andre Blake and Cory Burke also should be away. Jamaica play three times in Concacaf World Cup qualifiers between August 30 and September 8: against Mexico, a team to be determined in June, and Costa Rica.
• Whether Jose Martinez is part the Venezuelan national team is uncertain. He certainly could be.

All players should be back with the Union roughly a week before the CCL second leg against Club America at Subaru Park.