For 2005, Mexico was granted a third berth in the Libertadores. The Mexican federation decided to grant one of its Libertadores berths ("Mexico 1") based strictly on play during the league season, but retained InterLiga for the other two spots ("Mexico 2" and "Mexico 3"). The group phase of InterLiga remained the same as in 2004, but the final games were changed. The top team from each group plays the second-place team from the opposite group, with both winners advancing to Copa Libertadores. Of the two final winners, the one with the highest point total during group play will be designated "Mexico 2" and automatically advance to the group stage. The other final winner will be "Mexico 3", and will enter the preliminary round of Copa Libertadores.
| InterLiga | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | USA |
| Dates | 2 January 2005 – 12 January 2005 |
| Teams | 8 (from the FMF confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 6 (in 6 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | UANL (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Guadalajara |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 14 |
| Goals scored | 50 (3.57 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Irenio Soares Javier Saavedra (3 goals) |
The 2005 InterLiga was again played in California and Texas, and expanded into Arizona. The finals were held January 12 at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
The eight qualified clubs participated in the following groups:
| Group A | Group B |
|---|---|
| UANL | Chiapas |
| Guadalajara | Toluca |
| Atlante F.C. | America |
| Santos | Necaxa |
Match Schedule edit
Matches at Bank One Ballpark (Phoenix, Arizona)
| 1. | 2 Jan 05 | Guadalajara vs Santos | 1-1 |
| 2. | 2 Jan 05 | UANL vs Atlante | 2-1 |
Matches at The Home Depot Center (Carson, California)
| 3. | 2 Jan 05 | Necaxa vs Chiapas | 0-4 |
| 4. | 2 Jan 05 | América vs Toluca | 1-2 |
| 9. | 8 Jan 05 | Atlante vs Santos | 4-4 |
| 10. | 8 Jan 05 | Guadalajara vs UANL | 1-0 |
Matches at Spartan Stadium (San Jose, California)
| 5. | 5 Jan 05 | Santos vs UANL | 3-4 |
| 6. | 5 Jan 05 | Atlante vs Guadalajara | 3-3 |
Matches at Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)
| 7. | 6 Jan 05 | Toluca vs Necaxa | 2-0 |
| 8. | 6 Jan 05 | Chiapas vs América | 1-2 |
Matches at Cotton Bowl (Dallas, Texas)
| 11. | 9 Jan 05 | América vs Necaxa | 2-2 |
| 12. | 9 Jan 05 | Toluca vs Chiapas | 1-2 |
Matches at Reliant Stadium (Houston, Texas)
| 13. | 12 Jan 05 | Final 1: UANL vs Toluca | 2-0 |
| 14. | 12 Jan 05 | Final 2: Guadalajara vs Chiapas | 1-1 (5-3) |
Goalscorers edit
The scorers from the 2005 InterLiga
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irenio Soares
|
UANL | 3
|
| Javier Saavedra
|
UANL | 3
| |
| 3 |  José Saturnino Cardozo
|
Toluca | 2
|
| Didi
|
Chiapas | 2
| |
 Diego Garay
|
Atlante | 2
| |
 Patricio Galaz
|
Atlante | 2
| |
| Héctor Altamirano
|
Santos Laguna | 2
| |
| Jorge Campos
|
Santos Laguna | 2
|