After leaving behind teams from Brazil and Argentina in the previous round, America and Liga will open their semifinal series on Tuesday night at Estadio Azteca.
Both teams are in this round against the odds: America, which finished with the worst record in the Mexican Clausura, upset Santos of Brazil in the quarterfinals, while Liga eliminated Argentina's San Lorenzo.
America's Aguilas have reached this stage twice before. In 2000, they fell to Boca Juniors and two years after that, Sao Caetano took them down.
"America is playing good soccer. We are on a good streak, and we will try to extend it. We need to win two more games before the final. We can't talk about the championship before taking on the Ecuadoreans," America manager Juan Antonio Luna said.
In the other semifinal, which will start on Wednesday, Boca will face Fluminense.
America, the second-most successful Mexican club with 10 titles, won only three of 17 matches in the Clausura, was six points behind the next worst team and suffered its worst league season ever.
In appeared to be eliminated from the Libertadores at the second-round stage, losing 4-2 at home in the first leg to Flamengo. But it rallied to win 3-0 in Rio de Janeiro and then advaned past on a 2-1 aggregate score to reach the final four.
"No one bet on us. Everything we heard was criticism, and now we have this chance and we are not going to let it slip," America defender Oscar Rojas said. "America has everything to make history. We have taken a few steps and now have everything to reach the finals."
Liga reached the semifinals by prevailing on penalty kicks to subdue Lorenzo.
"This will be my first time facing America. We all know that they are a tough team. That's why they are in this round," Liga striker Claudio Bieler said.
The Ecuadoreans know how important it is to play well in the first match. So far this season, in the 12 series played in the knockout phase, the team to play away in the second leg has advanced.
"We know how hard it will be. It's a 180-minute match that will be played hard from start to finish. Everybody said America was dead, and now it's more alive than ever," Liga manager Edgardo Bauza said
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