One win separates the Columbus Crew and the Philadelphia Union from playing in the final, and qualifying for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, when the two clubs meet in the Leagues Cup semifinals on Wednesday at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
The Crew were one win away from lifting its first CONCACAF Champions Cup last June before the team fell 3-nil in the against CF Pachuca. A victory would seal a return to the regional championship to challenge for the trophy once more.
“To be in CONCACAF Champions Cup again would be huge and it's obviously a goal of ours,” said Columbus Crew defender Sean Zawadzki. “With how this year went, obviously it didn't end the way we wanted to, but it's definitely a goal of ours to continue to get into those tournaments and to put on good performances.”
Zawadzki contributed four full ninety appearances and 22 minutes in the final to help Columbus to its best CONCACAF Champions Cup campaign ever. The Crew became the first MLS side to eliminate two Liga MX clubs in consecutive two-leg series without sustaining a defeat in Mexico prior to its defeat in the single-leg championship game.
The Crew can still lift an international championship in 2024 by winning the Leagues Cup, of which they are two wins away. After comeback wins against Inter Miami CF and New York City FC, next up is the Philadelphia Union.
“This is always difficult against Philadelphia,” said Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy. “They are good. Difficult to play because they know what to do exactly. So, in terms of intensity, they put a lot of intensity, the way they do things.”
The Union also met Pachuca in the Champions Cup this season, losing to the eventual champions in the Round of 16. The MLS qualified for this year’s campaign by winning the third-place match in last year’s Leagues Cup and is one win from qualifying directly on top of playing in the final.
Philadelphia is unbeaten in this year’s tournament. They defeated CF Montreal and FC Cincinnati to start the knockout round before outlasting Mazatlan FC on penalties.
“We're ready to go,” said Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin. “Obviously, it's a tough test to go on the road against a really strong Columbus team, a little short handed, obviously losing José [Martínez] and without Tai [Baribo] for suspension. But overall, the group is confident, and we expect a really great game.”
A complicated start to the season saw the Union enter Leagues Cup with six victories from 25 MLS matches. The last month has allowed the team to put together a seven-match unbeaten streak, including two consecutive wins before starting the tournament.
“The main goal is to win tomorrow, and then win on Sunday and bring back a trophy for the club,” said Philadelphia Union defender Jack Elliott. “I think it's something that a lot of people didn't expect to see from us, going by how the season had gone for the early part of the year, but I think we started to find ourselves again and this tournament's helped us to reignite the flame that we have.”
