The road to 2024 Leagues Cup glory goes through Columbus' Lower.com Field.
The reigning MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew are well-positioned to collect another major prize but first must get past a Philadelphia Union team that has once again reached the Leagues Cup semifinals.
The Union entered this Leagues Cup as a hot team, having won its previous two MLS matches over the New England Revolution and Nashville SC by a combined score of 8-1 to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. Philadelphia toppled last year's Supporters' Shield winners, FC Cincinnati, in the Round of 16 before edging Liga MX's Mazatlán in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals. The Union won the third-place game in last year's Leagues Cup.
Mazatlán, along with Club America, represented the remaining hopes for Liga MX in Leagues Cup, but both were eliminated in the quarterfinals, leaving an all-MLS semifinal field — Los Angeles FC will host the Colorado Rapids in the other semifinal.
The Crew eliminated a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami in an exhilarating Round of 16 showdown before defeating New York City FC in a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals. The Crew already has come tantalizingly close to collecting a trophy this season, reaching the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup, only to be defeated by Pachuca.
The winner of the Columbus Crew-Philadelphia Union semifinal faces the winner of the Los Angeles FC-Colorado Rapids game in the final. The losers will play in the third-place game. Both matches are slated for Sunday, Aug. 25, with the winner of the Columbus-Philadelphia game hosting the final. Both finalists, as well as the third-place game winner, qualify for next year's Concacaf Champions Cup.
Date: Wednesday, Aug. 21
Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Lower.com Field, Columbus, Ohio
The semifinal match will be streamed live on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
(Game times and locations for third-place game and final will be announced once the matchups are known.)
Semifinals - Aug. 21
Third place game - Aug. 25
Championship game - Aug. 25
North America's top two professional soccer leagues halt their respective regular-season competitions for a month to compete in a World Cup-style tournament.
What formerly was an eight-team tournament, the Leagues Cup evolved in 2023 into a 47-team competition featuring every Major League Soccer and Liga MX club. Inter Miami CF, led by Lionel Messi, won the first edition of the expanded competition.
Before last year's inaugural 47-team tournament included every MLS and Liga MX club, the Leagues Cup was held twice before (2019 and 2021) with limited participation.
The 29 MLS and 18 Liga MX clubs are divided up into 15 groups in two regions: East and West. The group stage starts on July 26 and continues until Aug. 6. The top two finishing teams from each group will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds, which start on Aug. 7. The championship match will be held Aug. 25.
Most of the 29 MLS teams will return to regular-season play on Saturday, Aug. 24, when there will be 12 matches played (streaming live on MLS Season Pass).
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