The 
Columbus Crew SC will look to continue their magical run of success in recent months with another chance at silverware when they host vaunted Mexican side Club America in the 2024 Campeones Cup final on Wednesday in Ohio. The annual match pits the reigning champion of 
MLS against their counterparts from Liga MX.
The Crew, under manager Wilfried Nancy, have gone from strength to strength since winning MLS Cup 2023 against LAFC last December. They reached the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup final, losing to Pachuca in a single-elimination match played in Mexico, and they won the 2024 Leagues Cup trophy, once again against LAFC.
Columbus will also be a favorite to repeat as MLS champion in the upcoming playoffs, and if they can close out the regular season strong, there’s a chance they could nip Inter Miami for the 2024 Supporters’ Shield, awarded to the team with the best regular season record. They sit eight points behind Miami with five games to go, a game in hand, and a head-to-head showdown looming on October 2.
It’s been a different story for Club America since winning a second consecutive Liga MX title in May 2024 and then beating Tigres UANL for the Campéon de Campéones title in June to qualify for the Campeones Cup. They currently sit in mid-table in Mexico’s Liga MX with a 4W-4L-1D record, having had to deal with multiple key injuries, other player fitness issues and transfer dealings. But holding the ship steady during this turbulent time has been their tactical mastermind — Brazilian manager André Jardine.
Wednesday’s match should prove to be a compelling spectacle between two teams that each play an attractive brand of soccer, though the Crew are without doubt the more in-form side. Club America may have revenge on their miles after suffering a heavy 4-1 loss to Columbus in the 2023 Leagues Cup tournament, which matched its heaviest defeat in official competition since the start of 2023 (highlights below).
Columbus Lineup vs America
Columbus manager Wilfried Nancy has made it clear that all his players are healthy and available to play. As of the last MLS matchday on the weekend, reserve goalkeeper Evan Bush was the only player ruled out as he continues to recover from a fractured arm suffered on April 13.
During the recent busy part of the calendar, Nancy has not hesitated to rotate his starting lineup from match to match, and the team has stayed fresh without missing a beat, earning results with two wins and a draw in their last three league matches.
Patrick Schulte has been reinstalled as the starter in goal for the past few games, with the likes of Rudy Camacho and Cucho Hernandez regaining a spot in the starting XI after getting assigned bench duty in the last match. Aziel Jackson’s positive performance in the 4-3 win over Orlando potentially elevates him to be one of the first options off the bench.
- Columbus Lineup (3-4-3, left to right): Patrick Schulte (GK) — Malte Amundsen, Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira — Max Arfsten, Darlington Nagbe, Sean Zawadzki, Mohamed Farsi — Diego Rossi, Cucho Hernandez, Christian Ramirez
- Columbus Subs (10): Nicholas Hagen (GK), DeJuan Jones, Yevhen Cheberko, Marcelo Herrera, Derrick Jones, Dylan Chambost, Alex Matan, Yaw Yeboah, Aziel Jackson, Jacen Russell-Rowe
- Injured (1): Evan Bush (arm)
- Suspended:None
America Lineup vs Columbus
This season, Club América manager André Jardine has used different formations based on player availability and the opposition, but it looks like he’s sticking with the 4-2-3-1 formation that he has typically employed, including in the 4-1 thumping suffered at the hands of Columbus in last year’s Leagues Cup group stage. There are 10 healthy players who are still around from the Club America squad that played that match.
Although the speculation in the Mexican press was that Chilean attacker Victor Davila could get his first start since joining on a transfer from CSKA Moscow, he will come off the bench once again. Henry Martin is the starter at center forward with Rodrigo Aguirre available to spot him off the bench — another clear sign of their depth.
It’s notable that Club América are missing several key starters due to injury, including three defenders and midfielder Erick “Chiquito” Sánchez who is out due to appendicitis surgery. U.S. national team winger Alex Zendejas gets the start as the No. 10 attacking midfielder between the left-footed “Chicote” Calderón on the left wing and right-footed Brian Rodriguez on the right wing, unless Jardine wants to deploy the latter two as inverted wingers and flips them on opposite flanks.
- Club America Lineup (4-2-3-1, left to right): Luis Malagon (GK) — Cristián Borja, Ramón Juárez, Néstor Araujo, Dagoberto Espinoza — Alvaro Fidalgo, Jonathan dos Santos — Cristian “Chicote” Calderon, Alex Zendejas, Brian Rodríguez — Henry Martin
- Club America Subs (10): Rodolfo Cota (GK), Miguel Vazquez, Kévin Álvarez, Alan Cervantes, Richard Sánchez, Víctor Dávila, Javairô Dilrosun, Rodrigo Aguirre, Diego Valdes, Illian Hernández
- Injured: Igor Lichnovsky (knee), Sebastián Cáceres (left hamstring), Israel Reyes (right hamstring), Erick Sánchez (appendicitis)
Where to Watch Columbus vs America
The Crew will be going for their second Campeones Cup triumph on home soil
Columbus are on the hunt for a second Campeones Cup title after they defeated Cruz Azul 2-0 back on Sept. 29, 2021, also at Lower.com Field.
The Crew have compiled an 8W-2L-4D mark at home in the MLS regular season, and they also won 4 out of 5 Leagues Cup matches, with the lone exception being a quarterfinal draw against NYCFC, after which they advanced on penalties. They also went undefeated at home in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
- Match: Columbus Crew vs Club America (Campeones Cup Final)
- Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
- Time: 7:30 p.m. EDT
- Stadium: Lower.com Field (Columbus, Ohio)
- TV Channel: TUDN
- Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (globally)
The match will be available to stream anywhere around the world on the MLS Season Pass package via Apple TV. Viewers in the USA can also tune into the match in Spanish on TUDN.
About Author
