The Columbus Crew are passing every test vs. Liga MX teams with flying colors, reaching five matches unbeaten against Mexican opponents under head coach Wilfried Nancy.
The latest triumph? Beating CF Monterrey 5-2 on aggregate in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals, continuing momentum from their quarterfinal triumph over Tigres UANL.
Result | Competition | Date | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
Champions Cup | May 1, 2024 | Estadio BBVA | |
Champions Cup | April 24, 2024 | Lower.com Field | |
Champions Cup | April 9, 2024 | Estadio Universitario | |
Champions Cup | April 2, 2024 | Lower.com Field | |
Leagues Cup | July 31, 2023 | Lower.com Field |
What's next?
Under Nancy's leadership, Columbus will look to go six games unbeaten against Liga MX teams when they meet Pachuca in the 2024 CCC final. The match is June 1 at Pachuca's Estadio Hidalgo (9:15 pm ET).
Should the Crew beat Los Tuzos, they'd become the second-ever CCC winner from MLS (joining the 2022 Seattle Sounders) and advance to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States.
2024 CCC run
Before the impending Pachuca test, Columbus have beaten both sides of Mexico's famed Clásico Regio.
First, they defeated Tigres in a penalty-kick shootout (quarterfinals) after extra time couldn't settle a 2-2 aggregate draw. Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte played the hero at El Volcán.
Then, Columbus dispatched Monterrey 5-2 on aggregate after two dominant semifinal performances. In the process, Columbus became the first MLS club in CCC history to advance past two Liga MX teams without suffering a defeat in the second leg on the road.
2023 Leagues Cup
As a catalyst towards winning MLS Cup 2023, Columbus stormed to a 4-1 victory over Club América in last summer's expanded Leagues Cup.
Most remarkably, that result came on the same day Columbus sold Lucas Zelarayán to Saudi Pro League club Al-Fateh – formally transitioning the superstar mantle to Cucho Hernández.
Nancy's tenure
Nancy originally joined the club in December 2022, arriving after Columbus took the unprecedented step of compensating (undisclosed amount) CF Montréal for their manager.
A Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year finalist the past two seasons, Nancy led Columbus to their third-ever MLS Cup title in 2023. Last year under the Frenchman, they tied a club points record (57) and scored an MLS-best 67 regular season goals.
