The Columbus Crew won’t be lifting another trophy on its home field on Wednesday night.
The Crew lost to Club América in the Campeones Cup after a thrilling, 5-4 penalty shootout that lasted seven rounds after a 1-1 tie in regulation at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Columbus, the reigning 2023 MLS Cup champions and Leagues Cup 2024 champion, was seeking its third championship for the second time in the last year. But the Crew will have to wait.
It fell to Pachuca in the Concacaf Champions Cup in June, and was unable to edge Club América after Néstor Araujo scored the game-winning kick through the hands of Crew goalie Patrick Schulte.
The Crew saw Malte Amundsen, who scored the 1-1 equalizer in the 77th minute, hit the crossbar on his penalty shot in the sixth round. Aziel Jackson and Alexandru Matan also missed for Columbus, which was unable to rely on standouts Diego Rossi and Christian Ramirez after they were substituted out during regulation.
Víctor Dávila scored in the 68th minute for Club América, which won its fifth trophy in 15 months. The LIGA MX side staked its claim as the best club in North America with the Campeones Cup victory.
We’ll provide live updates below throughout the match. Here’s everything you need to know:
Columbus Crew and Club América penalty shootout results in Campeones Cup
Club América has won the Campeones Cup after a 6-4 penalty shootout against Columbus Crew.
Rudy Camacho scores for Columbus, 1-0.
Diego Valdés scores for América, 1-1 after one round.
Alexandru Matan misses for Columbus, 1-1.
Richard Sánchez misses for América, 1-1 after two rounds.
Jacen Russell-Rowe scores for Columbus, 2-1.
Rodrigo Aguirre scores for América, 2-2 after three rounds.
Cucho Hernández scores for Columbus, 3-2.
Álvaro Fidalgo scores for América, 3-3 after four rounds.
DeJuan Jones scores for Columbus, 4-3.
Víctor Dávila scores for América, 4-4 after five rounds. The shootout goes on.
Aziel Jackson misses for Columbus, 4-4.
Ramón Juarez misses for América, 4-4 after six rounds.
Malte Amundsen misses off the top post for Columbus, 4-4.
Néstor Araujo scores for América, 5-4 after seven rounds.
Columbus Crew and Club América headed to penalty shootout in Campeones Cup
After 90 minutes and stoppage time, we have a tie in the Campeones Cup. And the game will immediately go to a penalty shootout to decide the champion.
It’ll be interesting to see which Crew players participate in the shootout after Diego Rossi and Christian Ramirez were substituted out of the match.
Malte Amundsen goal: Columbus Crew 1, Club América 1
We’ve got a tied match in Columbus after a corner kick and a header in the 77th minute.
The Crew’s Malte Amundsen maneuvered superbly to make the kick from the corner, and found the bottom left side of the net.
The momentum has swung as the match heads into the final 12 minutes of regulation.
Víctor Dávila goal: Club América 1, Columbus Crew 0
We’ve got a score in Columbus, but it comes from the opposition.
América’s Víctor Dávila, who joined the club about two weeks ago, came on as a substitute and scored in the 68th minute to take a 1-0 lead.
It was simply a defensive breakdown by the Crew, as Dávila broke free behind them into a straightaway attack toward the net.
Columbus Crew’s Patrick Schulte with big save: Columbus Crew 0, Club América 0
Álvaro Fidalgo missed in 58th minute, thanks to a stellar save by Crew goalie Patrick Schulte. The save followed a miss by Crew standout Christian Ramirez in an earlier sequence. It’s still scoreless in Columbus.
Columbus Crew and Club América tied at halftime
We’re tied at halftime, but Columbus Crew had its best attack toward the net.
Cucho Hernandez delivered a pass to Diego Rossi in the box, but Rossi’s header was squared away by Club América goalie Luis Malagón in the 45th minute.
Club America had much of the momentum in the first half, taking six shots with two on target. Columbus had only three shots, with their miss on target.
Club América possessed the ball for 57.71% in the first half, while Columbus had 42.29% possession.
How to watch Columbus Crew vs. Club América in Campeones Cup live stream?
The match will be streamed live via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish, and on TUDN exclusively in Spanish.
Columbus Crew vs. Club América starting lineups
Here are the starters for both clubs in tonight’s Campeones Cup:
What time is the Campeones Cup?
The Campones Cup begins at 7:30 p.m. ET inside Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio – home of the Columbus Crew.
What is the Campeones Cup?
The Campeones Cup is an annual competition that pits the winners of the previous MLS and LIGA MX seasons against each other for a trophy. This will be the sixth edition.
Think of it as a North American version of the Finalissima, the CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions, which sees the Copa America winner take on the UEFA Euro champions in a match.
Columbus Crew on title run
The Columbus Crew beat LAFC, 2-1, in the 2023 MLS Cup, lost to Pachuca 3-0 in the Concacaf Champions Cup final June 1, and beat LAFC, 3-1, in the Leagues Cup final on Aug. 25.
The Campeones Cup is the fourth chance for Columbus Crew to win a trophy before the MLS season ends and the MLS Cup playoffs begin to end the 2024 season.
The Crew has also been here before: After winning the MLS Cup in 2020, the Crew won the Campeones Cup in 2021.
Campeones Cup winners
MLS teams have won three of the five Campeones Cups:
2018: Tigres UANL 3, Toronto FC 1
2019: Atlanta United 3, Club América 2
2021: Columbus Crew 2, Cruz Azul 0
2022: New York City FC 2, Atlas FC 0
2023: Tigres UNAL 0 (4), LAFC 0 (2)
Columbus Crew vs. Club América recent history
These teams last met during Leagues Cup 2023 group play, where the Crew beat Club América 4-1 on July 31, 2023. Cucho Hernández scored twice, while Christian Ramirez and Steven Moreira scored for Columbus, while Kevin Álvarez scored for Club América.
Columbus Crew vs. Inter Miami on Oct. 2
The Crew is still in contention for the MLS Supporters Shield, and will be one of the most feared teams, along with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, for the MLS Cup this year. They’ll meet at Lower.com Field on Oct. 2.
Top 3 MLS Eastern Conference standings: Inter Miami (64 points), FC Cincinnati (56) and Columbus Crew (56).
Top 4 MLS Supporters Shield standings: Inter Miami (64), LA Galaxy (58), Cincinnati (56) and Columbus (56).
Columbus Crew has four regular season matches remaining, while Inter Miami, LA Galaxy and Cincinnati have three games left this season.
