How to Watch: Campeones Cup - Cruz Azul

It’ll be a massive evening on Wednesday in Central Ohio as the Columbus Crew hosts Cruz Azul in the 2021 Campeones Cup. The Campeones Cup is a competition that began in 2018 that pits the MLS Cup winner against Mexico’s Campeon de Campeones in a single match for a trophy. This match is the first non-MLS game to be played at Lower.com Field.

The Crew has a chance to make history and win the club’s first-ever continental trophy. The Black & Gold have won six domestic trophies, with its most recent triumph coming in 2020 with the MLS Cup title. Columbus enters Wednesday’s final on a three-match unbeaten run in the league and having played a Liga MX side already this year. The Crew drew Monterrey 2-2 in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals on April 28 at historic Crew Stadium before losing 3-0 on the road the following week.

Cruz Azul qualified for the Campeones Cup on July 18 with a 2-1 win against Club Leon in the Campeones de Campeones. They will be the third different Liga MX side to play in this competition and enter having a similar season to the Black & Gold. As the reigning Liga MX champions, Cruz Azul has had ups and downs in the Apertura with just 14 points in 10 matches. La Maquina was recently eliminated from the Champions League by Monterrey in the semifinals.

25-man rosters:

Columbus Crew Roster”

Goalkeepers: Eloy Room, Eric Dick, Evan Bush

Defenders: Josh Williams, Jonathan Mensah, Waylon Francis, Marlon Hairston, Milton Valenzuela, Grant Lillard, Harrison Afful, Saad Abdul-Salaam, Aboubacar Keita, Steven Moreira

Midfielers: Darlington Nagbe, Pedro Santos, Lucas Zelarayan, Luis Diaz, Isaiah Parente, Liam Fraser, Alexandru Matan, Derrick Etienne Jr.

Forwards: Gyasi Zardes, Miguel Berry, Erik Hurtado, Bradley Wright-Phillips

Cruz Azul Roster:

Goalkeeper: Jesús Corona, Andrés Gudiño, Sebastián Jurado

Defenders: Josué Reyes, Julio Domínguez, Luis Romo, Joaquín Martínez, Adrián Aldrete, Pablo Aguilar, Juan Escobar

Midfielders: Luis Mendoza, Rómulo Otero, José Rivero, Yoshimar Yotún, Alexis Gutiérrez, Rafael Baca, Roberto Alvarado, Guillermo Fernández, Orbelín Pineda

Forwards: Bryan Angulo, Jonathan Rodríguez, Santiago Giménez, Walter Montoya, Lucas Passerini

How to watch:

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Lower.com Field - Columbus, Ohio

TV: ESPN2

Radio: English: 97.1 The Fan - Spanish: Columbus Crew YouTube

Streaming: ESPN App

2021 Season summaries:

Crew: 9th in Eastern Conference (27 GP, 34 PTS), Quarterfinals in CONCACAF Champions League (Eliminated by Monterrey)

Cruz Azul: 7th in Liga MX Apertura (10 GP, 14 PTS), Semifinals in CONCACAF Champions League (Eliminated by Monterrey), Campeon de Campeones champions

Previous Campeones Cups:

2018: Tigres UANL 3, Toronto FC 1 (BMO Field)

2019: Atlanta United 3, Club America 2 (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

2020: CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Columbus Crew titles:

2x MLS Cup (2008, 2020)

3x Supporters’ Shield (2004, 2008, 2009)

1x U.S. Open Cup (2002)

Cruz Azul titles:

9x Primera Division / Liga MX (1968-69, 1970, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1978-79, 1979-80, Invierno 1997, Guardianes 2021)

1x Segunda Division / Ascenso MX (1963-64)

4x Copa Mexico / Copa MX (1968-69, 1996-97, Clausura 2013, Apertura 2018)

3x Campeon de Campeones (1969, 1974, 2021)

1x Campeonisimo (1969)

1x Supercopa MX (2019)

6x CONCACAF Champions’ Cup / Champions League (1969, 1970, 1971, 1996, 1997, 2013-14)

1x Leagues Cup (2019)