Sporting KC Begins Leagues Cup Knockout Stage in Columbus on Friday
August 8, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City will begin the Leagues Cup Knockout Stage on the road at reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew this Friday with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. CT at Lower.com Field in the Ohio capital.
The Round of 32 match-up will be free to watch on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass in addition to live radio coverage available on Sports Radio 810 WHB, La Grande 1340 AM, SiriusXM FC and the Sporting KC App. Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including the club's official watch party at No Other Pub (1370 Grand Blvd.) in the Kansas City Power & Light District. Food and drink specials will start at 5:30 p.m. CT on Friday and the first 25 fans in attendance will receive their first drink on the club.
Both charter clubs in Major League Soccer, Sporting Kansas City and the Columbus Crew will meet on Friday for the second time this summer at Lower.com Field where SKC suffered the team's heaviest loss of the season in a 4-0 defeat on June 22. The venue opened in 2021 and hosted MLS Cup 2023 as well as the 2024 MLS All-Star Game last month.
The Crew led the league with five All-Stars this year with Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira, Darlington Nagbe, Cucho Hernández and Diego Rossi all selected. Hernandez, who leads the team with 15 goals across all competitions in 2024, enters Friday's match after scoring in the MLS All-Star Game and recording a hat trick against Aston Villa in a friendly three days later, while Rossi has also contributed 12 goals across all competitions so far this season with 10 goal contributions (five goals, five assists) in his past seven appearances.
Defensively, Columbus has conceded the fewest goals in MLS this year and the Crew will be bolstered by the return of goalkeeper Patrick Schulte -- who represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics -- and the recent additions of right back Andres Herrera and left back DeJuan Jones.
Sporting and Columbus are each in the Leagues Cup Round of 32 for a second straight season, and both sides will be aiming to reach the Round of 16 for the first time. Friday's winner -- to be determined by a penalty shootout if the match is tied after 90 minutes -- will move on to the Round of 16 to host either Inter Miami CF or Toronto FC, who play on Thursday in their own Round of 32 fixture.
Sporting KC advanced to the Round of 32 as runners-up in Group 4 of the West Region with a 2-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC and a 2-1 loss to Deportivo Toluca FC during the group stage. Columbus received a bye to the Round of 32 as the reigning MLS Cup champions, winning their third league title last December with a 2-1 victory over LAFC.
Leagues Cup 2024 features all 47 clubs from MLS (29 teams) and LIGA MX (18 teams) in a World Cup-style tournament with the top three teams qualifying for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup. Fifteen teams were eliminated in the Group Stage, setting up a fixed bracket for the single-elimination Knockout Stage that begins with the Round of 32 from Aug. 7-9 and features a total of 32 matches to crown the Leagues Cup champion on Aug. 25.
Sporting Kansas City vs. Columbus Crew
Leagues Cup 2024 | Round of 32
Friday, Aug. 9 | 6:30 p.m. CT (6:40 kickoff)
Lower.com Field | Columbus, Ohio
Broadcast Schedule:
Apple TV | Free on MLS Season Pass
English Radio | Sports Radio 810 WHB
Spanish Radio | La Grande 1340 AM
Satellite Radio | SiriusXM FC
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