National Football
Nicholas Hagen’s Columbus Crew advances to its first Leagues Cup final
The Guatemalan goalkeeper’s golden gang eliminated the Philadelphia Union in the semifinals and will face Los Angeles in the grand final of the 2024 Leagues Cup.
This is the first time that Columbus Crew has reached the Leagues Cup final. (Photo Prensa Libre: AFP)
During the night of Wednesday, August 21, the Columbus Crew of the Guatemalan archer Nicholas Hagen qualified for the final of the first time Leagues Cupafter eliminating the Philadelphia Union in the semi-finals.
The national goalkeeper did not see any minutes in his team’s 3-1 victory against the team from Pennsylvaniahowever, the former goalkeeper of Municipal He was a key player in the round of 16 and round of 32.
The “Golden Gang“, as the Columbus team is known, is one of the favorites to take the trophy, after having defeated the current champion of the tournament, the Inter Miami of Leo Messi.
For his part, Hagen is looking for his first championship in the United States, and his second title in the foreignafter having conquered the second division of Norway with the HamKam.
With an eye on the medal
The French coach Wilfried Nancy has decided to rotate his goalkeepers in recent games, and it is still unknown if he will choose Nicho for the final against Los Angeles next Sunday, August 25th.
This is the first time that these two teams have qualified for the final of the competition, where there have been two Mexican champions: Blue Cross y Club Leonand an American champion: Inter Miami.
Read more: Comunicaciones qualifies for the quarterfinals of the Central American Cup
The Leagues Cup is important for the teams since in addition to representing the first title of the season, the international tournament serves as a qualification process for the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Of the last five meetings between these teams, the balance is favor Columbus Crew with three wins to two losses. The last time they met was on July 13, 2024, and the Crew beat Los Angeles 1-5 in California.
