Revenge, as the saying goes, is a dish best served cold.
Put another way, getting even from a perceived wrong is typically sweeter after time has passed, which the Crew can experience with a win against CF Pachuca in a 2026 Leagues Cup matchup Aug. 7 at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
Two years after traveling to Pachuca, Mexico, and enduring a suspected case of food poisoning two days before a 3-0 loss to Pachuca in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup final, the Crew now welcomes Pachuca to their home turf for a rematch.
It's the second of three matches for each club in the opening stage of the 2026 Leagues Cup, and the Crew can deal Pachuca a second straight
loss after it opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss Aug. 4 at FC Cincinnati. Only four starting players, two subs and three reserves from the Crew’s 2024 roster remain in Columbus, but none have forgotten what happened in Mexico.
“We had a team meal at the hotel that we stayed at, and I thought I had a really good meal,” defender Malte Amundsen said Aug. 6 at OhioHealth Performance Center. “But it turned out the day after that, some of us didn’t feel as good.”
The illness affected most of the team and the entire coaching staff for two days following the meal, including a sizable number who dealt with symptoms before, during and after the match at 30,000-seat Estadio Hidalgo. Combined with playing the game at an altitude of roughly 8,000 feet above sea level, a powerful Crew squad led by Cucho Hernandez was humbled on the biggest stage in club history.
Had they won, the Crew would’ve qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, gained millions of dollars and gotten worldwide exposure in a tournament that featured elite clubs from around the globe.
Instead, Pachuca got those rewards after blanking the Crew just 48 hours after most of the Columbus traveling party fell ill. Neither Concacaf nor MLS investigated, and the issue came up again in the following year's Concacaf Champions Cup when the Vancouver Whitecaps endured gastrointestinal issues during a trip to Mexico.
Those who experienced the Crew's issues in 2024 are reluctant to revisit what happened, at least publicly, but it clearly left a bitter taste in their mouths, literally and figuratively.
“I don’t want to get into specifics on that, but it was a tough match,” Crew second goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen said. “All I can say is the travel, the stay, [were] difficult and things happened. I don’t want to get into it, but I think this gives us another opportunity to see a better face of Columbus, a healthy face of Columbus [and] try to control the game. Play hard … on our terms, not on theirs.”
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew seeks payback against Pachuca for illness-marred 2024 loss
