Forget Hell is Real. Bring on the defending champions.
Seconds away from being drawn against Ohio rivals FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference Wild Card match, the Columbus Crew delivered a Decision Day stunner as Brais Méndez scored a 93rd-minute goal for a 4-3 win at Chicago Fire FC to qualify directly for Round One of the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs as the No. 7 seed.
Their reward? A Best-of-3 Series against No. 2-seeded Lionel Messi and reigning MLS Cup presented by Audi champions Inter Miami CF.
“They’re incredible,” interim head coach Laurent Courtois told reporters about Messi & Co. “But I like us a lot.”
Playoff momentum
It’s hard to fault Courtois’ optimism, despite the Crew’s star-studded playoff opponent.
Columbus have defied the odds on multiple occasions this season, overcoming the departure of head coach Henrik Rydström in May to come within a penalty-kick shootout of lifting the 2026 US Open Cup.
At the time of their USOC final loss to St. Louis CITY SC on Oct. 21, the Crew were near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, with an outside chance at best of making the playoffs. And yet, they won their next four matches, including Saturday’s dramatic victory over Chicago, to end the regular season on a six-game winning streak.
“Avoiding that Wild Card game was big for us, especially with some of the guys going on international break,” said homegrown captain Sean Zawadski.
"… Now it’s Miami. Everyone in the league, everyone around the world knows how good they are, all the quality they have, and all their players.”
Miami matchup
Even with Messi highlighting an A-List roster alongside Luis Suárez, Rodrigo De Paul and Casemiro, Columbus like their chances of pulling off a Round One upset.
In addition to owning MLS’s longest active winning streak, the Crew won their season series against the Herons, earning a 2-2 draw in South Florida in August before taking a 2-1 home victory during the return leg the following month.
“It’s not going to phase us,” Zawadski said of the club’s first-ever playoff matchup vs. Miami. “… We have a team that has the belief. We have the confidence that we can keep going. And put anyone against us, we’re gonna give everything we have.
"Everyone’s really excited for it.”
That includes Méndez and fellow summer arrivals Santiago Rodríguez and Gonzalo Tapia, who scored a brace on Saturday.
Add breakout homegrown midfielder Taha Habroune and a backline featuring 2024 MLS Defender of the Year Steven Moreira and USMNT-capped goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, and the three-time MLS Cup champions could have a postseason run in them.
"The mentality of this team [is] we never feel like we're out of the game," said Zawadski.
"Whether we're down one goal, two goals, whatever it may be, home or away, the mentality of this team is to keep going."
