Philadelphia Union are headed to the Concacaf Champions League for the first time in club history!
The Union clinched the spot on Wednesday evening with Columbus Crew SC's 2-1 loss to Orlando City SC, eliminating the Crew from contention for the Supporters' Shield. That means the Union get the CCL spot awarded to the Shield winner, with Toronto FC the only other team in contention, and only eligible to clinch a CCL spot through winning the Canadian Championship.
In a normal year, three of the 16 CCL berths go to the winners of the Supporters' Shield, MLS Cup and the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, with the last going to the regular-season winner of the conference opposite the Shield winner. This year, the Portland Timbers were awarded one of those berths thanks to their victory at the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando.
Should Toronto win the Shield, the spot would be awarded to the Union, meaning Philadelphia would get the berth no matter how the Shield race pans out.
With a spot in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup secured and a berth into the CCL, the Boys in Blue will turn their full attention to winning the Supporters' Shield on Sunday afternoon at Subaru Park. The match will be broadcast nationally on ABC as part of Decision Day presented by AT&T. Kick off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET
