Columbus Crew SC learned on Thursday its first three opponents for the group stage of the MLS is Back Tournament, which will mark the resumption of the Major League Soccer season next month in Orlando, Florida. And, after a brief evaluation, it seems the Black & Gold have a fairly good chance of advancing from Group E, where the team landed with Ohio rivals FC Cincinnati, Atlanta United and the New York Red Bulls.
With the two best teams in each group and four of the six third-placed teams all moving to the knockout round, qualifying is not a herculean task by any means, but, even though head coach Caleb Porter expects tough matches in Group E, the Crew could easily win its group and advance.