African stars help Columbus Crew win 2020 MLS Cup

Ghana's Emmanuel Boateng, Jonathan Mensah, and Harrison Afful alongside Nigeria's Fanendo Adi and Morocco's Youness Mokhtar have won the 2020 Major League Soccer Cup with Columbus Crew after their 3-0 victory over Seattle Sounders.

Caleb Porter's side ended their 2020 season on a high, a week after they defeated New England Revolution 1-0 to win the Easter Conference play-offs.

Ghana left-back Afful got the hosts off to a flying start at Mapfre Stadium by assisting Lucas Zelarayan for the opening goal in the 25th minute. Derick Etienne doubled the lead for the Crew in the 31st minute as Zelarayan bagged his brace eight minutes from full-time.

Mensah also produced a sold shift in the defence to help Porter's men keep a clean sheet in the emphatic victory.

Cameroon's Nouhou Tolo featured for Seattle Sounders while Boateng, Adi and Mokhtar were unused substitutes for the Crew.

Saturday's triumph secured Columbus Crew's second MLS Cup having clinched their first title in 2008. It was also a second MLS Cup for Adi who previously won it at Portland Timbers with Porter in 2015.

The Nigeria forward has struggled to make an impact in Columbus since he left Cincinnati to reunite with his former Timbers manager in January.

He was limited to just a start in the 12 league matches he featured in this campaign without scoring a goal.

Mokhtar, on the hand, contributed three goals in 19 MLS appearances to win the first major silverware of his career.

Ghana duo Mensah and Afful established themselves as key players in Porter's defence this campaign with over 25 league appearances under their belt while Boateng, who left D.C United to team up with the Crew in August, ended the 2020 season with 12 league games.

As a reward for winning the MLS Cup, Columbus Crew become the fourth American top-flight club to qualify for the 2021 Concacaf Champions League. They join Supporters' Shield winners Philadelphia Union, MLS is Back Tournament winners Portland Timbers and 2019 US Open Cup champions Atlanta United in the tournament.