With both Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos forced to isolate, the Columbus Crew have it all to do against defending MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders with the team from the Emerald City bidding for their third title. It's Columbus Crew vs Seattle Sounders and you can watch it for free. Below you'll find all the details on how to watch a MLS Cup final free live stream.
Columbus Crew XI: Room; Valenzuela, Williams, Mensah, Afful; Artur, Morris; Etienne Jr, Zelarayan, Diaz; Zardes.
Seattle Sounders XI: Frei; Nouhou, O'Neill, Yeimar, A Roldan; C Roldan, Joao Pauo; Morris, Lodeiro, Jones; Ruidiaz.
MLS fans in the UK can watch a free MLS Cup final live stream on the FreeSports web player and the FreeSports TV channel. If you're a UK citizen trying to watch from abroad you can use a VPN to see the MLS Cup final free live stream. In the States, you'll need Fox Sports, UniMás or TUDN. Those without cable can watch on FuboTV.
It's been 12 long years since Ohio-based Columbus Crew lifted their one and only MLS Cup. After some significant restructuring in 2019, the team has over-achieved in some respects, managing to come together despite all those changes, and become an impressive force on the pitch.
Back in 2018, it was dark times for the franchise which very nearly upped sticks and moved way down to Austin, Texas, until the #SaveTheCrew fan movement made majority owner Anthony Precourt change his mind. With a new team president, new stadium for 2021 and another bite at the championship cherry, things are looking up, and there's faith that new team manager Caleb Porter can deliver. After all, Porter's only championship win came against the Sounders as head coach of Portland, arch-rivals to this year's enemies, Seattle.
It's Columbus who'll have home advantage. The team from the Emerald City will travel across the country to the Mapfre Stadium, the same venue where Porter lifted the trophy with the Timbers.
The Sounders have looked solid throughout most of the regular season. Despite losing a clutch of important players over the off-season, the second place finish in the West and a sense of belief has seen Brian Schmetzer's team claw their way back to the possibility of a repeat. Three goals in the last 18 minutes to turn their 2-0 deficit into a victory in the conference final is title-winning character even if the performance in the early portions of the game was not.
It's going to be a fantastic finish to this COVID-hit season which very nearly never made it. Kick-off is at 8.30pm ET on Saturday/1.30am GMT on Sunday morning. Make sure you know how to watch an MLS Cup final live stream for free.
Watch the MLS Cup final for free
MLS fans in the UK can watch the MLS Cup final for on FreeSports. The channel will host an MLS Cup final free live stream on the FreeSports player which you can access with your browser, or on the FreeSports app.
If you'd rather watch on your TV, then UK customers can access the FreeSports channel on Freeview (channel 64), Virgin Media (channel 422) or Sky (channel 553).
Do bear in mind that it's going to be a late one for the UK audience. The MLS Cup final kicks off at 1.30am first thing on Sunday 13th December or, more likely, very late on Saturday night.
Watch the MLS Cup final free from abroad using a VPN
UK MLS fans will need a VPN to access the free Freesports MLS Cup final live stream while outside while travelling outside the UK. Otherwise the service will know your location based on your IP address, and will automatically block your access – even if you’re a UK national.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) helps you get around this obstacle. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and the internet, such that the servers and services you’re accessing aren’t aware of what you’re doing. All the information passing back and forth is entirely encrypted.
There are many VPN providers out there, with some more reliable and safe than others. As a rule, we’d suggest a paid-for service such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN.
Once you’ve made your choice, all you need to do is sign in to your VPN service through whichever device you’d like to use to watch the match. When prompted to select a server, you need to pick one which is based in the country whose content you’d like to access. Then navigate to the relevant video streaming app or website and you’re in.
Watch the MLS Cup final in the USA
The MLS Cup final kicks off at 8.30pm ET and those in the States will be able to enjoy the coverage on Fox Sports in English or on Spanish language networks UniMás and TUDN.
If you don't have these as part of your cable package, or if you don't have cable at all, then you can still watch Colombus Crew vs Seattle Sounders by signing up to FuboTV and getting instant access to the game; no equipment required.
The streaming service normally costs around $55-60 per month and offers access to most of the major live sports channels including Fox but FuboTV is currently offering US-based users a FREE 3-day trial.
The FuboTV app is available on smart TVs, games consoles, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and all mobiles, tablets and laptops.
Going to be outside the country this weekend? You can use a VPN to watch from abroad as if you were back at home in the States.
Watch the MLS Cup final in the UK
FreeSports isn't the only place to watch the MLS Cup final in the UK. Sky subscribers can also access the Columbus Crew vs Seattle Sounders grand finale on the Sky Sports Main Event or Sky Sports Football channels.
If, for whatever reason, you can't access FreeSports and you don't have Sky, there's always the option of a Now TV sports pass. A Now TV day pass costs (£9.98) or a monthly pass (£25) is far better value.
Make sure you've got your VPN handy if you're stuck abroad.
Virgin Media customers are a Sky Sport subscription through the Virgin Media’s Bigger + Sports bundle.
If you have a Virgin TiVo box and access to Sky, you can watch on-the-go through Virgin's TV Anywhere app too.
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