By Tam Nguyen, Nguoi Viet
The Los Angeles Galaxy will meet the New England Revolution in the 2014 MLS Cup final at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif, on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Galaxy and New England Revolution will play for the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy in the MLS Cup final. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
The Galaxy earned the spot in the final-round after defeating the Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference championship, advancing to the final round for the ninth time in franchise history, seeking its fifth title.
The Revolution defeated the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference championship 4-3 and will make its fifth final-round appearance. The Revolution is seeking for its first title in franchise history.
The match will pit the top scorers in the league against each other: Robert Keane from the Galaxy and Lee Nguyen from the Revolution.
Keane, league MVP, tallied the third-most goals during the regular season with 19, and just one more than Nguyen.
Los Angeles defeated New England earlier this season, 5-1.
Kickoff: Noon, PST, ESPN
Players to watch
GALAXY: Keane is the forward to watch out for with his deadly strikes inside the box. He has great playmaking ability to tear open the defense and great eyes to find open teammates.
Landon Donovan will retire at season’s end, and you can bet he will give it his all to go out on top. While leading the league in assists with 19, he can also score when he is left in the open inside the box.
REVOLUTION: Nguyen is having a breakout performance and was a MVP candidate. Look for him to prove to the league that he should have been the MVP. He is a midfielder and a striker, and the Revolution can use Nguyen as the extra striker coming from the middle.
The addition of Jermaine Jones to the team late in the season paid off as he helped the Revolution finish second in the conference. Jones will provide offense alongside Nguyen. They have great chemistry, and look for Jones to give the ball to Nguyen for the key goals.
Keys to victory
GALAXY: Keep control of the ball and make short passes to create scoring opportunities. Use speed on both offense and defense, and keep being aggressive.
REVOLUTION: The defense has to step up and attack and can’t let the Galaxy get close to the box, especially Keane or Donovan. On offense, the Revolution must attack the net and keep on the lookout for rebounds as well.
Prediction: Donovan will be emotional in his final game and will lose focus, and the Revolution will take advantage of it. It will be a fast-paced game, and the Revolution will pull off the upset with Nguyen being the hero by scoring the game-winning goal on a pass by Jones.
Final score: Revolution 3, Galaxy 2
