NYCFC is back at home in Yankee Stadium to face Atlanta United on Thursday night, with both teams lower in the Eastern Conference than they want to be.
This game marks the halfway point of the season for both teams. NYCFC is 10th with 25 points, tied with Charlotte in eighth and Chicago in ninth. Atlanta is 13th with 17 points and has won two of its last five matchups.
The last time the Boys in Blue came up against the Five Stripes was in March. They surrendered a 3-1 lead with 40 minutes left to play, losing 4-3. Hannes Wolf — who scored a brace that night — opened his account early, but Aleksei Miranchuk equalized right before the half. After two quickfire goals after the break, Keaton Park’s own goal started a slide that NYCFC could not halt, conceding the fourth in the 84th minute.
“We didn’t sense well enough what kind of state Atlanta was in, so that was a big lesson going forward for our team,” said head coach Pascal Jansen. “It is something we addressed going into this game. Now playing number 18, and we’re halfway down the season. I finally hope that we can be more consistent in our performances than we’ve been so far.”
City also have two wins in last five matches and have been in inconsistent form over a busy May. A 2-0 Hudson River Derby win seemed to gain the team some momentum, and it looked like it would continue as the Blues fought back from 1-0 down to defeat Chicago 3-1. Then it came to a halt with a dismal 3-0 loss to Houston in the rain, which was followed by another comeback for a draw against Nashville.
“We conceded five goals in two matches — [against] one very strong opponent in Nashville, and the other one against Houston — where we didn’t play our game [defensively] as we should have, and there were moments where we looked really exposed and got punished for it,” said Jansen.
However, NYCFC has a chance to get the train rolling again — their next three matches are against lower-standing opposition, starting with Atlanta. They will be without a few first-team regulars for Thursday’s match, though, with a few doubts.
Recent signing Aiden O’Neill was away with Australia during the international break, playing 96 minutes against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the Socceroos’ 2026 World Cup AFC qualification campaign. Right-back Mitja Ilenič is away with the Slovenian U21s at the U21 European Championship. The earliest he might return is for the trip north to Montréal on June 28.
Usual starting goalkeeper Matthew Freese is on international duty with the USMNT, making his debut for the national side on Thursday in a 1-2 loss to Turkey. Top-scorer Alonso Martinez is still away with Costa Rica, scoring and assisting twice in their recent match against the Bahamas. Both Freese and Martinez are on their respective countries’ Gold Cup rosters and might miss more games for NYCFC. However, left-back Kevin O’Toole is back from injury and will be a boost to the squad.
It has left a gap for backup keeper Tomás Romero to step in. Signed from Toronto FC in early 2024, Romero is yet to make his MLS debut for New York, but started the 1-0 US Open Cup loss to Pittsburgh Riverhounds, making four saves. He last played regularly for Toronto in the second half of the 2023 season and for LAFC in 2021.
“Goalkeeping is the weirdest position in football,” said Romero. “When I was in LA, I had a big stretch of games, and it made me a better goalkeeper than the one I am today. And then I went through some periods where I didn’t have as many games, but it’s just a part of the sport. I still consider myself very young for a goalkeeper, I’ve been working a lot, making myself better and with different areas of my game. I’m just ready to show that.”
