With the 2026 Major League Soccer season set to open one week from tomorrow, the contributors here at Hudson River Blue gazed into the size 2 crystal ball we keep locked in a velvet-lined mahogany case to look at what lies ahead in the year before us.
Many of the visions were faint, little more than foggy images. Others were as vivid and loud as a Super Bowl halftime show. Read on to see what the spirits revealed to us, and what we predict will happen in 2026.
1. Talles Magno will have a bounce-back season, winning over the New York City FC fans as Pascal Jansen once again proves why he’s a top-tier coach. –Matthew Mangam
2. And: Talles Magno is going to win those fans over with a 12-goal contribution season, including two decisive late winners for the Pigeons. –Mark Radigan
3. Keaton Parks returns to his former self, starts a minimum of 30 games in 2026. –MR
4. Agustín Ojeda will score a goal. And the people will cheer. –Oliver Strand
5. Nico Fernández Mercau will have a breakout season and will be in the MLS MVP discussion. –OS
6. Tayvon Gray is subject to a Justin Haak-esque contract dilemma throughout 2026. Despite interest from other clubs, he ultimately signs an extension with NYCFC. –JB
7. It was City Football Group, not David Lee: Sporting Kansas City's new President of Soccer Operations and General Manager will hold so many press conferences and make so many public statements that he will become known as the league's Chatty Patty. –OS
8. It was David Lee, not City Football Group: SKC's roster will be missing key pieces late into the season, and remain a work in progress for most of 2026. –OS
9. Malachi Jones will play for the first time in more than two years, returning after the World Cup break. Also, Alonso Martínez and Andrés Perea return from their respective injuries sooner than expected and bounce back to the form they had when healthy. –MM
10. Referee Timothy Ford will make another spectacularly incorrect game-altering decision, and live to work another match. –OS
11. New York City will finish in the Top 3 in the Eastern Conference. –John Baney
12. Pascal Jansen pops up as a rumored managerial candidate for a decent-sized job in Europe in May, but doesn’t leave NYCFC — yet. –Andrew Leigh
13. In their first season, Sky Scraper has at least one meme-worthy moment while interacting with a visiting MLS player. –AL
14. Either New York City or Red Bull New York will be cupset by one of the local lower division teams in the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup –Michael Battista
15. The MTA will announce schedule changes for the 7 Train that will so perfectly disrupt one of NYCFC's games at Citi Field that it will seem tinfoil-hat intentional. –OS
16. Like BLACKPINK in July 2025, an Olivia Rodrigo concert at Citi Field will complicate scheduling as NYCFC pushes for a home playoff game. –Abe Shire
17. The club confirms Etihad Park will officially open during the abbreviated and weird 2027 “sprint season” taking place before the league flips the calendar and format. –AL
18. Matt Freese will be the starting goalkeeper for the United States men’s national team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The United States won’t get past the Round of 16, but the rest of the world will finally learn what NYCFC and USMNT fans already know about Freese. —MM
19. Fresh off that Round of 16 exit with the USMNT, Matt Freese is sold by New York City before the end of the season. –JB
20. Everybody will complain about the FIFA World Cup: Prices, field conditions parking, politics. And everybody will love the FIFA World Cup. –OS
21. Gotham FC’s game on July 18 vs Seattle Reign at Icahn Stadium will be a near-sellout as the Bats play their first league game within the Five Boroughs, with over 7,000 fans in attendance, bringing that Cosmos-back-in-the-day to Randall’s Island. —OS
22. Jaedyn Shaw has a breakout season for Gotham, and reaches a Trinity Rodman-level of excellence. –OS
23. Gotham lift another trophy, making it four in four years. –OS
24. Struggles for debuting USL teams: The (New York) Cosmos will finish mid-table in USL League One and scrape into the playoffs, while Brooklyn FC follow the path of the women’s team last year and finish low in the USL Championship Eastern Conference table –MB
25. MLS Cup-winning manager with NYCFC, Ronny Deila, will leave his sixth team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, in four years. –AS
26. The Hudson River Derby will be held at Yankee Stadium for the last time in 2026, but it's the HRD Jr between NYCFC II and Red Bull New York II that will be more fun to watch, as it will be held across three venues: Belson Stadium in Queens, Montclair State in New Jersey, and Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island. This year, the Baby Blues will win two of three against the Baby Bulls — RBNY II might be defending MLS NEXT Pro champion, but a cup hangover and the third coach in two seasons will take a toll on the Baby Bulls. —MB
• 25 Predictions for 2025
• How did we do? A look back at our 25 predictions for 2025
• 24 Predicitions for 2024
• How did we do? A look back at our 24 predictions for 2024
• 23 Predictions for 2023
• A look back at our NYCFC predictions for 2023
• 22 Predictions for 2022
• How did we do? A look back at our 22 predictions for 2022
• Five things that will definitely happen for New York City FC in 2018
• The future is back! 15 predictions for Year One
• We made 15 NYCFC predictions for 2015. Let's see how we did.
