After stunning Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia Union 1-0 at Subaru Park, New York City FC will face Inter Miami CF in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night at Chase Stadium.
It is the first time NYCFC has reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2022, and just the third time overall in club history.
Head coach Pascal Jansen and Kevin O’Toole spoke to the media earlier this week to preview the highly anticipated playoff match.
NYCFC are underdogs once again
Fifth-seeded New York City will once again be the underdogs, as Miami finished third in the Eastern Conference and will have home-field advantage. Miami have won four straight games in Ft Lauderdale, scoring 15 goals and conceding two goals during that stretch.
But NYCFC, the lowest-seeded team to advance from Round One, are now the best road team in the league. The team went 5W-1D-1L in road games to finish the season, then won all three away games in the MLS Cup Playoffs by beating Charlotte FC twice and Philadelphia once — defeating the two teams with the best home records in league.
Jansen pointed to the bulletproof mindset he has implemented as a key for New York City on Saturday. “It’s going to be a very tough game away from home again against one of the best teams in the league,” he said. “We do have to make sure that mentality is there again to have a good chance of reaching the other final.”
O’Toole also mentioned the bulletproof mindset being a factor for New York City and revealed that the team likes playing in tough road environments.
“We’ve kind of relished playing in the away environments this year,” he said. “Really enjoyed those hostile environments and silencing crowds. I think the team has developed that identity, and it’s something that we look forward to and are excited about those challenges each time.”
Andrew Leigh
How NYCFC can stop Messi
Lionel Messi is in fantastic form, scoring 13 goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games. He’s fresh off a one-goal, three-assist performance in the 4-0 win over FC Cincinnati.
It may seem impossible to defend Messi, but NYCFC kept him quiet in their first two meetings behind strong performances from O’Toole, James Sands, Thiago Martins, and Justin Haak.
“It’s a full-team effort,” O’Toole said on defending Messi. “Intensity in the midfield and covering ground and making sure he doesn’t have so much time to face forward and look to play balls in behind or run at us. It’s just a collective effort every time, just closing the areas that he pops up in and doing the best we can in limiting him because he’s gonna have his moments throughout games, that’s inevitable.”
But Messi got the best of New York City in the most recent matchup, recording a second-half brace in Miami’s 4-0 win at Citi Field on September 24. He also recorded his third career assist against NYCFC.
“I think we probably gave them too much respect in that game,” O’Toole said. “Maybe sat off them a bit too much or shied away from playing our possessive style of play. We just need to get back to what we know that we’re good at, kind of rely on the foundation that we’ve built throughout the year, and execute our game plan versus welting to theirs. Impose ourselves on the game and if we do that and come up short, so be it, but we have to execute our game plan to the best of our ability, and that’ll give us the best chance possible.”
Messi has six goals and four assists in four playoff games, recording a goal contribution in every postseason match thus far this season.
“We’ll rely on our experience playing against him,” O’Toole said. “Barring the last game, we’ve done decently well in managing him in certain parts of the field. So I think we need to rely on our experience in playing against him and the other big names they have in the team.”
Oliver Strand
Miami’s possible lineup changes
Will Luis Suárez be in Miami’s lineup? The striker was once seen as undroppable, but he started the last game on the bench in favor of Mateo Silvetti, a 19-year-old signed in the summer. Silvetti now has one goal and two assists in two games.
It’s unclear what Mascharno will do on Saturday, but Jansen knows New York City has to be prepared no matter who starts up top.
“That’s something we have to look into,” Jansen said. “Setup is slightly different. But we have to be prepared for whatever scenario they throw at us. We don’t conclude at this moment that Suarez isn’t going to play or anyone for that matter. We have to prepare to be ready for whatever setup they have and just make sure we stay true to our own principles.”
Matthew Mangam
Will NYCFC get it done?
NYCFC have been in this position before: Facing a tough opponent on the road in a game that the pundits and oddsmakers pick them to lose. That’s what happened in 2021, when New York City won three straight road matches en route to their first-ever MLS Cup.
Without Alonso MartĂnez and AndrĂ©s Perea for the second straight game, NYCFC will have to stop Messi and get the most out of their attack to reach their second-ever MLS Cup.
“We know we have a good side, we have good players,” Jansen said. “We’ve shown that many times throughout the season that we’re very competitive as well, and we have to have our plan ready going into that decisive game, and that’s what we’re going to do. I think we have earned our right to be in this final, and we’re gonna give it everything we have in order to get a good result against Miami. Again, no different from the games we’ve played before in the playoffs.”
Let’s get it ON. Vamos Celestes!