How did we do? A look back at our 25 predictions for 2025

At the start of last year, the Mistick Krewe of Hudson River Blue unpacked the size 2 crystal ball we keep in a velvet-lined mahogany case to see what 2025 held in store for us.

Some of the visions were difficult to see, others as clear as the screen you're currently holding. We recoded our predictions and published them for all to read. Now it's time to pay the piper, and look back at our 25 predictions for 2025.

1) New York City FC will break their five-year opening day losing streak and draw Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on February 22, staying undefeated against Miami with the GOAT and friends. –Noah Kassell-Yung

True! New York City and Miami drew 2-2 on February 22, 2025. In fact, NYCFC were seconds away from stealing a win on the road, only for Telasco Segovia to score in the 90+10th minute.
3 Points

2) The Jansen honeymoon will last until the end of February, when the #PascalOut mob will start sharpening their pitchforks. –Oliver Strand

False! NYCFC fans crushed on Jansen all season long.
0 Points

3) Matt Freese will win MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and be lights out yet again in goal after finally earning his first United States men’s national team call-up. –Matthew Mangam.

Mostly true! He came in Second Place for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, and he's the presumed starter going into the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
1 Point

4) The Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will come to Randall’s Island when NYCFC II returns to the tournament and hosts a match at Icahn Stadium. –Andrew Leigh

Not true x 2! It was the First Team that represented the organization in the US Open Cup, and they crashed out after losing 1-0 to Pittsburgh Riverhounds at beautiful Highmark Stadium.
0 Points

5) In fact, Icahn Stadium on Randall's Island will become a cherished venue for reserve-team soccer, raising the possibility of higher-profile lower league matches being played there thanks to the island already being a hotbed of the amateur game. –James Nalton

Sadly, not true! Maybe it'll happen in 2026?
0 Points

6) With a full season as the starting striker, Alonso Martínez will bag at least 20 goals, including another hat trick. Expect to see him at the MLS All-Star game along with Matt Freese. –MM

Partially true! El Clínico bagged 21 goals in all competitions (17 in league play), and logged a hat trick in the 4-3 win over FC Dallas on July 25. But he didn't make the All-Star squad — no NYCFC player did.
1 Point

7) Tayvon Gray will attract European interest ahead of the MLS All-Star Break this summer, by way of the Dutch Eredivisie or the English Championship. –Mark Radigan

Nope!
0 Points

8) It will be Justin Haak’s last season at NYCFC. Haak’s contract is up at the end of 2025, and despite having the option to extend it to 2026, the 23-year-old will move to another MLS team and become an instant starter. Until then, Haak will continue to be the Swiss army knife for NYCFC, slotting in at center-back when called upon. –MM

Miserably true! The news of Haak departing the club became official earlier this week as he joins LA Galaxy on a free.
3 Painful Points

9) Jonny Shore and Andrew Baiera will get their first team debuts in a 5-0 win over Gregg Berhalter’s Chicago Fire at Yankee Stadium on May 25th. The pair of academy starlets will replace Santiago Rodríguez and Tayvon Gray in the 85th minute to thundering applause and excitement from the New York City faithful. –NKY

Partially true! Shore made his debut on Opening Day and became a fixture in the First Team squad, but Baiera has yet to appear in Major League Soccer.
1 Point

10) NYCFC will lean more into the City of New York City than into the City of City Football Group, featuring more NYC-based references as seen in Jansen's intro videos. –JN

True! The club leaned into being the only professional soccer team in New York City, announcing Jansen with a photo shoot on Third Ave in front of the club's offices, revealing the Excelsior Kit at The Edge in Hudson Yards, and unveiling the adidas Soft Lux collaboration at a TriBeCa diner.
3 Points

11) Hannes Wolf will become one of the best attackers in the league. The Austrian’s 26th birthday is coming up on April 16, and he knows that now is the time to prove himself if he’s to return to a top-flight European club. –OS

Partially true! Wolf had the best season of his career, logging 17 goal contributions in all competitions, but he's a step away from being considered one of the best in the league.
1 Point

12) Jansen will lead NYCFC to a top-five finish in the Eastern Conference and the club will reach the Eastern Conference semifinals of the playoffs for the second straight season. Expect a nice win at Citi Field against the Red Bulls and a draw at Sports Illustrated Stadium. –MM

OMG so true! The club finished #5 in the East, and actually swept Red Bull New York home and away.
3 Points

13) Nobody will call it Sports Illustrated Stadium. Just as diehard locals still call it Shea Stadium, not Citi Field, it will always be Red Bull Arena. –OS

True! Nobody likes saying "Sports Illustrated Stadium."
3 Points

14) New York City FC II will continue the trend of seeing a player have a standout season before said player joins a USL Championship team in the offseason, joining MD Myers (2023) and Jonathan Jiménez (2024). –Michael Battista

False! NYCFC II striker Seymour Reid not only scored 13 goals in 15 appearances for the Baby Blues, but the 17-year-old officially joined the First Team in May, and scored his first MLS goal against Chicago Fire on September 13.
0 Points (and that's ok)

15) Maxi Moralez will hang the boots up after the 2025 season before joining Mehdi Ballouchy as the second former player on the coaching staff. The club will announce that his statue will be unveiled in conjunction with the stadium opening in 2027. –NKY

False! The 38-year-old started every league game for NYCFC, and looks like he will once again be Jansen's top choice at No 10 in 2026.
0 Points

16) Agustín Ojeda breaks out and plays his way into being Jansen’s written-in-ink starter on the left side of the attack. –AL

Partially true! Ojeda became Jansen's preferred left winger – he made just 12 league starts but appeared in all 34 league games – although you wouldn't call 2025 a "breakout season."
1 Point

17) The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will be a flop in the group stage when the cameras will work very, very hard not to show the tens of thousands of empty seats when FC Porto play Al Ahly at the 86,000-seat MetLife Stadium on a Monday night in June. –OS

Partially true! There were plenty of empty seats to be found, but you can't consider the group stage to be a flop when the fans who did come brought the vibes.
1 Point

18) But the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will redeem itself in the knockout matches, and the final between a Manchester City desperate to salvage the season and a Real Madrid looking to add a new shelf to their trophy case will be a barn-burner of a game that will grab the planet’s attention — and guarantee that the tournament will return. –OS

100% true! You can read about how we fell in love with the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup here.
3 Points

19) Santi Rodríguez will be in the 2025 MLS MVP conversation at the end of the season. After 2024 saw the Uruguayan finish with 12 goals and 10 assists in the league, Rodríguez will take another step forward, return to his preferred No 10 role and manage 18 goals and 17 assists as New York City FC secure a Top 4 spot in the East. –MR

Nope! Also: Nope, nope, and nope. Turns out you can score goals for a team when you're sold just a few minutes before the start of the season.
0 Points

20) Citi Field will be available to host the Decision Day match vs Seattle Sounders, making this the first season since 2019 that New York City won’t play a “home” game at ~~Sports Illustrated Stadium~~ Red Bull Arena. –OS

True! But the home-field advantage didn't help as NYCFC lost 2-1 to Seattle.
3 Points

21) While the National Premier Soccer League is struggling overall and the future of the league is uncertain, locals FC Motown will follow up reaching the 2024 NPSL national final by winning their conference for a seventh-straight season. New Jersey United AC, with former NYCFC player RJ Allen as an assistant coach, will make the playoffs for a second season as well. –MB

True enough! Motown finished second in the Keystone East Conference to New Jersey United. Both made the playoffs, but both were knocked out in the first round.
3 Points

22) Westchester SC will struggle in its first USL League One season over in Mount Vernon, but will have an above-.500 showing in the 2025 USL Jägermeister Cup. –MB

Partially true! Westchester struggled in league play, finishing dead last in their division, and in the USL Jägermeister Cup, going winless in four games.
1 Point

23) Neither New York team compete in the 2025 US Open Cup because both, by virtue of making the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, will participate in the 2025 Leagues Cup. –MB

Not true x 2! Both NYCFC and RBNY participated in the 2025 US Open Cup: NYCFC crashed out after one game, while the Red Bulls made it to the Quarterfinals before losing to Philadelphia Union.
0 Points

24) NYCFC will begin to look into signing a big(ger)-name DP on a two-to-three year contract as it looks to both raise its profile and achieve success ahead of moving into Etihad Park. –JN

True enough! The team added a Designated Player in Nico Fernández Mercau, and while nobody would consider him to be a "big name," he looks to be a big signing. His contract keeps him at New York City through 2029.
3 Points

25) NYCFC will welcome back another club “legend” in April as Andrea Pirlo becomes Toronto’s head coach in a shock appointment. –Raf Noboa y Rivera

If only.
0 Points

How did we do? Meh: We took 34 out of a possible 75 points, which works out to just 1.36 points per prediction. That's below the playoff line in the Eastern Conference, and while it would have landed us in 7th Place in the West, we hold ourselves to a higher standard.

It's better than the 29 points (out of a possible 69) we took in 2023, but well behind the 37 points (out of a possible 72) we took last year.

But 2026 is already here, with fresh possibilities for the 26 predictions we'll make soon.