• Matchday 20: New York City FC vs Toronto FC
• Date and Time: Thursday, July 3 7:30 pm ET
• Venue: Yankee Soccer Stadium, The Bronx, NY
• Forecast: Hot, humid, 82F/28C
• Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Neil Sika and Lloyd Sam (English), Jose Bauz and Ivan Kasanzew (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matty Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Fotis Bazakos (referee), Ian McKay and Tyler Wyrostek (assistant referees), Ricardo Montero Araya (fourth official), Kevin Terry Jr. (VAR), Jonathan Johnson (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will wear the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Toronto will wear the classic red Club Kit
It's Matchday 20, and New York City FC is back in The Bronx for their third Thursday night game this season. The opponent this time is Toronto FC, who currently sits in 13th Place in the Eastern Conference with just four wins after 19 games, but who are feeling lighter after terminating the contracts of Designated Players Federico Bernardeschi and Lorenzo Insigne on Tuesday, and shedding about $21.3 million in salary. By comparison, NYCFC's entire payroll is $15 million, less than the $15.4 million paid to Insigne alone.
New York City is coming off a lifeless 1-0 road loss to CF Montréal last Saturday. NYCFC was without striker Alonso Martínez, goalkeeper Matt Freese, and head coach Pascal Jansen. Nevertheless, there were eleven players on the field, and an attack led by Mounsef Bakrar and Hannes Wolf looked completely outmatched by the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
The same night that NYCFC was being silenced by Montréal, Toronto was rolling to an inspired 3-0 win over visiting Portland Timbers. A Toronto lineup that was without Bernardeschi and Insigne ceded possession but created the better chances, putting seven shots on target and finishing with an xG of 1.45 as they won for just the fourth time this year and the first time in five games.
While momentum favors Toronto, NYCFC will want to take full advantage of the one and only Major League Soccer home game they'll play in July. Next week, New York City will set off on a grueling four-game road trip that will take them to Charlotte, Orlando, Kansas City, and Dallas. The best way to head into a run of games like that is with a win at Yankee Soccer Stadium.
Michael Battista
New York City vs Toronto H2H
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 46 | 0 |
The head-to-head between the two comfortably favors New York City now that the club is riding a five-game winning streak in all competitions dating to the 5-0 Leagues Cup romp in the rain on July 26, 2023.
NYCFC has outscored Toronto 15-3 in this run of games, bringing the two sides level with 46 goals each. That’s the second-most New York City has against any club, trailing only the 47 scored against Orlando City in 28 games. Aa for the 46 goals against, that’s the third most behind New York Red Bulls (49 in 31 games) and Columbus Crew (47 in 27 games).
Hudson River Blue Staff
New York City Scouting Report
• Player Availability: Keaton Parks (foot) and Malachi Jones (leg) remain out with injuries. In addition, New York City is without goalkeeper Freese, who is busy making the nation proud with the USMNT at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
• One player who won't be in the lineup anytime soon is Jovan Mijatović. The 19-year-old striker's loan with OH Leuven of Belgium's Jupiler Pro League expired at the end of June, but a new agreement was finalized and he'll remain in the land of twice-fried pomme frites through June 30, 2026.
• Martínez is back with NYCFC after Costa Rica lost to the USMNT on Sunday when he converted his penalty in the shootout that decided the match after scoring the game-tying goal in the 71st minute. Martínez logged three goals and three assists over five competitive games with Los Ticos, helping his country to an undefeated record of 3W-2D-0L, with the two draws coming against Mexico and the United States.
• When New York City beat Toronto on April 26, it was thanks to an Alonso Martínez penalty kick. NYCFC are second in MLS (tied with the Red Bulls) with five penalties awarded to them so far this season.
• Will we see Aiden O'Neill? The Australian midfielder returned to the matchday squad for the loss in Montréal but was an unused substitute. He last played competitive minutes while on international duty with Australia in their World Cup qualification-clinching win in Saudi Arabia on June 10.
• Pascal Jansen is back after briefly returning to Europe for a personal matter. While no details have been disclosed, we understand that Jansen was attending to a family concern, and we wish the head coach the best.
Oliver Strand
Toronto Scouting Report
• To learn more about Toronto, be sure to read Oppo Research: 5 Things about Toronto FC. In this edition, Matthew Mangam spoke with John Molinaro of TFC Republic, who thinks that the club will be in better shape after the high-priced contracts of Insigne and Bernardeschi were terminated earlier this week.
Matthew Mangam
