New York City FC Scouting Report: A Simple Matter of Overcoming Test Anxiety

You got this, bro(s)!

This feels like the first real test for FC Cincinnati in a while…even if it doesn’t look as tough – or as fun – as it used to. Is it just me, or did Cincy and New York City FC play some wild ones around the time Cincy got their shit together?

I’d look into it, but MLSSoccer.com has been stripped for parts to push people to their shitty app. I will never let this go...

Starting with the basics…

New York City FC
4-4-2, 11 pts., 12 gf, 13 ga (-1); home 3-1-0, away 1-3-2
Last...huh, 8 Results: WWDLLWLW
Strength/Location of Schedule
ORL (2-1 W); v NE (2-1 W); @ CLB (0-0 D); @ ATL (3-4 L); v MIN (1-2 L); v PHI (1-0 W); @ NE (0-2 L); @ TFC (1-0 W)

If anything made NYCFC a reliably competitive team through its best seasons, it was defense. They weren’t much better than average defensively in 2024 and merely occupy the mushy middle in that category this season. But for the fact they average just over a goal for per game (1.2), just over a goal allowed per game (1.3) wouldn’t be so bad, but that combo only makes them good enough for ninth in MLS’s Eastern Conference. One team constant for them did carry over: NYCFC get results in the vast, misshapen stadium they call home - and there lies Cincinnati’s greatest challenge. I don’t know much about their new-to-2024 Dutch head coach, Pascal Jansen, but he put in about eight years in the Eredivisie (or thereabouts; don’t know what Jong PSV is, doesn’t feel enormously important; cool detail about his mom in his bio, tho), and spent 2024 coaching Hungary’s Ferencvaros. More germane to the here and now, Jansen typically goes with a 4-3-3 and the guys he started against both Philly (in NYC) and Toronto (in Toronto) look like the early 2025 version of Plan A. That starting set includes some quality personnel – e.g., Thiago Martins in central defense (think he's shaved off a couple goals, fwiw), Keaton Parks as a ball-winning two-way player and Golden-Boot chaser, Alonso Martinez (six goals, so far) – but I like to hold up the newly-embiggened Justin Haak as a talisman for what NYCFC both has and lacks. Think more drilled competence than game-changing excellence. Something else I can’t shake: how is Maxi Moralez still starting for this team when he was “getting up there” in 2021? Rounding out the regulars, they’re getting decent early production out of Hannes Wolf, who kind of lingers on the sides behind the leading edge of the attack, and they have decent, if under-productive wing/fullbacks in Kevin O’Toole (reliably on the left) and whomever starts between Mitja Ilenic and Tayvon Gray. None of the players mentioned have produced a noteworthy number of assists – something that made sense as I watched them.

The Body of Research
I took in the highlights for the loss at New England and last week’s poacher’s win at Toronto, but went deeper on their recent home games – the 1-2 loss versus Minnesota on April 6 (minutes watched, 10-30; 75-90+) and their 1-0 thieving win versus Philadelphia. As noted below, those games played out in visibly different ways – i.e., Minnesota invited NYC to stay on the ball, which allowed them to time on the ball (they may or may not have wanted), while Philly’s more aggressive defensive style gave them a broader attacking shape on the vertical access. The horizontal, on the other, stunningly narrow at times. For anyone who wants what I’d call the likeliest glimpse of what Cincy will face on Sunday afternoon, focus on the game against the Union.

Like they're kicking this around...

Applying the Intel
1) How NYCFC Plays, Generally
Over the time I watched them, Les Pigeons played the most obvious decent pass, quickly and cleanly as possible and almost to a fault. They dawdled across the back against Minnesota a bit, but mostly because they had the time, but, once they went forward, yeah, it was the first pass forward, or forward and to the side, almost every time. At the risk of exaggeration, I’d say only Moralez is allowed time on the ball, while everyone else just goes like hell. From Cincy’s perspective, the main thing to watch/manage, particularly through midfield, is the first obvious pass. Disrupt that – as Toronto did, pretty damn well (damn shame the last pass kept going to Charlie Sharp) – and Cincy might have a day.

2) An Attack Composed Solely of Midfielders
He’s keeping pace with Hugo Cuypers, sure, but don’t think I ever saw Martinez attempt hold up play and don’t think Jansen has a player on the entire roster to do that. As such, NYCFC’s attack relies almost solely on running their attackers against the line and chasing balls into space. The Union lost on the gamble of defending high and keeping a lid on Martinez, a task Jack Elliott has failed more than once in 2025, so he doesn't get a free run in behind as he did here. [Ed. - Elliott doesn't play for Philly; stoned typo.] Slow as Matt Miazga is (right now?), I don’t Cincy getting burned on that, but I’d still caution against a pointless gamble; I’d run with respecting NYCFC’s overall approach and not fucking up at the back as the surest path to all three points. One argument in support of that theory: New York City FC had fired the fourth fewest shots on goal as of the Philly win; I doubt that’s changed much, if at all, over the succeeding weeks.

3) Beating Them
While they’ll do some low-risk skirmishing higher up the field, NYC generally defends by dropping into a firm shape and stepping out to pressure the passer once the ball gets in their end. Simple and conservative, basically, and I expect they’ll split possession more or less evenly versus Cincy. Breaking down that shape won’t come easy, but, hey, if Atlanta can do it four times, why not dream big? Cincy has existing weapons – e.g., Kevin Denkey and Evander – and potential weapons – e.g., Luca Orellano and maybe Lukas Engel if teams keep leaving him alone – so maybe this becomes a game where they count on keeping out NYC’s relatively few shots and throw a little extra into the attack.

That’s it for this one. I see more reasons for Cincy to go for the points, as opposed to proving some other (probably) pointless theory, and hope that’s what I see them do. I don’t have high hopes for the rest of my aspirations – e.g., a more connected offense, maybe another week off for Miazga (because, with Gilberto Flores available, what are you losing?) – but this one feels winnable, one that, if Cincinnati pulls it off, would feel like a low-key announcement to the East.