Hi, MLS expert here! American football markings on the pitch can be really annoying but they're actually really easy to avoid if you play soccer on a baseball diamond as god intended

I’m sure Matt enjoyed announcing this while sitting next to the man who questioned whether USMNT “had the wrong Matt” a few months ago teehee

. 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯️ 🕯 Barraza pls 🕯 🕯 don’t go beast mode 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯 🕯

Justin Haak demonstrating that you don’t beat a low block by passing, you beat it with movement

Pay him!

What a way to celebrate the rich history of the Hudson River Derby with 4 current/former Red Bull players, 2 New York Knicks, and 0 NYCFC players at a concert venue that actual New Yorkers hate to go to.

🇦🇺 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚 🇦🇺

some exclusive reporting on the pod: NYCFC approached Justin Haak with an extension offer early in the season, but Haak and his team found the number far below expectation - two sides have not worked on a deal since Haak and co. hopeful NYC will return with a higher number, else he leaves for free

Cooper Flagg won the Wooden Award last year, now Cooper Flax has the Mac Hermann Award in his sights. Fantastic breakdown here from @paulharvey.theoutfield.nyc on who and what to watch for from a NYCFC perspective as the collegiate season kicks off.

I enjoy the weird little world that is college soccer, and with that in mind I wrote about some players that might be of interest to NYCFC fans (and even some broader audiences as well)

College soccer is back! Cooper Flax is chasing the Mac Hermann. Alexander Yagudayev wants the No. 1 spot. More NYCFC alums are making moves this fall. @paulharvey.theoutfield.nyc breaks down homegrowns, draft picks & local stars who could wear sky blue in 2026. www.theoutfield.nyc/p/varsity-bl...

Wishing Keaton all the best in recovery. A huge blow to the ceiling of NYCFC's midfield this year.

update: NYCFC announce Keaton Parks surgery "Keaton Parks successfully underwent surgery to address blood flow issues in his right leg." There is no timetable for his return as of now This is Keaton's third absence due to his vascular issue

Tired: Seeing your new DP assist a game-winning goal and your star striker score a hat-trick Wired: Seeing Pascal Jansen stabilize the defense in the with yellow card machine Strahinja Tanasijević and not allowing a shot on goal in the second half.

Wake up and watch the two shortest players on the pitch connect for an uncontested set-piece header in the middle of the box.

-Perea beats out the sauce brothers for the wing spot 🇨🇴 -Wolf gets the other after his short absence 🐺 -Bakrar gone, as we reported on the pod 🚶‍♂️ -TAYVON GRAY CB HOURS 🧱 HOMEGROWN CB PAIRING 🐣 -NICO ON THE BENCH 🌟

@chriscampbell.theoutfield.nyc asked Pascal yesterday about starting Perea at the wing. Mentioned wanting to get "the extra bodies in the central part of the pitch" and that Perea "can find his way into these spots in midfield" from the wing.

New York City FC II will play the rest of its 2025 regular season home matches at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island, beginning this Saturday, July 26, against Philadelphia Union II at 4pm ET. #NYCFC

NYCFC CB Thiago Martins is out 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery. A backline already dealing with Risa leaving gets even thinner.

Birk Risa held the line when NYCFC needed it most. Now he's back in Norway. @justinegan.theoutfield.nyc explains how Pascal Jansen is rethinking the defense without his only left-footed CB. Kevin O’Toole is part of the answer, but he can’t be the only one. www.theoutfield.nyc/p/no-risa-fo...

NYCFC CEO Brad Sims has confirmed: 1) Mounsef Bakrar to Croatia is done 2) Brazilian CB Raul Gustavo from Pascal Jansen's old club Ferencváros is incoming 3) NYCFC in the market for a winger that can play ST as 3rd DP

🫡

This is what happens when a professional soccer team listens to @paulharvey.theoutfield.nyc

Last week’s Montreal v. NYCFC game featured more tactical nuance than I was expecting. I wrote about the battle between acting head coaches Marco Donadel & Mehdi Ballouchy & how NYCFC struggled to find ways to defend Montreal’s inside fullbacks, w/ Dante Sealy as one of the primary beneficiaries.

new pod: imminent not covered in new pod: former Pascal Jansen CB Raul Gustavo coming over from Hungary www.csakfoci.hu/magyar-foci/...

NYCFC: unbeaten vs East playoff teams, but swept by last-place Montréal. @kevinnelson.theoutfield.nyc breaks down the latest loss—and how Donadel used inside fullbacks to outmaneuver #NYCFC. www.theoutfield.nyc/p/the-poutin...

We dropped g+ sub categories last week, and here is how we use them from @paulharvey.theoutfield.nyc @mimburgio.bsky.social and @beninquiring.bsky.social www.americansocceranalysis.com/home/2025/7/... Using Goals Added Subcategories for Player Evaluation — American Soccer Analysis

This has been a culmination of a lot of work - h/t to @mimburgio.bsky.social for the coding and nitty gritty detail work and @beninquiring.bsky.social for reviewing, editing, and questioning the data. I'm really pleased with the tableau dashboard in particular - spend time exploring it if you can

🔵 Sources: NYCFC have completed a deal to sign Argentine No. 10 Nicolás Fernández from Elche. Fernández, 25, will be a designated player. 7g/10a in ~2,700 mins last year. Big addition for NYCFC. Can debut after MLS summer window opens on July 24

NYCFC will be floating a 700 pound, 5 story tall inflatable pigeon down the Hudson River tomorrow. It will finally end up in Willets Point where rumor has it that it will transform into the concrete sculpture that will adorn Etihad Park www.theoutfield.nyc/p/from-stree...

Great insight into the flexibility of Pascal Jansen's tactics at New York City FC.

Nico Fernandez deal 'stached

Incredible that other MLS teams watch Minnesota score from a box throw every damn week and some of them still aren't doing it

Really superb work here from @justinegan.theoutfield.nyc on Pascal Jansen's tactical flexibility & problem-solving skills. Worth noting that after basically saving NYCFC's season by pushing Justin Haak into the John Stones role, he was willing to go back to a traditional back 4 on Thursday night.

g+ GameFlow: MLS Regular Season New York City FC v Toronto FC on July 03, 2025. #NYCvTOR ⚽️🤖

The New York Times about to write a hit piece on this goal.

With Kevin O'Toole delivering an excellent performance off the bench, Pascal Jansen downplayed the idea of a competition with Birk Risa for minutes at left back, saying Risa has a "different profile than Kevin."

Tomás Romero has been fantastic for NYCFC. After the game, he recognized how special this moment was. After a rough rookie season at LAFC, not every keeper gets a second chance—and it took years of work to earn this opportunity. This month, he’s looked like a true MLS starter.

Matt Freese in the Gold Cup meant three games starting for Tomas Romero. Jansen said he had "no doubt in his mind" about putting in Romero, labeling some of his saves as "spectacular", but not surprising because he "works so hard in training." #nycfc #mls

Pascal Jansen called Mitja Ilenič’s goal-and-assist performance “pretty decent,” but said he wants to see “more consistency in his performances.” He added that Ilenič “was missing out on the options in the middle.” #nycfc #mls

Dominguez was just upset that Mitja had a better g+ ranking

New York City FC: 3 (1.38 xG) vs Toronto FC: 1 (1.4 xG) #NYCvTOR | #AustinFC | #TFCLive | #MLS | 🤖⚽

Hannes Wolf, currently on a tear with six goals in his last six matches, was praised by Pascal Jansen as “the ultimate team player.” #nycfc #mls

We got pregame reading for the only #mls game on docket tonight. Forget about Insigne and Bernardeschi- it's Justin Haak time.

NYCFC has a new Argentine DP No. 10 Nicolás Fernández Mercau! @justinegan.theoutfield.nyc took a look at the 📽️ on Nico: www.theoutfield.nyc/p/welcome-to...

Last week, I asked Mehdi Ballouchy about the deployment of center backs and his response centered around the versatility of Justin Haak. @justinegan.theoutfield.nyc expertly breaks down how Pascal Jansen applies that versatility in his tactical adjustments the last month +

Felt bad for Justin Haak in the beginning of the year with everyone asking him the same question about whether he liked playing CB or CDM better. Jansen made it easy for him because now he plays both at the same time. I wrote WAY TOO MUCH about how NYCFC got there:

💥 New Egan Banger 💥 nice long one on the complex task given to Justin Haak this year tap in 👇