James Sands, under contract with NYCFC through 2028 but now done with recently-relegated FC St. Pauli after back-to-back Bundesliga seasons got prematurely ended by serious injuries. Remains unclear where Sands plays next www.nysoccerjournal.com/new-york-cit...

Nach eineinhalb Jahren verlässt James #Sands den FC St. Pauli in diesem Sommer. Der von MLS-Club New York City FC ausgeliehene Mittelfeldspieler bestach mit Einsatz und Laufstärke, aufgrund zweier schwerer Verletzungen kam der US-Amerikaner nur auf 35 Pflichtspiele. #fcsp

How Matt Freese got to the World Cup Drilled down on 8 standout Freese performances for club and country going back to 2023 that felt like big steps on his journey to the USMNT roster. From his early days as NYCFC starter to the present, let’s remember some big performances from Mr. Freese

Jonny Shore gets a significant national team call-up as he heads to camp with the United States U-19s not long before that squad will compete in Concacaf qualifying for a spot at the 2027 U-20 World Cup. More on his call-up and the path to the U20 World Cup in our frequently-updated NYCFC Tracker

"I always go back to the feeling from Copa América, hearing your national anthem in your home country, it's special, you don't lose that feeling. Now, having a World Cup, it's 10 times more important and the biggest part of your career, so it's an honor.” Joe Scally to @matthewmangam.bsky.social

At Tuesday's #USMNT roster reveal, I spoke to former #NYCFC homegrown Joe Scally about heading to his second World Cup, his time at Gladbach, and his experience for club and country despite being just 23 years old. More below for @nysoccerjournal.com: www.nysoccerjournal.com/joe-scally-u...

The more you know: While none of the formal World Cup base camps are in New York, Saudi Arabia is training at NYCFC’s facility in Rockland County this week before playing a friendly in NJ this weekend, then heading to their real base camp in Austin, TX

Rejecting players by email, or dropping the chosen 26 into a WhatsApp group chat with an impersonal video telling them they made it? Nobody around the USMNT roster got a personal touch from Pochettino, so perhaps the whole thing should have been an email

Amid the pomp and circumstance at Pier 17, the USMNT players to make the World Cup cut spoke confidently about their teammates and the team's chances "We have a team that is unified and understanding of the objective," Mark McKenzie told @matthewmangam.bsky.social. Reactions from Roster Reveal Day

Confirmed that Kai Trewin has joined up with the Australia squad in Florida (Aiden O’Neill is with them, too). 29 players with the Socceroos now before they whittle down to a final 26-man roster; eyes on O’Neill’s ankle health/if he makes final squad

NYCFC's roster (and season?) is falling apart, the USMNT's World Cup roster leaked, and our Soccer Journal pod crew has thoughts, be they positive and negative, about it all 🎙️New episode is live now, on our site or wherever else you'd listen to a podcast

The Mamdani $50 World Cup ticket lottery is capped at 50,000 entries per day and they apparently hit that limit between 10:00 am and 10:03 am today on its first day. Good luck everyone!

“Mackenzie George scores only goal, Sidney Martinez posts seven-save shutout as No. 3 seed Carolina advances to Final”, Brooklyn FC parted with both players after the 2024-25 season and now they’re one win away from a title. Good for them/less good for BKFC

"For an away game against the number one, with the possibilities we had, we should have done better and at least gotten a draw here. But, being a little too naive in our case, cost us," said Pascal Jansen after NYCFC lost in Nashville. More of his postmatch comments, via @matthewmangam.bsky.social

Taty up to 6 goals in the Premier League! As results stand his WHUFC won’t remain in said PL, but scoring for a 1-0 lead in a must-win scenario is at least something

Back-to-back lopsided losses for Gotham FC to close out Concacaf W Champions Cup, with Juan Carlos Amorós saying afterwards, "This week has probably been one to forget." (Understatement) @meghaggupta.bsky.social has more on a tough week in Mexico for the Bats www.nysoccerjournal.com/gotham-fc-vs...

NYCFC drew level with Nashville after going behind in the first half, but a flat start to the second half combined with some mistakes along the back line and in goal cost them any chance for point(s) at Geodis Park. @abejs.bsky.social with more on the 2-1 loss

#NYCFC lost 2-1 away to Nashville, but how did it play out? I break it down ⬇️ www.nysoccerjournal.com/nycfc-vs-nas...

Hannes Wolf didn’t start, came on as a sub in the 66th, now off the pitch down injured and seemingly unable to continue late in second half stoppage time. Just one extra injury in there before the World Cup pause; 2-1 loss to Nashville too, next match in a few months

They can bring on Sam Surridge in the second half while NYCFC will be calling on various teenagers from their MLS Next Pro team. Spain without the S

Malachi Jones homecoming start but my goodness does this team need a two-month break to get some healthy bodies back

Busy week for our NYCFC Tracker, where we compile team news & legit-seeming rumors: -Zidane Yañez loaned to Huntsville City -Surgeries for Maxi, O’Toole -Jovan Mijatović triggers loan extension with Braunschweig -Keaton Parks injured in Cbus warm-ups www.nysoccerjournal.com/new-york-cit...

Last NYCFC Matchday for 60 days as they’re in Nashville hoping to end the pre-World Cup portion of their season on a high note while operating with 8 players out injured Preview with notes on the home team’s dominance of this head-to-head, Nashville’s strengths, + more

City Soccer Review is our subscriber-exclusive weekly newsletter that catches you up on the biggest NY soccer stories in a given week. In this installment, a look at Timothy Weah's willingness to run afoul of the opinions of his USMNT coach while advocating for his local NY soccer community

3 of our contributors cast media votes for the MLS All-Stars, and we’ve collected our ballots and justified all our selections Unanimous on a few players, but with some wildcards. Read all about our ballots @battista.bsky.social @treyfillmore.bsky.social @andrewkleigh.bsky.social

Special Soccer Journal Podcast episode out now: A conversation with Brooklyn FC midfielder Taimu Okiyoshi Why he left Japan to follow a unique path to going pro, one that took him to Utah, West Virginia, Rhode Island, and eventually NY. That + more on the ups and downs of his early USL career 🎧👇

Nashville is top of the league thanks to a deeper-than-ever roster, home-field dominance, and a clear vision of how to play set by BJ Callaghan @matthewmangam.bsky.social got more intel on Nashville from @benwright.bsky.social ahead of NYCFC’s visit to GEODIS Park ⤵️

If you need some cheap tickets to the World Cup, we might know a guy. 🎫 📺: youtu.be/xvBqrCKHpOA

Worst fears realized for NYCFC: Maxi Moralez needs a left ACL repair. Yet it was doubly bad injury news beyond Maxi, as Kevin O’Toole also needed “groin/abdomen” surgery which sounds like a sports hernia to our non-doctor selves More here on the injuries www.nysoccerjournal.com/new-york-cit...

Some deep irony in Timothy Weah helping the mayor roll out discounted World Cup tickets for NYC residents after Pochettino said "It is not [Weah's] duty to evaluate the price of the ticket" and made a whole big thing out of his past (benign!) comments

It’s another year without America’s National Soccer Championship for New York. The U.S. Open Cup has been won by NY teams 26 times. Last champion from New York City: 1991 (Brooklyn Italians) Last champion from the state: 1999 (Rochester Raging Rhinos) #NYCFC #RBNY #USOC2026

Tough night for Gotham as their bid for a W Champions Cup repeat ended in rough fashion, a 4-1 loss to Club América featuring uncharacteristically leaky defending, an injury to their star keeper, and a former Goth notching 3 assists for América More on the altitude, AKB, and this goofy tournament ⤵️

NYCFC put none of their five shots on target and looked shorthanded and lacking creativity, with 7 saves made by Matt Freese not enough to prevent another Open Cup run from ending before the semifinals. @matthewmangam.bsky.social has more on the loss in Columbus ⬇️

What is handball?, he asks for a Millionth time before turning into dust

Quick hands by @usmnt.ussoccer.com goalkeeper Matt Freese 🧤 Things are still tied in Columbus!

Maxi Moralez: Badly missed on corner kick duty

Looks like Keaton Parks got scratched from the initial lineup? Not out there, replaced by Jonny Shore as the game is underway. Would be another costly midfield loss, and possibly another player lost during warmups after Talles Magno got scratched vs DCU

#USOC2026 quarterfinal XIs are out: Andrés Perea in for Maxi, otherwise no changes to the XI that Pascal Jansen has been running out there match after match. Hugo Picard on the bench for Columbus, GK Patrick Schulte not in the squad, either (hadn’t played in either previous Crew Open Cup game)

Don't blame messenger but NYCFC all time, all competitions in Columbus: 1W-6D-8L, -11 goal differential. This is #USOC2026 though; Columbus beat two USL League One teams to get here and now hope a new coach will fix things; NYCFC must immediately adjust to missing Maxi to reach a first-ever semi

Barring a miraculous comeback from Atlanta, it sure looks like the winner of Crew vs NYCFC will be hosting Orlando in the Open Cup semifinals

Big changes for the Brooklyn FC women’s team as the club just announced the dismissals of women’s GM Kevin Tenjo, coach Tomás Tengarrinha, and Tengarrinha’s top assistant, days after they missed the Super League playoffs for a 2nd straight year www.nysoccerjournal.com/brooklyn-fc-...

Hudson River Derby Fines: MLS Disciplinary Committee punishes both sides for violating mass confrontation policy in 23rd minute. Both coaches fined, clubs fined, plus fines for RBNY’s Nealis, Hall, Ruvalcaba; NYCFC’s Thiago Martins, Trewin, Moralez, Fernández Mercau, Ojeda

For whatever it’s worth, heard a previously-announced NYCFC II match relocation (August 1st) was due to expected bad pitch conditions after Icahn Stadium hosts US track & field national championships July 23-26; wondering if August 12 relocation is for the same reason www.usatf.org/events/2026/...

Since James Sands injured his ankle on March 8th, St Pauli didn’t win any of their final 9 matches, taking just 2 points in his absence St Pauli are now relegated, and Sands’ loan expires this June. He remains injured. Not sure what the logical next step is for either party…

Jovan Mijatović hit 14 appearances for Eintracht Braunschweig and reportedly triggered an extension of his loan out from NYCFC through December 31st More on an extended stay in Germany's 2nd tier for a player now with 3 goals in 54 appearances for 3 teams since NYCFC signed him in 2024

MetLife Stadium, which will host eight matches in June and July, is one of the venues most exposed to extreme heat, according to a recent study by researchers at Imperial College, London and World Weather Attribution. www.thecity.nyc/2026/05/19/w...

He’s heard amazing things about Willets Point, Queens

#ICYMI A stoppage-time winner from Christian Koffi lifted the New York Cosmos to a 3-2 win on Saturday versus Westchester SC. The USL Cup clash was also the first “Battle for New York” between the USL League One sides. Recap on @nysoccerjournal.com: www.nysoccerjournal.com/cosmos-vs-we...

Gotham FC: unbeaten in 5, 7 clean sheets kept through 10 NWSL games, and doing it all while being forced by injuries to reshuffle their back line, and while getting a promising rookie attacker up to speed @meghaggupta.bsky.social has more on the resilient, ascendant Bats

#Crew96 have fired coach Henrik Rydström. GM Issa Tall gave three primary reasons: 1. Results (3-7-4 in MLS play) 2. "The way we've played." Well, at times, improving, but not creating chances. Plus, a pile of second-half letdowns. 3. "Culturally not clicking." Laurent Courtois named interim.