FC Cincinnati return to MLS action this weekend, hosting CF Montréal in a Sunday afternoon tilt at TQL Stadium.
With the Concacaf Champions Cup now in the rearview mirror, FC Cincinnati need to refocus and shift quickly to league play as the club looks to make up ground and regain form after a frustrating stretch of performances and results.
With a 1-3-0 record in MLS play this season, FC Cincinnati is keen to build some momentum and improve on a challenging start to the season. With an international break looming after this match, meaning there will be a full week off before the next time FCC play, a strong performance and result headed into that break would be extremely valuable.
“It's a quick turnaround and we have to pick our head up and go play and perform in front of our our fans, and try to go into this international break in a good way. That's where we're at,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said Saturday ahead of the Sunday afternoon match. “We're professionals. There's no feeling sorry for yourself, you've got to get on with it. It's a good thing that we haven't had stretches like this previously where it's felt this way, but now you have to manage those emotions and figure out how to improve. And so that's maybe too simple, but that's where we're at.”
Early in this 2026 season, The Orange and Blue have had a series of individual milestones marking career and club achievements with more potentially on the way this Sunday.
Last week, Roman Celentano became the fourth player in club history to eclipse 150 appearances for the club. This Sunday, Alvas Powell could join him after making his 149th appearance on Thursday in Concacaf Champions Cup action. Kévin Denkey also moved into sole possession of fourth all-time in goal scored for the club with his 23rd finish. Evander, who is still seeking his first goal of 2026, is one goal shy of equaling the MLS record for most goals by a Brazilian player in league history.
FC Cincinnati has historically been very solid against CF Montréal – winning seven of 13 matches all time against the French Canadian club, including a 3-0 victory over them last season on Decision Day. At TQL Stadium, The Orange and Blue are 3-1-1 against CFM as well, but despite the strong results in the past, the priority is putting in a strong performance and turning the tide in recent matches, no matter who the opponent is.
“We haven't, I think, felt this way over a period of time where the performances and the results were not where they need to be. Typically, we've gotten one aspect right, and so we've got to continue to work to try to figure things out,” Noonan continued from the Mercy Health Training Center before training on Saturday. “There's been plenty of conversations with players, with staff, asking, 'how do we help these guys and continue to teach and get better?' That's never going to change and trying to figure out how we can get a confident group on the field for Sunday.”
After Sunday’s match, 10 FC Cincinnati players will join their national teams at multiple youth levels and senior squads for this FIFA International Window. 12 total players were called up across eight nations, though only 10 will travel due to injury and international travel complications.
FC Cincinnati vs CF Montréal – Sunday, March 22, 2026 – 1 p.m. ET – TQL Stadium
Watch/Stream (English/Spanish): Apple TV
English Local Radio: ESPN 1530
Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM
History vs CF Montréal
FC Cincinnati are 7-4-2 against CF Montréal all time as the two clubs meet for the 14th time.
Somewhat uniquely, nine of the first 13 meetings between FC Cincinnati and CF Montréal have either ended in a draw or been decided by one goal. The outlier though has been four recent matches between the sides as FCC have won 3-1, 3-0, 4-1 and 3-0 in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Only three of the 13 all-time meetings between the clubs have featured fewer than three combined goals.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
Looking for a rebound – Following elimination from the Concacaf Champions Cup Thursday night, FC Cincinnati look to bounce back Sunday against CF Montréal. Sunday marks Cincinnati’s ninth match in the first 32 days of the 2026 season.
The Orange and Blue’s seven all-time wins against Montréal are tied (7, Chicago Fire FC) for FCC’s most MLS wins over any one opponent (9, Toronto FC). FCC have scored 30 goals against Montréal and hold an all-time +10 goal differential the club, both of which are bests for FCC in MLS play, all-time.
Kévin – Kévin Denkey scored again in Mexico this week as he netted his 23rd goal for FC Cincinnati in all competitions. He now stands alone in fourth in FC Cincinnati’s all-time history for goals scored...right on his heels is teammate Evander, who seeks his first goal of 2026.
International Duty – FC Cincinnati expects another busy international break for members of The Orange and Blue.
As of Saturday, call-ups include: Roman Celentano and Miles Robinson (USA), Kévin Denkey (Togo), Teenage Hadebe (Zimbabwe) Bryan Ramirez (Ecuador), Ender Echenique (Venezula) Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela (USA U21), Samuel Gidi (Slovakia U21), Stefan Chirila (Romania U21) Andrei Chirila (USA U18) and Ademar Chávez (USA U17). But perhaps the biggest call-up of the window is Pavel Bucha with Czechia earning his first call-up since 2021, and his first as a non-replacement. Bucha and the Czechs enter European World Cup Qualifiers, where two wins in Prague would qualify the country to their first World Cup since 2006.
Scouting CF Montréal (1-3-0, 3 Points, T9 Eastern Conference)
CF Montréal come into this weekend in the midst of their annual road trip to start the MLS season, playing their fifth game of six to open the season on the road before returning to Quebec for their season opener. Major League Soccer’s most northern club have played all of its matches south of the border thus far.
The French-Canadian club is managed by former midfield star Marco Donadel, who finished his 18-year professional playing career with three seasons in Montréal. He was named an assistant coach at the club in 2025 and was elevated to Interim Head Coach that same season, before being named full-time Head Coach ahead of the 2026 season.
Donadel, who won an Olympic Bronze Medal with Italy, has for the most part deployed his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation this season, while also being flexible to a 5-4-1 shape when needed.
Captain and center forward Prince Owusu is the engine for CFM and leads the team in goal contributions over the last two seasons. At 6’3”, Owusu is one of the most physically imposing forwards in MLS and is able to use his size to his advantage, putting his stamp on matches. This year, he has already scored twice in four matches while playing nearly every minute.
“They got [Prince] Owusu, who's, for me, an excellent target striker,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of the CF Montréal forward. “How he uses his body, how he gets the midfield and the wide guys into play, how he runs in behind, how he moves in front of goal. I think he is consistently improving, so, he's a handful.”
In the midfield, there has been a solid core of four, with Matty Longstaff and Victor Loturi more centrally, and Wikelman Carmona and Hennadii Synchu on the flanks.
The defensive core is anchored by young talent, with CF Montréal prioritizing youth this offseason to build it’s squad. Effrain Morales, 21, who joined CFM at the end of last season from Atlanta United FC, has started every match thus far, and Tomás Avilés, 22, who was traded from Inter Miami CF, has also been a key piece on the backline. A little more veteran, defender Dagur Dan Þórhallsson joined CF Montreal this offseason as well. The 25-year-old Icelandic defender made 95 appearances with Orlando City SC over three seasons before joining CF Montreal. He has started all four matches as well.
Between the pipes for CF Montréal this season is Chilean keeper Thomas Gillier, who made eight appearances for the club in 2025 but is now poised to be the main man in net this season. Gillier, 21, is on loan to Montréal from Italian club Bologna. Joey Sapputo, the owner of CF Montréal, is also the chairman of the board at Bologna.
