With the FIFA International Window now in the rearview mirror, FC Cincinnati are back in action this weekend in a return to MLS play and take on Red Bull New York at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
The one-weekend ‘off’ from MLS games so international teams can play, provided the first real break in the busy start to the 2026 season for FC Cincinnati. So, while nine players were away with their countries, the International Break was hardly that as The Orange and Blue bunkered down and used this time without matches to work on their game and improve after a disappointing start to the year.
“The truth is I think it’s been very good,” defender Gilberto Flores said Wednesday of the break between matches. “I think it's served us well. It’s a chance to better ourselves and get better. Now, the focus turns into the game now on Saturday and preparation for that.”
After a victory in their last match, coming from behind three times to defeat CF Montréal at home despite going down to 10-men, FC Cincinnati were able to ride some of those positive feelings into the break and improve with a better mindset.
“It's better to go through that little break with three points,” goalkeeper Evan Louro said Wednesday ahead of the match. “The mood is a little bit better… but I think this group does a really good job of not getting too high by the highs and not getting too low by the lows; just focusing on what we need to do to get ready for the next game. I think we've done a really good job of that.”
“It was a really important victory for us,” Flores added. “That helps you to have that momentum and have that focus to build up for the next game.”
The next test though is certainly an inflection point. Red Bull New York find themselves at the opposite place of where FCC is as they come into this match and out of the break with their last in result being a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Charlotte FC. So while vibes had been high for the Red Bulls early in the year, that result may have brought them back to earth.
That said, FCC says they aren’t particularly swayed by that Red Bulls loss, and the potential they have makes for a challenging opponent, no matter the trends.
“Put the results aside, I think their team, with this small sample size of games, has been very impressive,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Red Bull New York. “I've been really impressed with their play. Of course, a lot of the attention has been put to the youth that's on the field, but they can play. There's a reason they're out there, and they also have good experience to help guide them. So it'll be a really good challenge.”
FC Cincinnati have been not only very successful on the road, but historically successful as one of the only clubs in league history to win double-digit road games in consecutive years. This year though, The Orange and Blue have not yet earned a point on the road. This match provides that next opportunity as Noonan and the squad look to get back to that success.
“The energy was good, the work was good,” Noonan said of training this week ahead of the road match. “Now it's, ‘how do we connect that all in the next 24 hours and go and perform.’”
FC Cincinnati at Red Bull New York – Saturday, April 4, 2026 – 7:30 p.m. ET – Sports Illustrated Stadium
Watch/Stream (English/Spanish): Apple TV
English Local Radio: ESPN 1530
Spanish Local Radio: La Mega 101.5 FM
History vs Red Bull New York
FC Cincinnati have played more road matches at Sports Illustrated Stadium than any other road venue, by far. Formerly named Red Bull Arena, Saturday will be FCC’s 17th all-time visit to Sports Illustrated Stadium – and the 15th in FCC’s MLS era. FCC have faced NYCFC three times in Red Bull Arena and also faced Red Bulls II twice in Harrison in the club’s USL days.
Saturday will be FC Cincinnati’s 21st all-time match against the New York Red Bulls, tied with Columbus Crew for the Orange and Blue’s most-faced opponent in all competitions.
FC CINCINNATI NOTES
(Courtesy of *FC Cincinnati Communications*)
International Duty – Nine FC Cincinnati players joined their countries during the March FIFA International Window. Five at the senior level: Miles Robinson (United States), Pavel Bucha (Czechia), Kévin Denkey (Togo), Teenage Hadebe (Zimbabwe) and Bryan Ramirez (Ecuador); four at the youth level: Ademar Chávez (United States U17), Andrei Chirila (United States U18),
Samuel Gidi (Slovakia U21) and Gerardo ‘Dado’ Valenzuela (United States U21).
Kévin Keeps Scoring – After scoring the game winner last Sunday, Denkey departed for International Duty with Togo and scored twice for Les Éperviers in their two friendlies during the window. The forward has now scored eight goals for club and country in 2026 (six for club, two for country) in 10 matches.
Cusp of League History – FC Cincinnati’s Brazilian #10, Evander, enters Saturday with 42 career MLS goals, one goal shy of tying Wélton’s (1996-2000: NE, LA, MIA) all-time MLS record of goals scored by a Brazilian-born player (43).
Earned It – FC Cincinnati announced this week the signing of FC Cincinnati 2 defender Andrei Chirila as a Homegrown Player on a contract through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season, with an option through the 2029-30 season. Chirila, 17, becomes the third player in club history – following his brother Stefan Chirila and Ademar Chávez – to follow the player pathway from the FC Cincinnati Academy to an MLS NEXT Pro contract with FC Cincinnati 2 to then sign a first-team MLS contract. The 6-foot-3-inch center back has already made three appearances on short-term loan with FCC, starting and going the full 90 minutes in each of his outings.
Scouting Red Bull New York (2-2-1, 7 Points, T5 Eastern Conference)
Red Bull New York are under new leadership this season and have looked both to the past and to the future to define this next step for the club.
MLS legend and USMNT icon Michael Bradley has taken over as Head Coach, returning to the club where he made his professional playing debut 22 years ago to lead the next generation. Bradley, who was the Head Coach of the Red Bulls MLS NEXT Pro club in 2025, made nearly 300 appearances in MLS for New York and Toronto FC combined, and 151 appearances for the US Men’s National Team. This is Bradley’s first top-division coaching appointment, but he served as an assistant in Norway in 2024 to get his coaching career started. FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan served as an assistant coach with the USMNT while Bradley played for the national squad.
“It's not a surprise that he's in the position he's in,” Noonan said of his now opposing coach. “The way Michael played the game, thinks the game, he was always a coach and a leader on the field. That's carried over quickly to him being the head coach, and I've been really impressed with their play.”
“I've been really impressed and not surprised with the work that Michael's doing.”
With Bradley as the new manager, the American has been fearless in adding young players to the lineup and has ushered in a youth movement for the Red Bulls in only five games.
Three of New York's top 10-minute getters this season have been 17-year-olds or younger, with four of their five goals coming from forward Julian Hall, who only turned 18 over the international break. Fellow teens Adri Mehmeti (16) and Matthew Dos Santos (17) have also logged over 320 minutes each this season.
“I think if you were to watch them and not know, and not have context, and just say, ‘All right, I'm watching this team.’ It doesn't look like a bunch of kids out there,” FC Cincinnati Head Coach Pat Noonan said of Red Bulls' young players on Thursday ahead of the match. “They play with confidence. They play with a good commitment and purpose…it looks like they're experienced players out there. Again, it's a small sample size, but it's been impressive.”
Hall joined the first team in 2023 as a 15-year-old and, over the following three years, appeared 38 times and made 4 starts. This year, Hall has already eclipsed that with five starts and 442 minutes played of a possible 450.
In addition to the teenage youth, there is a stable of young players to support them. As well as a few marquee stars.
Captain Emil Forsburg remains a force in the middle, playing every possible minute this season. Americans Cade Cowell, 22, and Jorge Ruvalcaba, 24, have also been core members of the squad through five matches.
On the defensive side of the ball, the young Dos Santos has been a key contributor on the left side of a back four. In the middle, the somewhat more veteran Robert Voloder and Gustav Berggren have been on patrol. That said, Berggren received a red card in their last match and will thus be unavailable.
No matter who plays for the Red Bulls, though, the club's identity stands out most. The RBNY identity has become known for its pressure-packed, intense, gritty and relentless style of play that many others have tried to replicate. When going into Sports Illustrated Stadium, dealing with that is paramount to success.
“They're gonna be really hard to play against,” goalkeeper Evan Louro said of the Red Bulls. The current FC Cincinnati keeper grew up in the Red Bull Academy before attending the University of Michigan. “They're gonna be really hard against the ball. They're going to work hard, they're going to get chances – they're just a good team. They're a young team. I think Michael's done a lot of good stuff, and obviously, he's a legend of the game, especially here in the States. So we're excited ”
Under Bradley, the Red Bulls have deployed a 4-3-3 formation with American goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in net.
