Through the first five matches of the 2025 season, Red Bull New York earned a solid eight points. That start was highlighted by an incredible home opener victory against Nashville SC. But, what has become public knowledge at this point, New York missed the playoffs at season’s end.
Through their first five matches of the 2026 season, they have been slightly worse. Posting a 2-2-1 record with seven points, it has been an odd start for Red Bull.
There have been a few positives for the club, who are embarking on a new era under head coach Michael Bradley. There have also been things that need a little bit of polishing up.
With the FIFA International Break ongoing, now is a perfect time to dissect the beginning of New York’s 2026 season.
Making a Name
The youth movement at Red Bull has been a major storyline to start the new season. Headlined by three outstanding youngsters in Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti and Matthew Dos Santos, the kids have come to play.
Hall has been fantastic to open up 2026. The recently turned 18-year-old leads New York with four goals, allowing him to be included in the top 10 in goals in Major League Soccer (MLS). It has been exciting for a player who has the potential to become something special.
For Mehmeti, the midfielder has garnered praise from many for his work on the pitch in the early going of the season. With two assists this campaign, the 16-year-old has become a reliable piece in the starting eleven. It helps that his coach is a former midfielder and that he gets to play alongside a great midfielder like Emil Forsberg.
On to Dos Santos, his performances vs Orlando City SC and the New England Revolution proved why he deserved a spot on the first team.
It’s great to see Bradley trust his young ballers immensely and their futures look bright. You also can’t forget about this incredible goal vs New England which included all three of them.
Starving for Goals
With Hall scoring four goals already, surely the rest of the attack has flourished in Bradley’s system, right? Outside of Hall, Eric Choupo-Moting has been their only other scorer this season. His one goal came vs Toronto FC and it was massive.
On the season, Red Bull only have five goals to their name. Their newest additions in Jorge Ruvalcaba and Cade Cowell have yet to score and Forsberg only has one goal contribution. That goal contribution for Forsberg was an assist on Hall’s first goal vs Orlando.
It is possible for this club to generate opportunities. At the moment, things need to be fine tuned in order for the attack to click.
While it’s excellent that Hall has done his job and carried the load for them, players like Choupo-Moting need to get back on track. Let’s not forget that Choupo-Moting was one of the best scorers in MLS in 2025. The goals will start coming quickly, hopefully as soon as their April 4 match against FC Cincinnati.
That’s Enough Goals Defense
So, the backline is struggling as expected. With 11 goals allowed in 2026, it has been a mess defensively for New York.
Let’s start with some positives. When healthy, Dylan Nealis has arguably been one of the top players on New York this season. Unfortunately, Nealis has been out with an ankle injury the past few weeks, which has hindered the backline’s ability to play well.
It’s not only Nealis who has suffered injury problems on the backline. Justin Che, who looked solid when healthy, has been out with a hamstring injury.
This has left a thin backline vulnerable and has forced a good goalkeeper like Ethan Horvath to suffer. With only one clean sheet for Horvath this season, things have not looked good for him or the defenders in front of him to start.
What’s odd is that a good defender like Tim Parker hasn’t really been utilized in the early portion of the campaign. While he did sub on and play 34 minutes vs Charlotte FC, his impact has been small. Midfielder Gustav Berggren actually started on the backline instead of Parker in that Charlotte match which puzzled many.
The depth issue has been addressed with the club adding Joyeux Masanka Bungi and Julián Bazán in recent weeks. Will that be enough however? That remains to be seen.
For everyone’s sake, let’s hope New York doesn’t allow six goals in a match again this season.
A Breath of Fresh Air
I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t the biggest fan of New York’s former head man in Sandro Schwarz. A disappointing season does that to one.
In Bradley’s first season as the coach of the first team, the vision is there. Bradley showing confidence in his young talent is big and I appreciate that. After winning the MLS NEXT Pro Cup Final with Red Bull New York II in 2025, he knows that the talent is there at the club.
The way he treats the media is refreshing and many can tell that he loves this incredible game. He does say football instead of soccer but we’ll give him a pass on that.
He also finds ways to see the positive side of things like following their embarrassing loss to Charlotte on March 21.
“We’re trying one day at a time, to build a team that can hold up in the biggest moments, that can play football, that can compete, that can really, really challenge for things in every way,” Bradley said following the Charlotte loss. “I said to the players, unfortunately, nights like this are a tough part of that road, that journey. We have to look at ourselves. Understand the things that are going in a good direction, understand the things that need to get better — and we will.”
Things will get better for Bradley and his squad.
The Road Ahead
April will be a busy month ahead for Red Bull in league play.
The club will have their first home match since March 8 when they face Cincinnati on April 4. They will face them again, this time in “the Queen City” on April 25. Cincinnati currently sits ninth in the Eastern Conference standings as of March 28.
Red Bull will also be one of the first few teams to play at Inter Miami CF’s new stadium when they visit the reigning MLS Cup winners on April 11. Austin FC will be the first visiting team to play at Nu Stadium.
New York will also be looking for revenge against CF Montréal when they visit the province of Québec on April 18. Red Bull will then face D.C. United on April 22 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
