Philadelphia and New York City are two of the most well-known cities along the east coast, as well as two sites for some of the most historic rivalries in North American sports. There are the intense games played on the gridiron between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, the body-checking battles between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, the slugfest skirmishes between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, or the divisional disputes between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. These are all deep-rooted derbies that have produced many magical moments and provided us entertaining affairs over the years with each team producing countless icons of their respective sport.
A rivalry that may not have been around for quite as long as the previously mentioned ones is the one between Major League Soccer (MLS) Eastern Conference opponents the Philadelphia Union and New York City Football Club (NYCFC). Although NYCFC played its first match in the MLS in 2015 and Union in 2010, the rivalry has seen an exponential rise in its significance since the 2021 season. Every rivalry begins with a defining match and it took until the 2021 Eastern Conference Final to get this pivotal milestone between the two organizations only separated by about one hundred miles along I-95.
During the COVID season the two sides met in the Eastern Conference Final under unprecedented circumstances on December 5, 2021. The Union had eleven players missing due to league health provisions enforced in response to the pandemic. They would go on to lose the match 2-1 and a sense of an opportunity missed was radiating amongst the club and its supporters of the Philadelphia-based soccer team. Since that day a natural rivalry developed between the two sides and we have been provided with a consistent flow of high-stakes, engaging matchups, even as recent as the 2025 Eastern Conference Semi-Final, which NYCFC also claimed victory in.
In the early stages of the 2026 MLS season, the two played where the outcome was a 2-1 NYCFC away win bringing their total record in the rivalry to 14 wins, 12 losses, and 2 draws across all competitions. Philadelphia Union may be playing in the Leagues Cup tonight against Santos Laguna of Liga MX, but their supporters will no doubt still have one eye on their fixture against their local rivals taking place on August 16 in the American first division regular season.
Following an extremely disappointing start to their MLS campaign where they found themselves bottom of the Eastern Conference Standings, the Union have reclaimed some momentum. Since play resumed after the conclusion of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final, the Union have played three matches against three very competitive opponents in Red Bull New York, Seattle Sounders, and Atlanta United coming out on top in all three. Add on to this a narrow 1-0 defeat to one of Liga MX’s marquee franchises in Cruz Azul and a resounding 3-1 victory against Necaxa in the League Cup and it appears as though the pause in play was perfectly timed for a proper resurgence.
Key to their recent success has been Union talisman 27 year old American striker Milan Iloski, who has scored in each of their last MLS victories. Though a definitive catalyst for their current form has been the return of 27-year-old German left-back Kai Wagner. Initially sold to Birmingham City Football Club in England in January of 2026, Wagner rejoined Union in July of this same year following their reacquisition of the player. In those three MLS matches Wagner has provided three assists, arguably outperforming Iloski while also providing the same number of goal contributions. These staggering offensive statistics are also all being provided from the defensive line as he is also making significant contributions to their solidity at the back. If the Union want to continue on this positive run they will be relying on the performances of the pair and looking to see if they can link up to create more goal-scoring opportunities for the renascent side.
Their upcoming opponents, NYCFC come into this game on similar form, only dropping points in their most recent of three MLS games, a 1-1 draw against Toronto Football Club, and have won the other two 2-1 vs Columbus Crew and 3-1 against Chicago Fire Football Club. Replicating Iloski’s goals per game return since the resumption of MLS play is 26-year-old Argentine attacking midfielder Nicolás Fernández, scoring once in each of those matches. He has provided a fair number of assists (three) as well, along with fellow Argentine playmaker 22-year-old Agustín Ojeda (four) who have had their fingerprints, or rather footprints, all over matches this season through goal facilitation. Matt Freese also returns between the posts following the international services he provided to the United States Men’s National Team during the World Cup and will look to influence the outcome of whether or not Iloski can keep up with his current goal scoring output.
Yankee Stadium will play host to this electric contest where two of the major teams in the tri-state area will once again look to pursue a successful triumph over their fierce rivals. The Union are looking to chain together a set of results that would see them eventually break into those crucial eighth and ninth seeds allowing them to at least play for a playoff position. Conversely, fifth place NYCFC are seeking to build on their early-season established success by breaking into the top four guaranteeing they play a lower ranked team in the playoffs. The two teams could not have had more different starts to the season, but their latest displays have arranged for the perfect condition in which a rivalry match should be played. Every MLS aficionado should be tuning to this contest taking place on Sunday August 16 at 6:00pm.
