ORLANDO, FL – It is finally time.
Red Bull New York officially opens their 2026 Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign Saturday night in Florida against Orlando City SC.
The last four months for New York have been transformative in many ways. A new head coach with a promising vision, moves that could potentially benefit the club, heck even a new official name. This offseason for New York was seemingly a reset for a club that is known for its winning standards.
So, after all that change, Saturday will be the first test for a hungry squad looking to return to the postseason. Their opponent is a team that finished ninth in the Eastern Conference in 2025 and 10 points ahead of New York.
For Orlando, the offseason saw a wholesale of changes for a team that has the talent to compete for bigger things. Goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau was one of the additions for “the Lions” as he replaced former keeper Pedro Gallese in net. Another major acquisition Orlando made this offseason was acquiring Braian Ojeda from Real Salt Lake to aid their midfield.
Offensively, the 2025 season featured great attacking numbers for the club. Finishing sixth in the league in goals with 63, the likes of Martín Ojeda and Marco Pašalić will once again be outstanding for them.
However, just like Red Bull, there are questions surrounding the team from “the Sunshine State.” One of those questions is how they will replace an incredible talent like defender Alex Freeman. The 2025 MLS Young Player of the Year and Best XI selection was sold to CF Villarreal in La Liga in January for a reported $7 million.
While it’s a great move for a talent like Freeman, Orlando might face some trouble on their backline. Orlando fans have cited that the team lacks experience depth on defense and with their captain Robin Jansson out, things could be messy defensively. Granted, Orlando did make a trade for defender Griffin Dorsey from Houston Dynamo FC a few days back to help them in the defensive-third.
So a new goalkeeper, a questionable defense and a good offense. I believe there’s another club that fits that description well.
All joking aside, Red Bull have a chance to earn a favorable result to start the season. However, recent season openers have not been kind to New York. The last time they won their opening match of the season was in 2022 vs. the San Jose Earthquakes on the road.
Given the problems their foes are facing entering the new season, it would not be surprising to see New York earn a point. With old reliables like Eric Choupo-Moting and Emil Forsberg and new additions in Cade Cowell and Jorge Ruvalcaba, there will be good opportunities for them to score.
Orlando may have the same luck against the visitors from Harrison however. Basically, fans from both sides could be looking at another draw in this series. In 2025, their two matches against each other ended in draws.
For head coach Michael Bradley, if the team looks competitive and composed, it will be a good sign of things to come. But, until Saturday night, fans will have to wait and see what this team is capable of producing in a meaningful match.
Prediction: 2-2 draw.
Kickoff for Saturday’s match is set for 7:30 p.m. on Apple TV.
