NYCFC’s Leagues Cup dream dies early (but there’s a silver lining) | OneFootball

Last Tuesday, New York City FC was knocked out of the 2025 Leagues Cup after the Boys in Blue lost to Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club. This meant that they only won once during Phase One of the tournament, losing two of the three games.

At first glance, this was a disappointing run for the Pigeons. They should have done better and should not have lost to Club Puebla at the very least. Alas, winning one of three games and only scoring three goals is not good enough. NYCFC should have been higher in the standings to move on.

NYCFC's silver lining after the Leagues Cup

However, despite the disappointment, there is a silver lining to this year's Leagues Cup. As it is known, only the top four teams from each league moved on to the quarterfinals. That made it difficult for even some of the other top teams from Major League Soccer and Liga MX to continue their journeys in the tournament.

For NYCFC, if the Pigeons had won against Club Puebla, it would not have been enough to move on. The top four MLS teams had seven points or higher. Two sides had seven points and were eliminated due to goal differential.

Of course, it would have been nice to see the team in the fight entering the final matchday of Phase One. Fortunately, it does take away some of the sting with the knowledge that two wins were not good enough.

Then, there is the silver lining that the Pigeons will not have to play extra games for the rest of the regular season. Rather, they can focus on MLS and the aim of climbing the Eastern Conference standings. NYCFC knows they have lost out on points when they should have won or even earned a draw.

Thankfully, the team is still in a playoff position despite not playing this past weekend, for Saturday's game with the Columbus Crew was postponed to September. But they do not want to be fighting for a place in the final few matches at the end of the season. The goal, at this point, is to improve and comfortably make the postseason.

By only playing MLS games, the Bronx side can focus on that goal. There will be nothing else to pull players away from playing, other than the usual rotation that will sometimes occur.

NYCFC has the potential to go on a run during the rest of the season and then the playoffs. The trick is that they have to stay focused and win matches they are supposed to win.