As everyone is aware, Major League Soccer will return, but it will be in the most peculiar way. MLS will be holding a tournament in Orlando, similar to the same format as the World Cup. FC Cincinnati will have a chance to go deep, but first they have to get out of the group they are in and knock off other squads in a knockout stage if they advance that far. It won't be an easy task, but it could be a fun one. This article will look at the club's chances in this tournament.
FC Cincinnati's Group
The team was selected to Group E in this tournament and it could not be any tougher. One of the teams that is in there is Atlanta United, a powerhouse club that should be the favorite to win the group. Another side in the group is the New York Red Bulls, a team that had made the MLS playoffs in 2019, though they did lose some key members to the squad over the offseason so it's left to wonder how their season would be going had it not been for the pandemic. Finally, the final club in their group is rival Columbus Crew in which many expect to be a fierce match. FC Cincinnati will only get to play three matches in their group against each of the sides in it, so the margin for error is very small. The biggest question is what their chances are. Against Atlanta, it will be very difficult as they are probably the best side in the Eastern Conference. New York is another strong side who still has a good core of their playoffs squad from last season. However, FC Cincinnati has already played both of them this season and know what they are up against playing each of them close as each match was decided by one goal. Considering every team is playing with a bit of rust, this could benefit FC Cincinnati. Columbus on the other hand has not played against them. While the Crew struggled last season, a lot of talented players like Darlington Nagbe and Derrick Etienne joined them in the offseason making them a lot more explosive. That doesn't necessarily mean that FC Cincinnati will lose to Columbus, but they will be a lot tougher than in 2019. However, what is on the club's side is that they will have three matches to play. Why is that good? Despite Atlanta and New York being more talented sides, they are all coming in with rust giving all four teams a more level playing field and FC Cincinnati could steal some points out of it. Three teams will advance out of the group, so if the club can earn a win and a draw, chances are very good of advancing, but even two draws will help (however, goal differential would be a big factor). While it might seem unlikely of winning the group, their chances of advancing to the knockout stage are high. That being said, FC Cincinnati could very well shock and win the group, but just looking to advance should be the goal.
Knockout Stage
Honestly, here are the chances at this point of the tournament: unknown. Seriously, no one knows. How everyone will know is once the group stage is over and the matchups are set. Now, if everything plays out like expected, then it's going to be tough for them. It would seem unlikely to see the squad win this tournament, but they could surprise and make a deep run like a cinderella story. The club is significantly better than in 2019 and it showed in the first two matches of the season with how close they played Atlanta and New York. If FC Cincinnati could play that close and well, then there's a good chance of a deep run. However, those magical runs become tougher as the stage gets bigger and that will make it more difficult for them to win the whole thing.
There are two beneficial things for the club in this tournament: fan excitement and points will count towards the MLS season if it does return. For the fans, a knockout tournament makes things so much fun and that will make FC Cincinnati push hard. However, the points will make the team play harder. It's so beneficial to do well in the group stage if they can get some points as it will count towards the MLS standings putting them in a much better position than they were once the pandemic shutdown the league. If that happens, it would give the club a better chance at making the MLS playoffs.
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