2026 Season opener Preview: RBNY to Face Orlando City at Inter & Co Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 21

Matchday 1 is finally here! Red Bull New York will head down to Inter & Co. Stadium tonight for their season opening match against conference foe Orlando City.

The match kicks off at 7:30 PM EST and will be available to watch on Apple TV, with Evan Weston on play-by-play duties and former RBNY captain Dax McCarty providing color commentary.

Saturday night will mark the 26th overall meeting between New York and Orlando across all competitions. RBNY lead in the all time series 11-9-5 and are unbeaten in their last five matchups. Additionally, RBNY maintain a 5-5-3 record in club history at Inter & Co. Stadium.

So, for the first time in 2026, let's take a closer look at the matchup:

Orlando City At a Glance:

Orlando City comes into the the 2026 season having finished 9th in the 2025 Eastern Conference table on 53 points and were eliminated in the wildcard round of the playoffs by the Chicago Fire.

Orlando and longtime manager Óscar Pareja returns a good amount of its talent from the previous season and is poised for a playoff berth in the East once again. At the top of the list are attacking midfielder Martin Ojeda and winger Marco Pasalic. Ojeda's 20 goals and Pasalic's 15 goals (both across all competitions) led the squad and will be expected to lead the attack. Ivan Angulo can be expected to start on the wing while Duncan McGuire will lead the line (at least until the club looks for a starting caliber No. 9 in the transfer market).

In central midfield, the Lions have a solid foundation in Wilder Cartagena and Eduard Atuesta, one of the stronger double pivots in the conference. On the backline and in net, however, the team will be mostly defined by newcomers.

After losing veteran keeper Pedro Gallese, Orlando turned to Canadian international Maxime Crepeau on a free from the Portland Timbers. They also welcomed U22 Brazilian centerback from Flamengo Iago to anchor the center of defense next to captain Robin Jansson, who will miss the opening portion of the season with an injury. 

David Brekalo and Adrian Marin will bounce between center back and left back while Jansson is on the sideline. The right back position will belong to recent transfer Griffin Dorsey, who only joined the Lions from Houston Dynamo this week, a much needed upgrade over playing Angulo out of position. Of course, the right back spot used to be Alex Freeman's home before the USMNT full back was poached by La Liga side Villareal this offseason.

Overall, Orlando will be free flowing in the attack and stable in central midfield, but could be vulnerable in transition, especially with Jansson out. The Dorsey move is a clear upgrade that will give them a boost through the season.

PROJECTED STARTING XI (4-3-3):

GK M. Crepeau

RB G. Dorsey

CB Iago

CB D. Brekalo

LB A. Marin

CM W. Cartagena

CM E. Atuesta

AM M. Ojeda

RW M. Pasalic

ST D. McGuire

LW I. Angulo

A Look Into Red Bull New York:

It's time to begin the Michael Bradley era. There are still so many question marks about this team, particularly in the defense and in midfield.

Will they be able to bring in another center back before the transfer window ends next month? Are they too thin in central midfield behind Gustav Berggren and Ronald Donkor? Will they need another body at left back to cover themselves?

All reasonable concerns for fans to have, but after years of mediocrity and finally missing the playoffs in 2025, wholesale changes needed to come, and that's exactly what new Head of Sport Julian de Guzman provided. 13 players were sent away and eight new players were brought in. Gone are the days of Lewis Morgan, Sean Nealis, Carlos Coronel, Daniel Edelman, Peter Stroud, Kyle Duncan, Noah Eile, etc., now it's Cade Cowell, Jorge Ruvalcaba and Ethan Horvath's team.

Whether or not these major changes will lead to success in the short term remains to be seen. But what we do know for sure is that Red Bull New York will have a totally different look and it's first time MLS manager Michael Bradley's job to bring that to fruition.

It may not look like the Energy Drink Soccer mantra we've been accustomed to, but it's not going to be a Columbus Crew level of possession style soccer, either. It's going to be something entirely new. 

And while we don't entirely know what the starting lineup on day one will be, we know they are going to try to harness the pace of their new wingers while relying on the experience and quality of Designated Players Emil Forsberg and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to provide the fans with more joy than they experienced in 2025. 

Only time will tell if this is to become the new reality at Sports Illustrated Stadium, and it starts on Saturday night in central Florida.

PROJECTED STARTING XI (4-3-3):

GK E. Horvath

RB J. Marshall-Rutty

CB J. Che

CB R. Voloder

LB O. Valencia

CDM G. Berggren

CM R. Donkor

CM E. Forsberg

RW C. Cowell

ST E. Choupo-Moting

LW J. Ruvalcaba

Score Prediction

I mean this one's going to be a goal fest, right? No chance either side's defense is capable of keeping chances to a minimum, least of all New York's.

I'm going 3-2 Orlando, a late winner from Ojeda. Angulo, Ojeda and Pasalic are going to factor into all three goals for the homeside, while Choupo-Moting gets on the end of a Cowell cross and maybe Forsberg plays a through ball for Ruvalcaba to chase in behind. I do think he could have space in behind when Dorsey bombs forward.

The idea of Ojeda running at this RBNY backline with a head of steam and Angulo + Pasalic on either side of him is scary. They should be able to pick the New York center backs apart if Berggren has his hands full tracking the Argentine playmaker.