FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan expressed the importance of defensive resiliency for their upcoming playoff campaign after battling to a 2-1 win over Minnesota United last time out.
The Orange and Blue are on the road again this weekend as they travel to face Nashville SC, a side they were beaten by earlier in the season to halt a seven-match winning streak.
Having already secured their spot in the playoffs, Noonan placed emphasis on being solid at the back for the remainder of the season, especially in their fixtures away from home.
“Credit to Minnesota, they put a lot of pressure on us, and we relied on the back line to make a lot of individual plays, to defend the box well,” Noonan said.
“That's going to be a recipe for success down the stretch if we want to win on the road in tough games. It's not always going to be with us in control. So (FCC) went about that game in a really good way.
“After a lot of the emotional and physical or emotional highs, and then you know the physical demands and emotional demands of our previous game, to be able to turn it around the way they did, I was really impressed with that.”
Nashville, meanwhile, made it two wins from two after beating Chicago Fire in midweek, with head coach BJ Callaghan earning his first home victory in charge of the Coyotes.
Callaghan’s side currently sit 12th in the Eastern Conference table but are just a point behind Philadelphia Union, who occupy the final playoff position.
The Nashville head coach lauded his players for their recent displays in the MLS and was confident his team are making the right strides in becoming a competitive outfit in the division.
“The players have been tremendous,” Callaghan started. “They have taken information in, and they look to apply it in training – they are working hard every single day.
“We look at it through all the phases of play. We are trying to give them clear roles and put them in the best position possible and I think you are seeing, little by little, improvement from them all.
“They are now making good decisions on the pitch. I am very happy with the progression of the team as we make incremental steps of getting better each week.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nashville SC – Hany Mukhtar
Mukhtar assisted the only goal of the match in Nashville’s triumph over Chicago on Wednesday.
Since 2021, when the German plays and records a goal contribution, Nashville has averaged 1.99 points per match compared to 0.75 points per match when he plays but isn’t involved in a goal.
FC Cincinnati – Yuya Kubo
Kubo recorded a goal and an assist in Cincinnati’s win at Minnesota on Wednesday.
It was the 32nd time a Cincinnati player recorded a goal and an assist in a regular season match since the start of the 2022 season, tied for the most such individual performances in the league in that time (Portland Timbers).
MATCH PREDICTION: FC CINCINNATI WIN
Cincinnati’s victory against Minnesota was the club’s 27th regular-season win by a one-goal margin since the start of last season. No other MLS team has more than 16 one-goal wins in that time.
However, Nashville defeated this weekend’s opponents in the first encounter between the sides this season after Cincinnati had gone unbeaten in the previous four meetings in all competitions (W2 D2).
As mentioned, the Coyotes have recorded consecutive shutout wins after losing their previous eight regular season matches, allowing multiple goals in all of those. Nashville have not kept three straight clean sheets in a single regular season since doing so in four straight in May 2021.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Nashville SC – 31%
Draw – 25.1%
FC Cincinnati – 43.9%
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
Poland 1-3 Portugal: Silva and Ronaldo on target as visitors stay perfect in Nations League
Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half goals ensured Portugal maintained their perfect Nations League record with a 3-1 victory over Poland.
The pair had put the visitors in control before Piotr Zielinski provided Poland with some late hope, only for Jan Bednarek's own goal to put the result beyond them.
The Selecao started brightly, with Ronaldo striking the underside of the bar before Bruno Fernandes saw a whipped effort palmed away from the top corner.
Silva found the opening 26 minutes in though – Fernandes nodded the ball down to the Manchester City man, who met it sweetly first time on the volley.
Rafael Leao raced in behind to hit a low shot across goal only to hit the far post shortly after, but Ronaldo was on hand to stretch out a leg and turn it home.
With 12 minutes of normal time remaining, Zielinski played a one-two with an off-balance Kacper Urbanski, before rifling a powerful effort past Diogo Costa.
But that proved nothing more than a consolation as Bednarek tried to stop Diogo Jota from reaching Nuno Mendes' cross, only to inadvertently turn it into his own net.
Data Debrief: No stopping Portugal
Portugal have made a brilliant start to the latest Nations League campaign, and are so far the only team in League A with a 100% record after three games.
Ronaldo has now scored in all three of their matches so far, getting his goal in this game with his only shot on target (three shots overall), as he generated 1.43 expected goals (xG).
However, Fernandes also played his part, having more shots than anyone else on the field (five). He has also now contributed to goals in his last three Nations League appearances (one goal, two assists).
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