Wilfried Nancy insisted that Columbus Crew’s record MLS win tally achieved in their last game was secondary ahead of their final game before the playoffs.
The Crews’ 4-0 win over New England Revolution before the international break was their 18th of the season, while also setting a new best of 69 goals scored in regular-season play.
Nancy’s side are guaranteed second in the Eastern Conference and will play this weekend’s opponents, New York Red Bulls, in the first round of the playoffs.
The Crew head coach lauded his players for their contribution to the season, saying: “Listen, this is not easy, but this is the challenge. The challenge is, yes, we have few players who played a lot, it's normal, but everybody knows their role, I would say.
“The idea is also to be honest with the players. After that, in terms of results, I don't know, but the performance for me is really important. I'm really happy when I can see any kind of player that I can put in and they bring something. For me, this is the key point.
“[Saturday], this is not about New England, this is not about the opposition - this is about the fans. This is about the people who try to fight to keep the club. I'm really pleased for that.”
NYRB, meanwhile, come into the encounter on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Atlanta United, but have already guaranteed their spot in the postseason.
Despite the loss, head coach Sandro Schwarz was pleased with his side’s display, but acknowledged they must be more clinical in the final third.
"We had the penalty situation then, and we scored two times," Schwarz said. "But for me, the behaviour after that was good, the behaviour that we are fighting together, that we have the energy, but we need this energy at the beginning, directly in the game."
And Red Bulls defender Sean Nealis is relishing the opportunity of facing Columbus, believing a win will give the group positive momentum moving forward.
"That's what you want as a player, as a competitor, you want to go up against the best," Nealis said. "And they're defending champs. They had a great year last year. They had some great games this year, earlier in the year, they beat us, so we want to kind of avenge that.
“And I think if we end up playing them, we're looking forward to that. They're a great team but we're confident in ourselves, and we'll be ready for the challenge when the time comes."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYRB – Lewis Morgan
Morgan enters the final match of the season with 18 goal contributions in 2024 (13 goals, five assists).
No Red Bulls player has tallied 20 goal contributions in a single regular season since Bradley Wright-Phillips (28) and Kaku (20) did so in 2018.
Columbus Crew – Alexandru Matan
Matan scored his first hat-trick with Columbus on Saturday, the second Crew player with a hat-trick this season after Cucho Hernandez.
This is the second time in team history that two Crew players have scored a hat-trick in a single season (Edson Buddle and Ross Paule in 2004).
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
While the Crew are favoured by Opta’s data-led simulations, The Red Bulls have lost only four of their last 27 home matches against Columbus in all competitions (W17 D6) dating back to September 2003.
NYRB have scored at least once in 26 of those 27 matches, including in 21 straight, last failing to score at home against the Crew in 2006, while they have also lost only eight times all season, with only four teams having fewer defeats in 2024.
However, Schwarz’s side face a tough task stopping the Crew. Columbus’ win over New England on Saturday was the team’s seventh game with at least four goals this season. Only three teams in MLS history have scored at least four goals in more matches in a single season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 26.3%
Draw – 23.6%
Columbus Crew – 50.1%
De Jong insists confidence will improve following Netherlands return
Frenkie de Jong believes his confidence will improve with more playing time after returning to the Netherlands starting line-up for the first time in over a year.
De Jong received widespread praise for his return to the national side in their 4-0 victory over Hungary as they confirmed a Nations League quarter-final spot on Saturday.
The midfielder returned for Barcelona in October after a six-month absence due to an ankle injury, while his last appearance for the Dutch national team came against the Republic of Ireland in September 2023.
He missed 18 matches for the Netherlands during that period, including their Euro 2024 campaign in which they reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by England.
Against Hungary, De Jong played 68 minutes and made more passes in the final third than anyone else on the pitch (31), while he also made 12 final third entries, the second-most behind team-mate Jan Paul van Hecke (17).
"I still need some time to really get into top form", said De Jong. "After an injury, I usually felt I would get back into form quickly, now after this injury that is really different.
"I need to gain back my confidence in doing certain things on the pitch. I knew it would be this way and so people are not worried. It should improve from now onwards.
"I'm happy to be back! I need games, I need rhythm, and then my good form will return. I will not start the next game, but I will stay with the national team."
Ronald Koeman was also delighted with the influence De Jong had on the side after such a long absence and is confident he can help the team going forward.
"You saw his qualities in a number of moments", said Koeman. "He helped us to create a lot more chances."
Van Dijk hails Hungary 'strength' for playing on after coach collapse
Virgil van Dijk saluted Hungary for playing on after assistant coach Adam Szalai appeared to suffer a fit during their Nations League clash.
Play was suspended for 13 minutes at the Johan Cruijff ArenA while Szalai was treated pitchside, with staff and substitutes forming a protective barrier around him.
The 36-year-old was taken to Amsterdam Hospital, where he later revealed he was "doing well" on his social media channels.
Although Hungary agreed to play on, the Netherlands ran out comfortable 4-0 winners to book their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo were on target from the penalty spot during the first half, while goals from Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners after the break saw the Oranje secure second place in Group A3.
And Van Dijk paid tribute to his side's opponents.
"That was quite a shock, of course," he told NOS. "You see someone lying down, you see someone shaking. That is quite scary. But thankfully, at a certain point, it became clear that he was stable. I hope he is doing well and that he recovers quickly.
"They had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. I think it shows a lot of strength that they did carry on. I have a lot of respect for that."
On his side's performance, Van Dijk added: "The pitch was very fast, but that's no excuse. It was sloppy.
"In the end, we won deservedly and that's the most important thing. We go to the quarter-finals, we win, we keep a clean sheet."
Nagelsmann impressed after biggest win of Germany tenure
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was impressed by his team after they inflicted a heavy 7-0 defeat on Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League.
The thumping win in Freiburg secured top spot for the Germans in Group A3, with Nagelsmann's side now five points clear of second-placed Netherlands with one game to go.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst netted two each, while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on target in the victory that was Germany's biggest win since Nagelsmann took charge in September 2023.
The former Bayern Munich manager, who replaced Hansi Flick, failed to take hosts Germany past the quarter-finals in the summer's Euros, but his side now have a chance of securing their first silverware under the 37-year-old.
"We have no injuries from the game and our counter-pressing was extraordinarily good," Nagelsmann said after the game.
"And then to score seven goals against an opponent sitting so deep is something.
"We wanted to win possession and then quickly play the ball forward, be quick in transition and find those runs, something we did not do often enough at the Euros [in June]. We did it well," he said.
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