First, in podcast housekeeping news: We are officially now The Soccer Journal Podcast! We thank you the listeners for riding through our transition period post-Hudson River Blue, but we're now all settled into our new permanent name and identity.

That sorted, we're back to talking about New York City FC and the doubly disappointing week that included a bonkers, deflating 4-4 draw with FC Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium, then a limp, forgettable performance in a 1-0 loss away to CF Montréal.

It's a lot of dissection of how New York City let a two-goal lead slip in the final minutes against Cincinnati, then how flat they looked in Montréal while getting shut out for a fourth straight time when facing the artists formerly known as the Impact. The recurring themes of our discussion: New York City's persistent struggles at the back this season, and their desperate need for more attacking help for Nico Fernández Mercau and Maxi Moralez.

On that attacking note, we spend some time wondering aloud about Pascal Jansen's decision to start Arnau Farnós in Montréal instead of one of his three Designated Players, Talles Magno, and what that says for Talles's place in the squad and the current state of NYCFC's depth chart.

Then it's on to a future topics, and first up, this summer's FIFA World Cup. We cover the news that New York City will now have five entirely free World Cup fan zones, one in each borough, after soccer-loving Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul teamed up to reverse course on the earlier plan, which only called for two New York City-based fan zones and required paid admission for the one in Queens. At least one facet of the most expensive World Cup ever gets slightly less expensive.

Then to close out this episode, we've got a big preview block looking ahead to both the first Hudson River Derby of 2026, in the Round of 16 of the US Open Cup no less, and the next chance for NYCFC to end their MLS winless streak when they host DC United on Matchday 11 in Queens. How optimistic are we feeling about the two matches to come this week? More optimistic than you might expect for a podcast about a team that's winless in six league games!

Listen to the full episode, then find more of our coverage at nysoccerjournal.com, or on Twitter @nysoccerjournal and @NYSJPodcast, on Bluesky @nysoccerjournal.com, and on Instagram @newyorksoccerjournal.

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