While the New York Red Bulls have accomplished their mission of reaching the playoffs, head coach Sandro Schwarz has laid down the law to his players ahead of their trip to Toronto FC.
The Red Bulls suffered a humiliating 5-1 home defeat against cross-city rivals New York City last time out, going 2-0 down within just six minutes and 55 seconds of kick-off.
They did, however, clinch a playoff place due to other results going their way, boasting a seven-point cushion over eighth-placed Toronto, who only have two games remaining.
"It was different emotions last weekend," Schwarz said. "We were very disappointed about the game, and on the other side we were satisfied with qualifying for the playoffs.
"When we see the big picture, this was good, but it's more about the emotions from the last game to be honest.
"We had a lot of individual talks, me with individual players, about the game and the behaviour. Now the feeling it was necessary to have this open communication."
Toronto conceded a late equaliser against the Chicago Fire – who are out of playoff contention – on Saturday to damage their postseason hopes.
After that 1-1 draw, John Herdman's side only occupy a wild-card place due to having more wins than the Philadelphia Union and CF Montreal, both of whom have a game in hand.
"We were six minutes away from taking three points, so it's a big missed opportunity," Herdman said.
"Results in MLS went our way. We could have been two points clear of the other teams. But it is what it is.
"That last goal, if we're fresh, that doesn't happen. All in all, given it's been a heavy week, I thought the lads put a hell of a shift in."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Prince Osei Owusu
Owusu scored Toronto's lone goal in their draw with the Fire from the penalty spot. It was just their second penalty goal this season and first on the road since the opening day of the 2023 season. He will hope for a shorter wait for his next opportunity from the spot.
New York Red Bulls – Dante Vanzeir
Vanzeir has scored in each of the Red Bulls' last two matches. He has 13 goal involvements in MLS this term (four goals, nine assists), with only Lewis Morgan registering more for the Red Bulls (14 – 12 goals and two assists).
MATCH PREDICTION – NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
The Red Bulls are unbeaten in 11 straight meetings with Toronto in all competitions (seven wins, four draws). New York have also kept clean sheets in each of the last five meetings.
They have won their last two games against Toronto by a 3-0 scoreline, including when the sides last faced off in June. With Toronto winless in four matches in all competitions, they may fancy their chances of another victory.
None of Toronto's last 27 home matches have ended in a draw (12 wins, 15 draws). This equals the longest streak without a home draw in all competitions for an MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000), along with the New England Revolution from 2001-02.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 30.1%
New York Red Bulls – 45%
Draw – 24.9%
Scotland 0-0 Portugal: Tartan Army eke out first point of Nations League
Scotland have their first point of their 2024-25 Nations League campaign, having held Portugal to a 0-0 draw at Hampden Park.
The match itself was not a great spectacle with limited chances either way, as Cristiano Ronaldo's 200th start for Portugal ultimately ending in disappointment.
It was a performance of grit over style for Steve Clarke's side, though, who managed just three shots during the match.
Portugal came closest to finding the net, with Craig Gordon getting down expertly to stop Bruno Fernandes slotting home from a Rafael Leao cutback in the 87th minute.
The draw leaves Scotland bottom of Nations League Group A1, although their first point means the gap to third-placed Poland stays at three points ahead of the two meeting in the November international break.
Portugal, meanwhile, are top of the standings on 10 points and know a point from their remaining two games will seal their progression to the quarter-finals, after maintaining their three-point buffer to second-placed Croatia following their 3-3 draw with Poland.
Data Debrief: Scotland ruin Ronaldo's landmark appearance
After scoring in each of Roberto Martinez’s first 12 competitive matches in charge of Portugal, the Selecao have since drawn a blank in four of their last seven matches under the Spaniard.
Portugal attempted 715 passes tonight - their highest number in this Nations League campaign, with their 14 attempts the lowest they have managed in the competition this term, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.52.
Scotland, meanwhile, are now winless in their last 10 competitive matches (D4 L6), their longest-ever run without a competitive victory, though they managed to keep a clean sheet against a team above them in the FIFA rankings for the first time since a 2-0 win over Spain in 2023.
Spain 3-0 Serbia: Dominant Roja through to quarter-finals
Spain cruised into the Nations League quarter-finals after Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Serbia.
Luis de la Fuente's side eased to a routine win in Cordoba, qualifying for the knockout stages with two games to spare after Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Denmark guaranteed Spain a top-two spot in their group.
Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring after just five minutes, heading into the far corner after a well-worked corner routine allowed Pedro Porro space to deliver.
Mikel Merino's header from Alex Baena's cross was denied by the post soon after, before Spain missed a glorious chance to extend their lead after the interval.
Porro's vicious shot was adjudged to have been handled by Veljko Birmancevic, but Alvaro Morata blazed over with a disappointing 54th-minute penalty.
Captain Morata made amends just 11 minutes later, however, finishing with ease into the bottom corner after Fabian Ruiz profited on Serbia's slack attempts to play out from defence.
Further misery followed for Serbia as Strahinja Pavlovic's last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, before Baena curled the resulting free-kick past Predrag Rajkovic to seal another Roja win.
Data Debrief: Unbeaten run continues for rampant Roja
De la Fuente masterminded Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, with the best team deservedly triumphing at the tournament in Germany, but La Roja's impressive run started well before that.
Spain are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions (W17 D2), excluding friendlies, their best such streak since a 29-game run between June 2010 and June 2013 (W24 D5).
This was a typically dominant performance from the hosts, who accumulated 2.9 expected goals (xG) compared to Serbia's meagre 0.37, as the away side struggled throughout.
Poland 3-3 Croatia: Szymanski leveller keeps hosts' qualification hopes alive
Poland kept their hopes of reaching the Nations League quarter-finals alive after battling back for a 3-3 draw against 10-man Croatia on Tuesday.
Michal Probierz's side know they must win both of their last two matches in November to stand a chance of finishing in the top two, with Croatia missing the chance to go within a point of Group A3 leaders Portugal after their goalless draw with Scotland.
Poland took the lead in the fifth minute when Piotr Zielinski's effort deflected off Martin Erlic and beyond Dominik Livakovic, only for Borna Sosa to restore parity soon after.
The visitors then silenced Stadion Narodowy with two goals in quick succession, as Petar Sucic fired into the far corner before turning provider for Martin Baturina's first senior international goal.
But the first-half scoring was not finished there, with Nicola Zalewski taking advantage of some poor Croatia defending to reduce the arrears on the stroke of half-time.
Robert Lewandowski entered the fray just after the hour, and made an instant impact to help level the scores six minutes after his introduction, teeing up Sebastian Szymanski, who curled past Livakovic.
An enthralling encounter took another twist with 14 minutes remaining when Livakovic was sent off for a high challenge on Lewandowski after clearing the ball, but Poland were unable to take advantage of their one-man advantage.
Data Debrief: Poland halt Croatia hoodoo
While Poland failed to take advantage of Livakovic's dismissal, they ended a run of three consecutive defeats against Croatia, though their last victory against them came in 2006.
The hosts will be disappointed not to have tested Livakovic's replacement Nediljko Labrovic, with Kacper Urbanski sending the only efforts on his goal off target in the closing stages.
Poland managed an expected goals (xG) total of 1.25 from their 14 shots compared to Croatia's 1.39 from 15 attempts, with the home side's attacking threat led by Szymanski, who created more chances (three) than any other player on the pitch.
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