The knockout stage of the MLS os Back Tournament presented by Audi is taking shape. It’s time to win or go home.
The two best teams from each of the six groups automatically receive berths for the round of 16, and four other placeholders round off the field: The next four best third places, based on the total number of points (and possibly other tiebreakers).
Round of 16
Here’s an early look at each of the confirmed round of 16:
Philadelphia vs. New England
Saturday, July 25 (10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2, ESPN deported to the US; TSN in Canada)
The fans of these two clubs are excited that their respective teams will finally make the leap from playoff material to the championship candidates, and both the Union (2W-1L-2D) and the Revs (1W-1L-3D) are after Proof entered 2020 with higher expectations They were a worthy off-season competition.
Philadelphia: Jim Curtins Union is a hard-working unit with few obvious weaknesses, and Captain Alejandro Bedoya sets the tone in midfield alongside Brenden Aaronson, whose shares continue to rise. What is special about the MLS is the Back Tournament: Philly was unafraid of her ambition to win everything before entering Orlando and walking the path in the group stage. Only the tie-breaker with goal differential prevented them from leading Group A.
New England: The Revs, which are trained by the Hall of Famer Bruce Arena, are just as solid and balanced, and rely on the magical moments when attacking star players Gustavo Bou, Adam Buksa and playmaker Carles Gil. This is why the followers of the revolution are concerned after Gil wore protective boots during the last group game. He played in New England’s first two games and then watched from the sidelines as his team scored a 0-0 draw in Group C’s final.
Series history: The Union has a slight lead in the regular season: 5W-3L-3D. The two teams have never met in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, but they have faced each other in two knockout games in the US Open Cup. The Union beat the Revs at the first meeting in the quarter-finals 2014 (2-0), and the Revs returned favor in the quarters of 2016 and advanced on penalties.
Orlando vs. Montreal
Saturday, July 25 (8 p.m. ET | ESPN2, ESPN deported to the USA; TSN in Canada)
Two clubs that have taken strong first steps under new coaches now have a chance to make more noise when Oscar Pareja’s Orlando City (2W-1L-2D) meets Thierry Henry’s Montreal Impact (2W-2L-1D). Neither team has had much success in recent years, but their encouraging performance at the start of 2020 has given hope that new heights may not be far away.
Orlando: The Lions have started to show under Pareja that they are a dangerous attacking team, regularly raising numbers in attack and scoring an average of two goals per game in the group stage, thanks also to some of Chris Mueller’s outstanding achievements. Although Orlando was in a group with two competitors from the Eastern Conference (NYCFC and Philadelphia) and Inter Miami with high expenses, it looked at home at the beginning of the tournament and will be confident of continuing its run.
Montreal: The Impact came here through the skin of their teeth, but sometimes that’s all you need in a knockout tournament like this. After losing their first two games, including a top-class Canadian class, Impact were able to do just enough in their 1-0 win over DC United to develop as one of the top three third-placed teams. Sapphire Taider has been the star with three of four goals from Monteal so far, while they have a number of other intriguing attackers, but ultimately Henry has to make sure that his largely inherited squad offers a variety of consistent goal threats.
Series history: Montreal holds the series lead with a 6W-4L-2D record against Orlando. This will be the first win-or-home meeting between the two teams, as Orlando has not yet completed the Audi MLS Cup playoffs and the two teams will compete in separate national cups.
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