The Philadelphia Union’s trip to Marbella, Spain came to a close with a 2-1 loss to AGF Aarhus on Sunday and just one preseason match remains before the big season opener on February 22 in Orlando. It’s the Year of the Snake, which means a time for shedding bad vibes but even the most Posidelphian has to have some questions about the state of the roster and the team’s chances under new head coach Bradley Carnell. But hey at least the U.S. Open Cup is back on the table.

In the email today:

1. 🇪🇸 Marbella Trip Ends with Another Loss to European Competition

Quinn Sullivan scored the first goal of preseason on a well taken shot from a tight angle in the first half but sloppy play and diminishing returns from a rotating cast of players resulted in a second straight preseason loss for the Philadelphia Union on Sunday morning as their trip to Marbella, Spain came to a close.

Union head coach Bradley Carnell used 23 players in the match against Danish Superliga club AGF Aarhus, three fewer than in the 1-0 loss to SK Slavia Prague the previous Sunday.

Tai Baribo and Ian Glavinovich were scratched from the lineup due to fatigue, according to the team website and Nathan Harriel was out of the lineup for the second straight game. Olivier Mbaizo also didn’t feature and Nick Pariano’s inexperience playing right back showed in a missed tackle that led to AGF’s equalizer (Isaiah LeFlore didn’t exactly bathe himself in glory on the play either). The second goal was off a quick transition the Union want to score themselves but almost never concede.

Similar to the first game, the Union weren’t really able to find their rhythm and even with Jack McGlynn returning to the lineup after a memorable spell with the USMNT, there wasn’t a ton of fluidity or consistency to the attack. There were plenty of fouls and clashes in the midfield and starts and stops throughout the match – maybe a dive or two that didn’t bait the referee too. The game was far too reminiscent at times of the lowlights of a typical Union Red Bull match but also not all that atypical for a preseason friendly between teams rotating already rotated lineups throughout.

Even on the goal that Quinn Sullivan headed masterfully to himself to set up a scorching left-footed shot from a tight angle, the ball served in initially by Jesus Bueno on a corner fell to Quinn after two missed clearances by AGF. A great finish after forcing the other team to sloppily give the ball away is more or less the point of CarnellBall but it also depends on the Union not doing the same thing to the other team, which was the story of the second half.

Of course, results don’t matter and the honeymoon with Carnell in charge is just beginning but the Union returned home to the almost completed Fieldhouse with more questions than answers less than a month from the games counting and one preseason match day left in Florida with (yawn) FC Cincinnati.

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Join for free today!

2. 🏆 The Union are Back in the U.S. Open Cup

As consolation prizes go in MLS, getting to play in the U.S. Open Cup feels like anything but a punishment for finishing 12th place.

The Philadelphia Union will not only be back in the oldest competition in U.S. soccer history in 2025 but they’ll be hosting a match for the first time since their 3-0 win over Chicago Fire in the semifinal in 2018. Yes, that was almost seven years ago.

After MLS tried their best to sideline the competition in favor of their Leagues Cup expansion (erasing the history for some reason in the process), American soccer fans who detested it can celebrate a form of victory over that competition no longer pausing the season for a month. MLS will include 16 first teams in Open Cup that didn’t qualify for Champions Cup or Leagues Cup and 10 MLS Next Pro sides. It’s not ideal that the cup holders won’t be defending their title but it’s also LAFC so c’est la vie.

The Philadelphia Union will host a Round of 32 match on either May 6 or 7 which means an already congested May (seven league games with trips to Montreal, Atlanta and Frisco) is going to be even worse but hey “the kids” right? Unsigned academy players can even play in the U.S. Open Cup so no worries on that front but the Open Cup could also be the most realistic shot the Union have at hardware so maybe don’t mail it in and send the B squad to Frisco the day before the Round of 16?

West Chester United is the only other local team in the competition. If they can pull off a couple cupsets, they would achieve a long held goal/dream of playing the Union at Subaru Park.

3. ⚡️ Tweet of the Day: Excellent!

4. 💧 Water Cooler: Union Man of the Match

Andrew Rick was voted the Man of the Match from the first preseason match for his second half performance. Will Andre Blake be picked for his early heroics against AGF Aarhus or will Quinn’s goal be enough? Maybe you have someone else in mind as your Man of the Match?

5. 🔗 Link Roundup

• Philly Soccer 6 is holding a men’s spring cup with five Philadelphia D1 schools and Rider University.

• The second Best of Cup was held this past weekend for boys teams. Girls will play this weekend in Chester and Delaware. The Union U18s won both of their matches fairly easily while the U16s struggled in both games playing against older compeition. Here’s a photo gallery from games at WSFS Bank Sportsplex.

• Mock-ups of what new kits might look like are kind of silly so I won’t be sharing the one making the rounds but you can sign up for a Kit Launch event the Union is holding on February 15.

• Todd Lewis and guest Jose Nunez talked about who impressed in Spain and more in the latest The Free Kick Podcast.

Thanks for reading! Have an item or suggestion for the newsletter? Email [email protected].

Want to support this newsletter? Upgrade your account 
for $1 per month or $10 per year.