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Club America fans took over Subaru Park last night for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 but the story of the night on the pitch was more the missed opportunities by the home side than the disappointing support in the stands. Raphael Veiga’s classy finish put the Liga MX giants ahead in the first half but an injury to their starting goalkeeper and a gift-wrapped chance to Indiana Vassilev left the door open for the Union, which will now need to get a result in Mexico City next week to keep their Champions Cup campaign going.

In the email today:

1. 🐍 Union scoring woes continue in 1-0 loss to Club América

By Evan Konigsberg

The struggling Philadelphia Union fell 1-0 to Club América on Tuesday night. A first half goal from Raphael Veiga was enough to defeat the Union, who saw their attacking dry spell continue, failing to score for the third time already in 2026.

The Philadelphia Union’s Tuesday night match was the first of a two-legged tie, looking for revenge against Club América in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16. The Mexican juggernauts returned to Subaru Park to face the Union in the Concacaf Champions Cup for the first time in 2021, when Las Águilas won both legs of the semifinal 2-0. The Union earned a berth to the Round of 16 after handily defeating Defence Force F.C. of Trinidad and Tobago by a 12-0 aggregate scoreline.

Bradley Carnell named a rotated starting eleven for the Union, featuring young players such as Andrew Rick, Geiner Martinez, and Cavan Sullivan, who have not been frequent starters for the Union thus far in 2026. New left back signing Philippe Ndinga also made his Union debut.

Carnell also started out the match with a rare change in tactics. Milan Iloski played just behind striker Ezekiel Alladoh with Cavan Sullivan and Agustin Anello flanking them, appearing as a 4-2-3-1 instead of the typical 4-2-2-2.

Despite the shakeup of the formation, the Philadelphia Union still struggled to connect passes early, with the lack sharpness seen across the early parts of the season ever-present. América took control of the early parts of the match, threatening the Union on the counterattack. Geiner Martínez, trusted to make the start against the record Concacaf Champions América, drew a yellow card in the 18th minute after a chaotic sequence just past the center circle. Just after, América cashed in on their momentum. The young Martínez was pulled out of position, and a great pass from the visitors cut through the Union defense. Brian Rodriguez found Raphael Veiga, who was unmarked in the box. Veiga took a touch before finishing past Andrew Rick, giving América a 1-0 lead.

América continued their momentum, with the visiting fans ole’ing the Union as early as the 25th minute. USMNT international Alejandro Zendejas had a shooting chance from the right side of the box, but his shot missed just wide of Rick’s post. The Union began to gain momentum around the 30th minute, winning a flurry of free kicks in the attacking half that they failed to convert into quality chances.

A strange sequence occurred in the 37th minute. Club América were playing the ball out of the back after a goal kick. The ball went back to América keeper Luis Malagón, who stepped back to fire the ball forward, but fell grabbing the back of his ankle. Appearing to suffer a serious injury, the Costa Rican referee Keylor Herrera blew the play dead despite the ball being loose in the América penalty area. The Union appealed to the referee, but after Malagón was stretchered off, a drop ball was awarded to América and play continued.

Early in first half stoppage time, the Union came close to a breakthrough. Cavan Sullivan beat his man down the right side and crossed low to Ezekiel Alladoh. Alladoh pivoted and shot on his right foot, missing wide but earning a corner after a deflection. Just before halftime, an Iloski free kick was sent in dangerously from the right, begging to be tapped in. Geiner Martinez stretched for it but couldn’t get the finishing touch on the ball. The Union went into halftime 1-0
down.

Bradley Carnell made some halftime adjustments, pulling Sullivan and record signing Alladoh for Frankie Westfield and Bruno Damiani. The Union also shifted back to their traditional 4-2-2-2 shape. Still, the Boys in Blue struggled to create quality chances. One of the Union’s best opportunities came from Agustin Anello, who received the ball on the right side, cutting in before firing his shot wide of the top right corner.

In the 63rd minute, Danley Jean Jacques and Indiana Vassilev entered for Martinez and Anello, both of whom were on yellow cards. After the substitution, the Union returned to using a central attacking midfielder, with Jean Jacques deployed just behind Damiani.

A great chance fell to the Union in the 70th minute following a flurry of tactical changes. Frankie Westfield, at this point deployed as a right back, played a brilliant low cross to Bruno Damiani.

Damiani took a touch, but fired his right footed shot over from very close range. In the 82nd minute, an even better chance fell to the Union, but it went begging once again. Milan Iloski pressed an América center back into a turnover just on the edge of the box, but Indiana Vassilev pushed his left footed shot from the edge of the box well wide. In stoppage time, the Union created a final opportunity when a long switch found Nate Harriel. He put the ball into the mixer, and after it bounced around, it fell to Iloski. The Union number 10 ripped a first time shot, but it was blocked after a great recovery by América. That was the last chance for the Union, who dropped the first leg of the match 1-0. For the fourth time in six matches this season, the Union failed to score a goal from open play.

The Union are back in action next on Saturday afternoon, facing Atlanta United in Mercedez-Benz Stadium. The match will kick off earlier than usual at 3:15 p.m. EST (Apple TV). The Union will have a chance to avenge their loss in the second leg against América next Wednesday, facing América in the second leg at 9 p.m. The match will take place in Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes as Estadio Azteca undergoes renovations prior to the World Cup.

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2.💧Water Cooler: Player Ratings

3. ⚽️ Social Post of the Day: Might Never

4. 🔗 Link Roundup

• One of the Philadelphia Union Academy’s early success stories turned into a cautionary tale with the announcement Monday that Derick Jones has been suspended for life for gambling on his own team. The irony/hypocrisy pointed out by many commenters is that the league is banning players for gambling while also partnering with gambling companies.

• Olwethu Makhanya has finally gotten some love from the South Africa team, making the preliminary roster for upcoming friendlies.

• West Chester United and VE play this Friday night for the EPSA Amateur Cup final and will also meet in the EPSA Open Cup final. Greg Oldfield covered the Open Cup semifinals for his new website Backyard Pitches.

• Penn Rising XI, a new club forming via partnerships based in the Lehigh Valley is joining the homegrown division of MLS Next in 2026-27. Reading Rage Surf is joining the academy division.

• Freddy Cavin has a new podcast he’s launched called Play Free FC. His first two guests are Union Academy coach Phil Karn and CF Montreal defender/midfielder Brandan Craig.

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