New York City FC played to a draw with CF Montréal on Matchday 33 of the season and that result wasn't enough to keep the team from being officially eliminated from contention for a spot in the 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs.
That's because Columbus Crew easily won their match, played concurrently to NYCFC's matinee in Queens, beating DC United 3-0 at Scotts-MiracleGro Field in Ohio. NYCFC, meanwhile, conceded yet again in second-half stoppage time, going from leading 1-0 for the large majority of the match against Montréal to being hit with a shock equalizer from Daniel Ríos at 90'+2' in what was a must-win match.
That combination of results pushes the Crew up to eighth place with 44 points, and it means NYCFC, with 39 points after the draw, can only reach a maximum of 42 points, while the current ninth-place team in the East, Orlando City SC, sits on 43 points. Thus, the mathematical elimination of any chance for NYCFC to sneak into the Wild Card round and get to play a one-game knockout match against the Eastern Conference's eighth place team.
New York City came into this match knowing it needed to win to have the best possible chance to play a meaningful match at Audi Field against DC United on Decision Day next weekend. A loss was guaranteed to be season-ending, while a draw left matters in the hands of Columbus Crew or Red Bull New York.
The Crew result and the late Montréal goal dropped the proverbial ax on this NYCFC team, though really, Pascal Jansen's squad made its own playoff-less bed following this summer's break in league play for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The club's inability to string any wins together through the months of August, September, or October made it a very slim possibility they'd qualify for this 2026 postseason.
How did it get to this point? NYCFC couldn't find a way to beat CF Montréal once this season despite the club being statistically the second-worst squad in MLS this season, and the very bottom team in the Eastern Conference. They conceded an absurd number of goals in second-half stoppage time this season, they lost some key players to extra-long injury layoffs, and they posted their worst regular-season record in home matches in club history, only picking up 21 points at home from their 17 matches played.
The Montréal match fit the bill for what's been a season's worth of frustrating play from a team that entered the World Cup break in a playoff spot, but faded badly from midsummer on, going just 4W-8D-6L following the two-month pause for that World Cup.
There will be plenty more to dissect and autopsy about this failure of a New York City FC season, but for now, we know there will be no more soccer from NYCFC after they make the trip down to play a dead-rubber match against also-eliminated DC United next weekend on Decision Day.
