New York City FC Head Coach Pascal Jansen believes his side's mentality won't change as they prepare for a must-win game against Toluca.
Jansen’s team heads into their decisive third game in Phase One knowing they will require favorable results elsewhere to continue participating in the competition. A defeat in game one to Puebla was followed by an impressive win against Club León last time out, setting up a dramatic third game against Toluca at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the win over León, Jansen praised his side’s performance and the chemistry developing between key players.
“I think it's in our top five this season, if you compare them with the games that we played so far against a good opponent with good players,” Jansen said of the performance against León. “And it was the first time having Nicolas Fernández Mercer on pitch together with Maxi Moralez, with Alonso Martínez.
“So that looked really good. However, there's always things to improve, because if you look at the team that started, you have to make sure that they get the understanding in each phase of the game. This was pretty decent against León, but it gives no guarantee going into the next game, so that is something that we have to be aware of, and the challenge will be very, very big now going into this next game against Toluca as well.”
Los Diablos Rojos present another stern test, with Jansen acknowledging the quality and experience throughout their squad.
“I would say there are more similarities than differences, but they have a quality squad all over — very, very talented players, players that also have earned respect over the years in their careers,” he said of Toluca. “What I like the most about playing against the Mexican teams is the emotional part, and that is something that we can also learn from and take with us.”
With the Leagues Cup format offering little margin for error, Jansen stressed the importance of maintaining a knockout mentality following the team's opening defeat. New York City will need to pick up three points and hope results elsewhere go in their favor — meaning Jansen’s mentality won’t shift.
“I have my thoughts about the setup of this tournament but we are aware of the fact that we had to play two finals going back to the start of the game against León after the loss in the first game,” he said. “The mentality and the approach hasn't changed. We got the win in the second game, and it's a must-win in the third game, and then we have to look at other results, because that is the case since we lost the first game.”
Despite the external narratives, Jansen knows the outcome will be decided on the pitch — not on paper.
“The thing what I do like about the question is you mentioning 'on paper,' because on paper, the games are not being played. On paper, we know we're up against a very strong opponent, as were the two previous opponents, so we respect them all the way. But tomorrow is about the final. We have to win in order to have a chance to go through to the quarter-finals, and that goes for Toluca as well. So it promises to be a very interesting game, and I hope, a very spectacular game as well. We've learned from the previous two games, and going head to head with one of the strongest teams of the league is always challenging.”
City’s path to progression remains clear: win, and hope results elsewhere fall in their favor. For Jansen, however, the approach is unchanged.
“That's why I mentioned, also in my comments, that we have approached both games coming from the first loss as two finals, both games are must-win, and we're halfway. We won one of them, and now it's about the second one, and the approach will not change.”
