While players from FC Cincinnati were training and working out at their team facility in Milford July 7, their Major League Soccer opponent Lionel Messi was leading his Argentina team to a dramatic win over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup.
The local professional players have been balancing being fans of the game during the World Cup with getting in top form for their own games when MLS play resumes for them July 22. The league went on hiatus for two months so Messi, FC Cincinnati star Miles Robinson and numerous other MLS players could represent their national teams.
It’s been a rough couple of days for FC Cincinnati rooting interests. The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), with Robinson as one of its center backs, lost to Belgium July 6 in the round of 16. That came one day after Evander’s Brazil team fell to Norway in the same round.
Evander, who grew up in Brazil’s youth system and knows some of the national players, was philosophical about it.
“As a fan, I always expect Brazil to win the games and go through to the next round,” he said. “It’s disappointing to see that in the last (few) World Cups, Brazil hasn’t been the strongest team in the tournament. So I think we need to readjust everything and hopefully things get changed to the Brazil that we used to watch when I was a kid.”
Center back Matt Miazga was disappointed in the USMNT loss but proud of the way the country has embraced the tournament.
“I know a lot of those guys. I’ve played with them for ages,” Miazga said. “I think a lot of the country got behind the team. Going out like that isn’t ideal, but I think those guys can be proud of the effort they put in.
“I have a couple friends that only watch my games and have no idea about anything else, and all of a sudden, they’re watching games with random teams. It’s fun. I think everyone’s enjoying it, and it’ll be interesting to see who wins it.”
Miazga enjoyed being able to watch as a fan and learn some things.
“When I was watching the U.S. team, I was watching as a friend, as a supporter, to those guys that were there. So yeah, it was a little anxious for sure,” he said. “When those other opponents are players that you respect and know that they’re at the top of their game, you want to watch them and see what tendencies to pick, what tendencies you want to pick up or strengths that they have.”
FC Cincinnati preps for friendly against English team
FC Cincinnati will work on their own game when Burnley FC comes to town for a friendly July 10 at TQL Stadium.
Burnley is a town about 30 miles north of Manchester in northern England. The club was relegated from the English Premier League to the Championship league after last season and will start a new season in August trying to get promoted back to the Premier League.
Burnley was expected to arrive in Cincinnati July 7. They also play at Columbus and Real Salt Lake next week.
Miazga was a part of Premier League blueblood Chelsea from 2016 to 2022. He spent a lot of that time on loans to other clubs and doesn’t remember facing Burnley in a match before, but he said he knows several players who are expected to make the trip here.
“It’s good,” he said. “For us, playing other MLS teams would maybe get a little repetitive, so it’s good to see a different type of dynamic, a different type of team that we can prepare ourselves against. Obviously, they’re preparing for a Championship season, and trying to go back in the ‘Prem.’ They’re going to be a good challenge for us.”
The key for Cincinnati will be building on the momentum they gained in May before the break. Their last game was a 6-2 win over Orlando. They enter the second phase of the MLS season with a symmetrical 5-5-5 record, seventh place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
FC Cincinnati comes out of the break second in MLS in goals scored (36) but also second-worst in goals allowed (37). The Orlando game featured a club-record five goal contributions (2 goals, 3 assists) from Evander, the team’s MVP candidate.
“I think we need to keep working on having the same mentality as we had before the break,” Evander said. “We were playing for each other. We were creating chances, we were passing to the players that were in a bigger chance to score the goal.”
They are hoping for a fast start when the games start counting again, but the schedule does them no favors. In the first 11 days of MLS play, the top two teams in the Western Conference, Vancouver and San Jose, will come here. In between, FC Cincinnati will travel to archrival Columbus, which is always a tough place to play for them.
After that, FC Cincinnati will play in the League Cup, hosting three Mexican teams from Aug. 4-11. Those three teams, Pachuca, Pumas and Atlas, all finished in the top six in the standings during the most recent Liga MX season.
The Burnley test will be key for getting ready.
“I think that the most important thing for this game is to get the minutes, to get the rhythm of the game, to get the body going again,” Evander said, “because we know it’s not going be easy when we come back for the MLS games. It’s a tough schedule for the next two months. It’s going be a lot of games ahead with the Leagues Cup coming as well, and we’re going to need everybody.”
As of July 7, it was unclear when Miles Robinson would fly back to Cincinnati and rejoin the team, and if he would play against Burnley. He should be ready to go when the games start counting again and helping the defense.
“It’s a long season,” Miazga said. “The first part wasn’t the way we wanted to go about things because we set such high standards the previous years. So it’s important for all of us to be united. We win together, we lose together, so we’re still in the position to do well. It’s a tight table. You get a couple of wins back to back, you’re back in the top four.”
Miazga, who has battled injuries all season, said the break was helpful for him personally.
“I feel fine. I feel great,” he said. “I feel like it’s been one of my better preseasons. I’m excited to get going.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati players learn from World Cup as they prep for Burnley
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
