Philly Leader

Philadelphia Union emerged from the group stage, earning a spot in the Leagues Cup Round of 32. On Friday, they will begin their knockout campaign at home against a familiar Eastern Conference opponent, CF Montreal. The match will be available for free on Apple TV starting at 7:30 PM.

The Boys in Blue have faced the Canadian side twice this season, recording a draw and a loss. This time, however, they will have their entire team healthy and available. Nate Harriel and Jack McGlynn have returned to the United States after leading Team USA to the Olympic quarterfinals. They are the last to rejoin training after a busy summer of international competitions, including Copa America and UEFA Euros, along with dealing with various injuries across the roster.

Now that the entire group is back together in Chester, it has injected new energy and confidence into the squad.

“I think Jack and Nate had a great experience playing in the Olympics, but it's always great to have them back. They are young guys that have contributed greatly to our team this season, and now this is the first time really all year that we've pretty much had a whole, injury-free, full-strength squad,” team captain Alejandro Bedoya said.

“I think that adds to the level of quality during training sessions, which will help us when it comes down to game time. We're taking Leagues Cup very seriously; it's another way to get a berth into Champions Cup and also help us get some momentum as we look to close out MLS season on a high.”

The last time Philadelphia Union took on CF Montreal was at Stade Saputo where they lost 4-2 after relinquishing two leads. Homegrown Quinn Sullivan opened scoring in the 29th minute before Montreal’s Josef Martinez equalized shortly after in the 36th minute. Jesus Bueno reclaimed the lead for Philadelphia five minutes later but an unanswered second-half effort from Montreal saw Bryce Duke score in the 56th minute followed by goals from Dominik Iankov and Ruan in the 89th and 90+2’ minutes respectively.

Despite this disappointing result, Daniel Gazdag believes his team’s talent is not reflected by that scoreline.

“We already played two times against Montreal this season. We didn't beat them, but I'm pretty sure we had a better team, and we are about to show that now on the field in this next game,” he said after training on Tuesday.

Gazdag and Bedoya agreed that Philadelphia Union can build something special when together on both training pitch and matchdays as they've claimed four straight results recently.

“Everyone got back to the team and now we can use the full squad – every player – which is important. Lately we're just playing our way – a high pressing confident team. We scored some goals as well which helps a lot so I'm pretty sure we're going to finish this season strong,” Gazdag added.

Friday's match is free on Apple TV -- tune in to watch Philadelphia Union fight for a place in Leagues Cup Round of 16 for a second consecutive year.

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