The HRB Podcast powers on and it's an international break-heavy episode this week, with the conversation starting with the United States men's national team and their pair of friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. The ongoing battle at the goalkeeper position for the United States was of particular interest to our New York City FC-centric selves.

Against Belgium, Matt Freese didn't start for the first time in 12 matches and the United States conceded five goals, though only one goal could be, possibly, placed at the feet Freese's replacement, Matt Turner of the New England Revolution. Why did USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino drop Freese from his lineup, and what does that move, and Turner's less-than-amazing performance, mean for The Iceman's chances to start in goal at this summer's World Cup?

The field of teams in this summer's World Cup just got clearer, and Freese and the United States now know that they'll face Turkiye in their third and final match of Group D play. We go through the full USMNT group schedule and try to game out a path through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, then set some internal HRB Pod expectations for how we think the USMNT should perform while hosting the World Cup.

After the international scene is covered in full, the second half of the show is entirely New York City FC-focused. That begins with a rundown of some random and somewhat dubious transfer rumors to emerge around NYCFC in the days immediately before and after the closing of the MLS Primary Transfer Window. First we sketchy cover a rumor that Nico Fernández Mercau is wanted by the two biggest teams in Portugal, then it's over to a thin report linking NYCFC with interest in signing Charlotte FC star Wilfried Zaha, and our brief portion of transfer chatter ends with a head-scratching rumor linking a young central defender with Fluminense in Brazil, 20-year-old João Loiola, with a loan move to come play for NYCFC II in MLS Next Pro.

When done weighing the validity, or lack thereof, of the transfer rumor mill's latest offerings, it's time to preview NYCFC's return to MLS play, when they host St. Louis City SC for the first time ever. St. Louis missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but they're not a familiar opponent for New York City, and they can hurt teams thanks to employing the likes of Marcel Hartel in their attack.

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We begin this episode by talking about the big recent news involving us: Hudson River Blue is shutting down. You get to hear it from us, and we do our best to update you on what’s coming next for our coverage.

That coverage is uninterrupted, at least as far as this podcast is concerned. After the housekeeping, it’s on to a deep dive into the epic clash between New York City FC and Inter Miami CF in front of an announced crowd of 45,845 at Yankee Stadium.

Miami won for a third straight time against NYCFC, but the 3-2 victory for the visiting Herons was filled to the brim with talking points and controversies. The non-call on a possible handball outside his penalty area by Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was a major point of contention, and so too was the fact that every in-game break and call from the referee seemed to go Miami’s way.

While it was still the first loss of the season for New York City, there were positives even in defeat. We do spend some of our breakdown highlighting the good things that happened even in defeat, specifically that both Nico Fernández Mercau and Maxi Moralez continued their white-hot starts to this season while carrying the NYCFC attack.

Once the Miami game is wrapped, we discuss the latest big development at Etihad Park, as the new permanent home for NYCFC in Queens is set to celebrate its “topping out” with the placement of a final structural beam. The new stadium really looks like a stadium, though we’re here griping about having to wait another 16 months or so for it to open.

We also fill you in on all the NYCFC players to receive international call-ups for games played during the late-March FIFA international window, and that includes a few players mentioned who should have received national-team calls, but didn’t — looking at you, Jamaica national team, for not calling up Trayvon Gray.

The episode closes with a more big-picture reflection on where things stand with the NYCFC squad as the MLS Primary Transfer Window comes to a close on Thursday, March 26. Was it enough to only add one new senior-level player to the roster from outside the club, Kai Trewin? How do we feel about the prospects of an Antoine Griezmann-level star joining New York City during the summer’s Secondary Transfer Window? Transfer and squad-building chats always bring out the strongest takes and emotions, and this was no exception.

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New York City FC made it three straight wins by beating Colorado Rapids at Yankee Stadium, so that 3-1 victory and Nico Fernández Mercau's two goals in it are big topics to open this episode.

Hosts Mark Radigan and John Baney and producer Andrew Leigh review the standout performances against Colorado, like Nico continuing his early goal binge, Maxi Moralez picking up yet another assist, and Talles Magno getting a confidence-building goal to seal the result. Discussing the win over Colorado and the club's red-hot start to the MLS season also means stopping to consider: How serious of a trophy contender is this year's NYCFC squad, really?

From the Colorado win it's on to a less upbeat topic, as we discuss James Sands suffering another season-ending ankle injury with FC St. Pauli in Germany. Despite a solid year as a regular starter in midfield, it's unclear what the future will hold at club level for the first-ever NYCFC Homegrown, whose loan to St. Pauli expires at the end of June, but who has now had back-to-back Bundesliga seasons cut short by injuries.

While the injury definitively rules Sands out, another NYCFC player is in for the United States men's national team, and that's goalkeeper Matt Freese. We discuss Freese getting called up for the USMNT's March friendlies and size up the state of the race for the title of "starting keeper at the World Cup," with it looking likely to come down to Freese or New England Revolution stopper Matt Turner.

After a break, we run through the changes made to the schedule for this year's MLS Cup Playoffs. It's across-the-board praise for the decision to stop letting the playoffs be interrupted by a FIFA international break, though opinions are less clear-cut about a Friday night MLS Cup final that also could take place on the chilly East Coast on the wintry date of December 18.

Finally, it's time to shift attention to the marquee match at Yankee Soccer Stadium: Inter Miami CF coming to town for a rematch of the 2025 Eastern Conference Final.

Is New York City catching Miami at the right time, meaning when they're vulnerable and there to be beaten? Miami is juggling the start of the regular season with the Concacaf Champions Cup, and they've not clicked in league play so far in the early days of the 2026 season. Still, they soundly defeated NYCFC in back-to-back meetings late in 2025, and they've got one of the deepest squads in the league. How much will we learn from these teams playing this early in the season?

Get ready for the big Sunday matinee in the Bronx by listening to the full episode and by catching up with more of our coverage at HudsonRiverBlue.com or on social media via Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads.

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