MLS Cup 2024: How New York Red Bulls advanced to final against Los Angeles Galaxy

But how did they get to this season’s title game? Let’s look at the Red Bulls, the champions of the Eastern Conference.

A low seed in Eastern Conference

The Red Bulls entered the playoffs from a position of weakness as the lowest-ranked team in the East outside of the wild-card slot. That meant a particularly brutal postseason draw, the Columbus Crew, the MLS’ defending champion.

The Red Bulls were widely expected to lose that three-game series. In-house MLS analyst Matt Doyle ranked New York as the least likely team in the playoffs to make the title game. But the Red Bulls took that underdog status and ran with it. 

“We want to go all the way,” said Red Bulls winger Dante Vanzeir, per MLS.com. “We won the first round of the playoffs, and it doesn’t make any sense not to go all the way now.”

The Red Bulls moved on to a difficult Eastern Conference semifinal against their cross-city rivals New York City FC. In a hostile away atmosphere at Citi Field, the Red Bulls kept their cool and delivered an easy 2-0 win.

New York strolled into the Eastern Conference final full of confidence and defeated Orlando 1-0. That meant the Red Bulls — the lowest official seed in the East, a team that had averaged just 31 percent ball control in the postseason — were Eastern Conference champions and bound for the MLS Cup.

New York’s postseason streak

The Red Bulls are no stranger to the postseason, having made the playoffs the past 15 seasons, the longest active postseason qualification streak in American professional sports. But the Red Bulls have done little with their playoff opportunities, failing to make it past the first round in each of their past five chances and never winning the MLS Cup.

The 2024 final is their best opportunity to change that narrative. The Red Bulls, as part of a wider Red Bull soccer family that includes Germany’s RB Leipzig and Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg, have always played in a high-pressing style approved by Red Bulls chief soccer officer Jurgen Klopp. 

But New York head coach Sandro Schwarz has morphed his team into an intelligent defensive side known for its calmness under pressure. He has stressed limiting unforced errors and added attacking firepower through his wingers and fullbacks; the effect is a fresh spin on the old Red Bull style that highlighted Schwarz’s most talented players.

Fullback John Tolkin could be crucial in the final. His fearless defensive work off the ball kept Orlando from retaliating with a goal of its own in the postseason. Tolkin is a patient, mature player who is wise beyond his 22 years. He’s a U. S. Men’s National Team star-in-the-making, and this MLS Cup final could be his big breakthrough.

The Red Bulls will face the Galaxy on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in the MLS Cup final at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.