Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union

On Sunday morning, the Philadelphia Union opened its 2025 preseason campaign against Slavia Prague of the Czech Republic at the Marbella Football Center in Málaga, Spain. Bradley Carnell’s first outing as the Union’s head coach resulted in a well-fought 1-0 loss to Prague.

The match was broadcast by Slavia Prague on CT Sport, a Czech television network that happened to have an internet broadcast to make this report possible. 

While the Union is at Marbella for preseason training, Slavia Prague is at the facility during a five-week break in regular season play. On Thursday, they will face PAOK Thessaloniki FC of Greece in the 7th round of the Europa League. They currently sit in 29th place, just three points below the Round of 16 playoff zone. In the Czech First League, currently known as Chance Liga for sponsorship reasons, Slavia Prague sits at the top of the table with 50 points in 19 matches (16W-2D-1L). 

Both the Union and Slavia Prague have had notable departures in the current January transfer window. For the Union, missing pieces are Leon Flach and Jack Elliott, two fan favorites under Jim Curtin, proved to be a challenge. Yet, Carnell tested Olwethu Makhanya and new loanee Ian Glavinovich at center back and gave Jesus Bueno the nod to play at the base of the diamond. 

Slavia Prague’s biggest name missing from their roster is Antonin Kinsky, their starting goalkeeper who was sold to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a whopping €16.50m. Within three days of his arrival to the Spurs, he started in goal and held a clean sheet against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semifinal. Slavia Prague’s next man up is Ales Mandous, who has been with the club since 2021. 

Shaking Off The Rust in The First Half

Slavia Prague opened the match with heavy pressure on the Union’s back line, but the center-back pairing of Makhanya and Glavinovich held strong with the help of Andre Blake. Both center backs appeared comfortable on the ball and going into 50-50 challenges. 

Slavia Prague eventually opened the scoring in the 23rd minute off of a cross from their left flank. The ball switched from the near to far sides of the field in the middle of the Union’s defending half and then was crossed into the box.  Frankie Westfield was slow to close down on the attacker who got the assist. Defending crosses was a weak point throughout the first half; attacker Mojmir Chytil was left unmarked to tap the cross past Blake for his goal.

The Czech side had another chance on the far side in the 32nd minute, but Andre Blake squandered the 1v1 and the play was ultimately called offsides. The Czechs had a goal called offsides on a free kick just four minutes later.  Bradley Carnell chose to rotate keepers after the free kick, giving Semmle a chance in goal. He also brought on Jakob Glesnes for Glavinovich, who did not raise any immediate concerns in his first stint for the Union, and Alejandro Bedoya made way for Jeremy Rafanello. Bedoya’s only contribution was a wailing miss after a Union free kick. 

Homegrowns Hold it Down in The Second Half

The Union made five halftime subs, most notably giving Eddy Davis his first senior minutes as a striker, and Nick Pariano at right back. Immediately, they looked more confident on the attack, playing smarter passes between each other until Cavan Sullivan missed just over the bar from outside the box with his left foot. The diamond seems to be less rigid, with Danley, Rafanello, Cavan Sullivan, and Quinn Sullivan rotating around in transition. The creativity in the midfield allowed for more attacking chances. 

More homegrowns entered the mix in the 62nd minute, including Andrew Rick in goal. Oliver Semmle was not really tested during his shift in the net. Eddy Davis was also taken off after just 17 minutes much like Galvinovich, he showed flashes of promise and did not have any issues.

Andrew Rick had an impressive clearance in the 72nd minute, where he cleared the ball away from two oncoming, unmarked attackers. This final shift of Union players, with the exception of Danley, Glesnes, and LeFlore, were all Union 2 regulars at some point and played cohesively with that chemistry. 

The Union’s last substitutions came in the 76th minute, with Olivier Mbaizo coming on at center back for Jakob Glesnes and Sal Olivas for Markus Anderson. Philadelphia had their share of attacking chances, but could not find the equalizer. They were, however, successful in keeping Slavia Prague from extending their lead. Rick was clinical in goal, making plenty of saves to hold the 1-0 deficit. Mbaizo at center back was suboptimal, but Danley’s speed and defensive ability made up for fast breaks where Mbaizo was caught upfield. Rick also handled these comfortably. 

Despite the match being a loss, every Union player got to be involved and they held an in-form side to just a 1-0 deficit. For the group’s first match under a new coach, this still looks like a successful outing. The Union will play another friendly against AGF of Denmark next Sunday.

 Three Points:

•  Center Backs: Ian Glavinovich and Olwethu Makhanya started the match together and appeared strong on 50/50 and aerial threats. Glavinovich specifically was very comfortable holding onto the ball and looking for options further up the pitch. He got the first 3rd of the match to showcase his abilities and was fairly promising outside of the goal conceded. Makhanya also looked promising, but he left Galvinovich to cover two attackers on the goal. All of the center-backs who saw the field were allowed to check into the attacking half to support the play.
• Youth Involvement: The second half allowed for four Union homegrowns to see the field and their impact was immediate. The Union looked cleaner on and off the ball, and it’s a testament to the success of implementing the diamond formation at all levels of the Union’s play. The homegrowns are very confident in the formation.
• Unused Players: Nathan Harriel and Chris Donovan were the only Union players who traveled to Marbella that did not feature in this match. Donovan was visible on the bench during the stream, but there were no signs of Harriel.

Lineups

Philadelphia

Starters: Andre Blake (Oliver Semmle– 37”) (Andrew Rick– 62”), Frankie Westfield (Isaiah LeFlore– 62”), Olwethu Makhanya (Neil Pierre– 62”), Ian Glavinovich (Jakob Glesnes– 37”) (Olivier Mbaizo– 76”), Kai Wagner ​​(Nick Pariano– 45”),  Jesus Bueno (Danley Jean Jacques– 45”), Quinn Sullivan (CJ Olney– 62”), Alejandro Bedoya (Jeremy Rafanello– 37”), Daniel Gazdag (Cavan Sullivan– 45”), Tai Baribo (Eddy Davis– 45”) (David Vazquez– 62”), Mikeal Uhre (Markus Anderson– 45”) (Sal Olivas– 76”)

Unused subs: Chris Donovan

Slavia Prague

Starters: Mandous, Konecny, Ogbu, Zima, Doudera, Zafeiris, Oscar, Diouf, Lingr, Chytil, Botos

Subs: Markovic, Fila, Michez, Moses, Prebsl, Teah, Pech

(Slavia Prague’s lineup announcement post on Twitter mentioned their lack of depth being due to “the virus”).

Scoring Summary:

Prague: Chytil- 23″

Discipline Summary:

Philadelphia: CJ Olney– 65”

Philadelphia: Jeremy Rafanello– 65”

Prague: Staff Member– Red Card