Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union Communications
The Philadelphia Union faced FC Nordsjaelland of Denmark, often a Europa League participant, in the boys in blue’s second preseason match Friday, January 23rd in Marbella, Spain. We were only able to watch the first period live, but came back to view the other two later. We thank @JoserNunez91, who found the match stream on FCN’s app.
The fixture consisted of three 45-minute periods.
The time structure allowed the Union to advance the conditioning of its players, and accommodated the composition of the traveling squad. Five positions, goalkeeper and the attackers, have three players each. The field-player defenders, the other six,, all have two when one allows for “all-rounders” as coach phrases it.
Of course, Carnell assigned the actual minutes according to the needs and capacities of his squad and players. They will face – potentially – nine matches in 32 days to open the season, and he is clearly preparing for the possibility. After the match when interviewed, he called getting 67 minutes each for the second scrimmage’s players “vital.”
Carnell’s started eight of his — currently probable — eleven best against Nordsjaelland. The three others included Finn Sundstrom at right center back, a trialist wearing Gio Sequera’s number at right back, and Cavan Sullivan in the attacking midfield. We think he was testing their inclusion with the rest of the squad, testing the defensive strength of his young right channel and creating teaching opportunities for it. His objective was not to win the scrimmage although he would never say that.
Sundstrom demonstrated his USL-level defensive capabilities. His decision-making and confidence at the back were impressive for a player of his age and center back experience. But he is not yet Olwethu Makhanya, Japhet Sery Larsen, or Jakob Glesnes, either when cutting out crosses from the attackers’ right endline to a striker or defending crosses from the right corner to an on-rushing left winger.
Both Nordsjaelland’s goals in the first 45-minute period were served from their right channel . The first was fed from the end line to a striker in the box; the second came thence to an onrushing, unmarked, opposite-side winger (further detail below).
It is hard not to conclude that coach Carnell wanted a teaching opportunity for his two new defensive-line youngsters in the film room after the match. He must help them prepare for the gauntlet the Union faces in its first month. He believes in his men’s resilience and bravery and needs to force feed them quickly on what they must soon face.
At first, the player we assume to be Sequera appeared out of his depth against Nordsjaelland’s 18-year-old winger Prince Junior, who leads his side in goals scored for the 2025-26 Superliga season. Junior’s mid-season conditioning, pace, and quality made him a formidable task for Sequera. Philly’s Venezuelan youngster quickly began to learn, but then let Junior get behind him unnoticed for goal number two.
Cavan Sullivan once again impressed with the current state of his conditioning. Whether he had defensive responsibilities on either of the Danes’ first-period goals, we cannot tell. We do suspect that, back in his prime, experience might have told Alejandro Bedoya to get back and help out. Nordsjaelland had been blitzing the Union through both outside channels from the tap.
While the score is the least important aspect of a friendly, Nordsjaelland did score twice in the opening period, exposing the Union’s press and playing balls in through the wings. Olwethu Makhanya got one back for Philadelphia with a back-post header on a corner kick in the 129th minute, delivered by Milan Iloski who may turn out to be Kai Wagner’s replacement as free kick server.
Carnell did not give everyone equal time. He boosted the conditioning of his top 20 field players, with some reward cameos for some of those whose current role is to perform in practice. Sal Olivas replaced Eddy Davis in the second group. Otherwise, it was exactly the same nineteen against Nordsjaelland that played against Olomouc last Tuesday.
The Union were combined differently than they had been against the Czechs, closer to a first eleven and a second eleven, even though Carnell beforehand had deflected such classification as premature.
Perhaps Carnell may use the 90 minutes of his last scrimmage in Spain as he might a regular game. It would push his first eleven’s conditioning to where it needs to be at this point. Such behavior would follow the conditioning pattern he seems to be developing.
Once he is in Florida he will have many opportunities to create unannounced game-like conditioning events for his second group. Colleges and universities have winter and spring programs, and lesser professional clubs will be at the beginning of their training programs.
The bottom line for the Nordsjaelland event is that the Union ran and got run, hard, by a good team for nearly 70 minutes without – touch wood – injury. Primary objective achieved.
