Revolution Chase No. 2 Seed in Orlando on Decision Day, Needing a Win and Help From Charlotte

The New England Revolution close the 2026 MLS regular season Saturday, Nov. 7, at Orlando City with the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed still within reach. Kickoff at Inter&Co Stadium is 4 p.m. ET on Apple TV, according to the club. New England (18-11-4, 58 points) sits third, one point behind Inter Miami.

The math is simple. The Revolution can finish no worse than third. To jump to second, they need to beat Orlando and have Miami lose or draw at home against Charlotte FC, MLSsoccer.com reported in its Decision Day guide. A Miami win locks the defending MLS Cup champions into second regardless of New England’s result.

What’s already clinched

New England has clinched a playoff berth, a top-three finish in the East and a spot in the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, according to the Revolution’s preview. The Revs were 2-1 losers to Inter Miami at Gillette Stadium last weekend, when Lionel Messi scored an 83rd-minute winner, which The Boston Report covered in its Revolution-Inter Miami recap. That loss snapped a four-game winning streak. New England has still won seven of its last 10 matches.

By the numbers: the East before Decision Day

All nine Eastern Conference playoff spots are already taken. Nashville SC has the Supporters’ Shield and the No. 1 seed with 74 points, and can break Inter Miami’s 2024 single-season points record of 74 with a win or draw at Cincinnati. Below them, a single point separates Miami and New England, while Orlando sits ninth with 43.

The gap from New England to fourth-place Chicago is three points, which is why the Revs cannot fall out of the top three. The seeding matters for the best-of-three Round One series: the higher seed hosts Games 1 and 3. Below them, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Columbus and Orlando can still shuffle positions six through nine on Saturday, which will decide who meets the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds.

Orlando’s attack, Orlando’s defense

Orlando City (12-14-7, 43 points) has also clinched a playoff place but is currently slotted for the Wild Card match. The Lions have scored 62 goals, fifth in the East, and allowed 78, the most in the conference and second-most in MLS, according to the Revolution’s preview. They lost 4-0 at Charlotte last week and are winless in three.

The main threat is Antoine Griezmann. The French forward has 14 goals and eight assists in 17 appearances since joining in July, and became the second-fastest player in league history to reach 20 goal contributions. He missed New England’s 4-2 home win over Orlando in September, a game the Revs won with two stoppage-time goals. For New England, Hungarian midfielder Dániel Gazdag has scored in each of the last two games and has three goals since arriving in early September.

“If we go to our last seven, eight games, every game was like a playoff game,” coach Marko Mitrović said in the club’s preview. “Those games can really help all of us to keep growing.”

What comes after Saturday

The league pauses for the November international window after Decision Day. The playoffs begin with Wild Card matches on Thursday, Nov. 19, and Round One Game 1s run Nov. 20-24, with Game 2s on Nov. 27-28 and any Game 3s on Dec. 1-2, according to MLS. MLS Cup is Friday, Dec. 18, the last in December before the league moves to a summer-to-spring calendar.

The Revolution climbed to second earlier this fall with a 2-1 win over Philadelphia. This is a preview; The Boston Report will report the result and final seeding after the match.

Sources

• New England Revolution: Preview, Revs close regular season with Decision Day duel in Orlando
• MLSsoccer.com: What every Eastern Conference team is playing for on Decision Day (2026)
• MLSsoccer.com: MLS announces Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs schedule (updated Nov. 2, 2026)