Here's what's next for FC Cincinnati after it skidded into the Leagues Cup break

HARRISON, New Jersey − The general sentiment around FC Cincinnati was that it was a good moment for the Leagues Cup break to begin.

The 3-1 loss to New York Red Bulls was deflating, but not altogether shocking given that FC Cincinnati's roster was depleted for almost every reason you could imagine. Injury, suspension, and international duty all deprived Cincinnati of some of its best players during the loss on Saturday at Red Bull Arena.

"We know what we have as far as players go, and we don't want to go back on, 'we have a lot of players missing,' but we do," acting head coach Dominic Kinnear said after the match. "And, I mean, it's difficult sometimes to go three games a week when you're missing some very important players. But we've shown through it, I think 25 games, I think we've shown through 25 games that we're one of the better teams in the league and I think we will not step back from that."

FC Cincinnati will have more than a month before it has to reassert itself as one of Major League Soccer's elites. MLS will now pause for the Leagues Cup, the annual, in-season tournament involving the entire league, plus every club from the Mexican top flight of soccer. Cincinnati's next league match isn't until Aug. 24.

The loss to the Red Bulls saw FC Cincinnati fall to 15-7-3. It marked the first-ever three-game losing streak since Pat Noonan took over as the club's head coach, and the first three-match skid since the final weeks of the 2021 season.

A break from action might be what's best for FCC, which started the week atop MLS but finished it as the No. 3 team in the race for the Supporters' Shield.

"We'll see when we get back. We'll see how we respond," FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano said of experiencing his first three-game losing streak as a professional. "It's not great. Obviously, it sucks right now but the only way is through, so we'll just keep going and try to bounce back. I didn't know it was the first time losing three in a row, so, not good. Not good. But yeah, we'll be better."

Just because MLS play is pausing doesn't mean this will be complete downtime for FCC and its fans. Here's what's next for the club prior to its next match:

All-Stars and an Olympian

The next time you see FC Cincinnati players competing on the field, they won't be wearing Orange and Blue. But FCC's very best talents will be plenty active over the coming days, and potentially weeks.

This week, Luciano Acosta and Luca Orellano will feature in the MLS All-Star Game in Columbus against a team of All-Stars from Liga MX, the Mexican top flight of soccer. As was the case last year, Acosta is really going to be on center stage after being voted captain of the MLS All-Stars for the second straight year. He'll also compete Tuesday's Skills Challenge.

The All-Star Game will be played Wednesday at Lower.com Field (8 p.m.). The broadcast of the game will be free on Apple TV's MLS Season Pass.

Starting Wednesday, you'll be able to watch FC Cincinnati center back Miles Robinson in the Paris Olympics as he suits up for America's Olympic men's soccer team.

Robinson is joining the Olympic team relatively late and he missed all of the team's tuneup matches for the competition. Having stated that, it's possible he plays a slightly smaller role in Wednesday's group-stage opener against France (3 p.m.). But in general, Robinson, 27, is expected to play a significant role for the Americans as he is one of three "over-age" players in what is mostly an Under-23 tournament for men's soccer in the Olympics.

The U.S. men's Olympic soccer teams faces New Zealand on Saturday (1 p.m.) before closing out play in Group A on July 30 against Guinea.

Another Leagues Cup journey

Leagues Cup is back. Does anyone care? We'll see. If nothing else, the in-season tournament that pauses the MLS regular-season will be a change of pace for FC Cincinnati, and maybe even a chance to refresh itself, try some different approaches on the field, and revamp for the stretch regular-season run.

FC Cincinnati kicks off its Leagues Cup voyage with group stage matches against Querétaro (Aug. 1, 8 p.m.) and New York City FC (Aug. 5, 8 p.m.). Both games will take place at TQL Stadium.

Last year, Leagues Cup had a novel feel about it. Fans didn't quite know what to make of it, but the tournament ended up producing some of the most memorable moments of the FC Cincinnati season. Backup goalkeeper Alec Kann starred in a penalty-kick shootout win over Sporting Kansas City in the opening match for FCC, and then FC Cincinnati hammered Mexican powerhouse Chivas Guadalajara in a match that took about 20 hours to complete due to severe weather.

However, FC Cincinnati's run in the tournament last just three matches. Nashville SC, the eventual tournament runner-up, knocked out FCC on penalty kicks in the first round of knockout matches. That became a big issue for Cincinnati as it was left with weeks of training and no competitive matches, and the club was never really the same after the long layoff from action in Leagues Cup.

FC Cincinnati could find many uses for the tournament, and they'll be taking it at least as seriously as it did last year − and maybe more seriously. Unlike last year, FCC isn't within touching distance of the Supporters Shield, and the all-important 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup berth that comes with it.

Cincinnati expects and wants to compete in the Champions Cup. We also know the club wants to go for every trophy it competes for, so that means Leagues Cup might offer the most viable path to all of the above in 2024.

New players incoming?

Major League Soccer's secondary transfer window opened last week. Think of it like the trade deadline in other North American sports, but this period lasts until Aug. 14. And just like trade-deadline talk, everyone seems to have an opinion about what FC Cincinnati can or should do this window.

Cincinnati has some newly-implemented roster rules at its disposal. That could be added incentive to make some moves. The losses of center backs Matt Miazga, an MVP-caliber defender, and Nick Hagglund are likely to push the club toward signing a center back.

FC Cincinnati is expected to be ambitious in the current transfer window. The decision-makers at the club know the they're in a championship window. The core of the team is solid, and it's being propelled by the best days of reigning MLS MVP Luciano Acosta's historic career. It's also known that some of the other top Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup contenders are expected to make big splashes and upgrades this window, so FC Cincinnati shouldn't sit idle.

MLS play to resume with a bang

Aug. 24 is a long way off, but it'll be here soon and FC Cincinnati will have to be ready. That night, FCC will play at Inter Miami CF in a potentially season-defining game.

Cincinnati's loss on Saturday at New York, combined with Miami's win over the Chicago Fire, meant that Miami (16-4-5, 52 points) would lead the Supporters' Shield race with room to spare. "The Herons" are four points ahead of Los Angeles Galaxy and five points ahead of Cincinnati.

Win at Miami, and that sets up a furious finish over the final eight regular-season games. Lose, and FC Cincinnati will be eight points adrift of Miami and effectively out of the Supporters' Shield race. That means FCC's supporters would have to begin preparing to turn the Shield over to a new winner's fan base.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here's what's next for FC Cincinnati after it skidded into the Leagues Cup break