Report: New York Red Bulls to play Elfsborg in 2019 preseason friendly

The eagle eyes of MetroFan TV have spotted news of another preseason opponent for the New York Red Bulls: Swedish top-flight club Elfsborg will play RBNY in Florida at the end of January.

The Red Bulls aren’t quite ready to announce their 2019 preseason schedule, but the club has confirmed that it will be dividing its winter warm-ups into two camps: one in Florida; one in Arizona.

We have a reasonable idea of what is awaiting RBNY in Arizona in February. Elfsborg is the first of the Red Bulls’ preseason opponents in Florida to be revealed. Indeed, the published date of the scrimmage - January 26 - would suggest Elfsborg might be RBNY’s opening scrimmage partner of the 2019 preseason. Players are expected to report for winter training on January 21 - make allowance for travel time and initial fitness work, and January 26 seems about right for the first run-out against another team.

Elfsborg finished 12th out of 16 teams in the 2018 Allsvenskan - not a great season for the club. Last year, the roster included former LA Galaxy midfielder Stefan Ishizaki.