Red Bull New York’s Teen Talents Shine in Season-Opening Win

Mehmeti made several probing passes, including an assist on New York’s second goal. Dos Santos put in a solid showing on both ends of the pitch.

"Matty is another really, really talented young player," Bradley said of Dos Santos. "We know how good he is. We know what a good kid he is. I got to see all of that up close when I came into the second team last year."

Another teenager, 17-year-old forward Tanner Rosborough, made his MLS debut late in the match when he replaced Hall.

While it was an impressive start to 2026, it's only a single match out of a 34-game regular-season schedule. No one knows this better than Bradley, who is prepared for the twists and turns throughout a grinding campaign that runs through early November.

"The work is every day," Bradley said. "The part of taking our football ideas, building a team, how do we combine how we want to play with our mentality with our culture that we're building, that process goes on every single day.

"What it means is that when the games come ultimately, the games are for the players. The games are for them to show who they are, to show their qualities, to bring our ideas to life. We make some reminders before the game and try to frame things in best possible way to give them a real sense of what the game is going to feel like but like I said ultimately as a coach you want a team that when the whistle blows is ready to go for it and ready to take everything that we've been working on and lay it out there. That part was awesome tonight."

The Red Bulls return home to Sports Illustrated Stadium next Saturday, February 28, to host the New England Revolution.