Henrik Rydstrom believes there are plenty of areas to improve at Columbus Crew but respects the solid foundations laid by Wilfried Nancy during his time at the club. 

Rydstrom joined the Crew earlier this year after Nancy departed to take charge at Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, only to see his tenure last just 33 days in Glasgow. 

Columbus make the trip to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers for their opening game of the 2026 season, having ended their previous campaign with a whimper. 

Nancy led the club to just two wins from their last 10 regular-season matches, before losing in Round One of the playoffs to FC Cincinnati over three games. 

"Maybe the hunger dropped a little bit. But that's quite easy to fix, because the players are aware of it," Rydstrom said of the end of Nancy's tenure at the club. 

"There were still a lot of good things, even if the season didn't go the way the club wanted. There's a lot we can build on."

And the players say they are embracing the adjustment. Sean Zawadski, the Crew's newly appointed captain and a midfielder, said fans should expect more goals.

"Our ability to get numbers forward and then get numbers in the box; I think that's something exciting for everyone," the midfielder added.

"The opportunity to have more numbers in the box and then to score more goals. That is always fun."

The Crew come up against a Portland side who finished eighth in the Western Conference in 2025, before losing to San Diego FC in their Round One postseason clash. 

It marked a disappointing end to a strong campaign from Phil Neville's side, with the Timbers heading into their third season under the guidance of the Englishman. 

Neville boasts a record of 23 wins from his 68 MLS matches in charge (D22 L23), and he said it is time for the day-to-day improvement that he has seen over the last two years to show up where it matters.

"If you're at a club where you feel like you're making inroads, where it feels like the team’s improving year-to-year, there becomes a time when you've got to deliver," Neville said.

"I feel like me and the staff have delivered to a certain extent over the last two years, but delivery for me is winning.

"Other people have different barometers, different types of KPIs. And I've always thought that my KPI in my life has always been that nothing is success until you win."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Portland Timbers – Antony

Antony, along with Kevin Kelsy, scored a team-high seven goals for the Timbers in 2025, equalling the fewest by a season leader in team history (Kris Boyd – seven in 2012).

As well as being the joint-scoring leader, Antony's eight assists tied David da Costa for the most on the team in 2025.

Columbus Crew – Diego Rossi

Diego Rossi has recorded at least 20 goal contributions in both 2024 and 2025, and he will be keen to continue that run of form this year.

He is the second Crew player to notch consecutive regular seasons with 20+ goal contributions over the last 25 seasons, joining Cucho Hernandez (2023-24).

MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN

Portland are unbeaten in six all-time home matches against Columbus (W4 D2), including winning the last three meetings at Providence Park. All four of the Timbers' home wins over Columbus have been by one-goal margins, but their home advantage is not expected to help them this time around.

And they will be hoping to be consistent once again this term. They finished the 2025 regular season with 44 points on 11 wins, 11 draws and 12 losses.

The Timbers have finished between 43 and 47 points, 11 and 12 wins, 10 and 13 draws and 10 and 13 losses in each of the last four MLS seasons, landing between eighth and tenth in the west in all four seasons.

Columbus, meanwhile, have scored their first goal of the season within the opening 30 minutes of their first match of the campaign in each of the last four seasons. The only team in MLS history to score in the first 30 minutes of the season in five straight campaigns was San Jose from 2001 to 2005.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Portland Timbers – 33%

Draw – 25.5%

Columbus Crew – 41.5%