Playoff positioning and Concacaf dreams: Charlotte FC's Decision Day breakdown
By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee
This year’s decision day is set to be the most important Decision Day for Charlotte FC since 2023, with home-field advantage in Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs and a potential spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup on the line.
The Crown’s matchup for Round One is already set to be Chicago Fire FC, with the two teams only being locked in as the fourth and fifth seeds in the Eastern Conference. Chicago sits two points ahead of Charlotte heading into the final matchday, meaning a Chicago win would guarantee them home-field advantage. But Charlotte has the advantage in goal differential, meaning a Charlotte win and Chicago dropping points against the Columbus Crew in any way means that Charlotte FC will have home-field advantage.
If Charlotte were to earn home-field advantage with a win and a favorable result from the Chicago versus Columbus match, they could also earn a potential Concacaf Champions Cup spot with just one more favorable result. Earning home-field advantage in the MLS Cup Playoffs would push them up to at least sixth in the Supporters’ Shield standings. However, if FC Dallas were to also drop points with either a draw or a loss, then the Crown would finish fifth in Supporters’ Shield standings. A fifth-place finish would mean that if any of the top four teams (Nashville, Vancouver, Inter Miami, or New England Revolution) or Charlotte win the MLS Cup, then they would qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup for the first time in club history.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of what to look out for on decision day:
Charlotte FC win + Chicago loss/draw + FC Dallas loss/draw = home-field advantage in Round One and fifth place in Supporters’ Shield
Charlotte FC win + Chicago draw/loss = home-field advantage in Round One
Any other combination = fifth place in Eastern Conference
