FOXBOROUGH, MA– New England Revolution eMLS player João “Jafonso” Vasconcelos has won the eMLS Cup pres. by TikTok.
This is the first ever eMLS Cup Championship won by a New England Revolution eMLS player.
This is Jafonso’s second title this season. (Won League Series Two Title in February)
eMLS Cup Bracket. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
Following his League Series Two victory, Jafonso automatically qualified for eMLS Cup & clinched a Quarterfinals position.
He entered eMLS Cup ranked #1 in the eMLS Power Rankings.
Following a 5-2 victory over Doolsta (New York Red Bulls), Jafonso met Alan Avi (FC Dallas) in the Quarterfinals.
Jafonso faces off against Alan Avi (FC Dallas) in the eMLS Cup Quarterfinals. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
In the quarterfinal matchup it was all Jafonso right from the start.
The first half began with some early goals as Jafonso led by 2 in just the 15 minutes into the matchup after an 8th minute strike by Erling Haaland and a 12th minute strike by Lionel Messi. In the 30th minute, Jafonso added to his lead with a penalty kick goal by Erling Haaland. The match would enter halftime with Jafonso ahead 3-0.
The second half began with a quick goal by Erling Haaland for Alan Avi to move the scoreline to 3-1 in the 54th minute. Just 20 minutes later, Jafonso added to his lead once more with a close-range finish by Erling Haaland to make it 4-1. With just 15 minutes left in the match, Jafonso took complete control with goals from David Ginola in the 77th and 81st minute, as well as a goal by Kylian Mbappe in the 86th minute. The match would end with Jafonso winning the match 7-1.
With the 7-1 victory, Jafonso advanced to the eMLS Cup Semifinals.
Simultaneously, Ollelito (NYCFC) defeated Lamps (Minnesota United) by a score of 7-3, meaning Jafonso would face off against the eMLS veteran in the semi-finals.
Jafonso faces off against Ollelito (NYCFC) in the eMLS Cup Semifinals. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
In the Semifinal matchup it was a dominant performance by Jafonso the entire match.
In the first half, Jafonso took an early 1-0 lead following a goal by Lionel Messi in the 8th minute. Just 4 minutes later, Jafonso added to his lead once more with yet another goal, this time by David Ginola in the 12th minute. He added to his lead once more in the 21st minute after a left-footed volley by Erling Haaland to make it 3-0. He would add to his lead once again in the 33rd minute with yet another goal by Erling Haaland to make it 4-0. The match would enter halftime with Jafonso ahead 4-0.
The second half began with more dominance by Jafonso as he added to his lead in the 54th minute with yet another goal by Erling Haaland to make it 5-0. Ollelito had a pair of consolation goals in the 77th minute and 84th minute by Kylian Mbappe to make it 5-2. The match would end in the same scoreline.
With the 5-2 victory, Jafonso qualified for the eMLS Cup Final.
Simultaneously, K1John (CF Inter Miami) defeated Nr7 (Saint Louis City SC) by a score of 7-3, meaning Jafonso would face off against K1John in the eMLS Cup Final.
With Jafonso & K1John’s qualification for the Final, they both have officially qualified for the FC Pro World Championships (EAFC World Cup).
It all comes down to this… @jafonsogv ? @k1johnn for the eMLS Cup! ? pic.twitter.com/UzJH6Ots5b
— ? Major League Soccer | #eMLS (@eMLS) March 10, 2024
Jafonso faces off against K1John (Inter Miami) in the eMLS Cup Final. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
In the MLS Cup Final matchup was a back-and-forth matchup.
The first half began with back-and-forth play from both sides with Jafonso dominating the possession statistics. With chances for either side, it went Jafonso’s way just before halftime. Entering the 45th minute, Jafonso broke the 0-0 deadlock after a pass by Kylian Mbappe found David Ginola. He elected for the one-time shot which went into the bottom left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
The second half was similar to the first half as it was a back-and-forth matchup once again. However, Jafonso added to his lead in the 63rd minute after a shot by Erling Haaland just crossed over the line for the 2-0 advantage. Jafonso managed to add to his lead once more in the 75th minute when a low-driven cross found Kylian Mbappe for the easy finish to make it 3-0 for Jafonso. Less than 5 in game minutes later, Kylian Mbappe put the nail in the coffin with a break-away goal for the 4-0 lead. Just moments later, Kylian Mbappe finished yet another, a flair goal, to lead 5-0. Entering the 92nd minute, an unbelievable display of skill by Erling Haaland made it 6-0 for Jafonso.
After the 90+2 minutes, Jafonso held on for the 6-0 victory.
? @jafonsogv claiming his prize! ?#eMLS #FC24 #FCPro pic.twitter.com/EA4M8RwMjt
— EA SPORTS FC Pro (@EASPORTSFCPro) March 10, 2024
New England Revolution eMLS player João “Jafonso” Vasconcelos has won the eMLS Cup pres. by TikTok. Image Courtesy of EASPORTS FC.
Jafonso becomes the first New England Revolution eMLS Player in history to win the eMLS Cup Final.
With the victory, Jafonso secures his second title of the season. (League Series Two and eMLS Cup).
This season alone, he has broken every record that has previously been set by former players JKO1707 (2018-21) and YoungggCarter (2022-23).
Jafonso hoists the eMLS Cup Trophy. Image Courtesy of eMLS.
When asked how he was feeling after his victory, Jafonso stated, “It feels really great. The Final was 6-0, but it was 1-0 at halftime…. it was 50-50 at that time. I also want to say GG, good game to K1John and congratulate him on qualifying for the World Cup as well… I’m just enjoying the moment, I trained really hard to be here at my best level and I’m really happy.”
When building on his strategy, he stated, ” It was the same strategy as before… I feel in the final I defended really well; I made a few tackles that were risky but in the end it went well. I don’t have like a strategy when I play a player, I just have to be confident and be myself and it worked really well.”
When talking on the group of competitors, he stated, “I worked a lot this year in EAFC 24, I saw in the beginning you guys put me 10th in Power Rankings and I was a bit mad, but yeah, this league has a lot of good players, Paulo Neto, Ollelito, Kevin Jones, CJ, a lot of players that could have had their name called this afternoon. In the end, only one wins. I’m really happy. This is also not just for me, this is for the New England Revolution that give me a lot of good conditions, Diogo Jota the CEO of my team, Luna Galaxy, my team, Armando my coach, if he wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have won, my family, friends, girlfriend, thank you all.”
? @jafonsogv is @eMLS CHAMPIOOON for the @NERevolution ! ?
WORLD CUP ✅
Back-to-back eMLS Tournament win ✅Thank you Revs. Thank you @DiogoJota18 ❤️
For everyone who trusted me. Family and friends ? pic.twitter.com/iAX1vTbPLx
— Armando Vale (@armandogvale) March 10, 2024
JAFONSO returns to EAFC play in June of 2024 where he is set to take place in the FC Pro Championships. To view all of his matches, you can follow eMLS on Twitter and Jafonso on Twitter & on Twitch by clicking on the links.
(Editor’s Note: To view every eMLS Cup match, click the link)
