Editor’s Note:MLS Footnotes takes you into the main talking points around the league and across American football as a whole.
Kansas City Sports was at the crossroads.
10 games without a win in 2023 MLS campaign, it looks like things could get worse for SKC before getting better. Difficult trip against the CONCACAF champion Seattle Sounders is next. An even more complicated away game, at last year’s MLS Cup and the winner of the Supporters Shield LAFClooming two weeks later.
Sporting defender Andreu Fontàs told FOX Sports on Friday: “At that point of the season, I can tell you we were mentally deadlocked. We were all struggling. All We all suffer.” “At times when you’re so short, it’s easy for the group to disband. We didn’t do that.”
Instead, SKC stunned Seattle by stopping the slide. Peter Vermes’ team routed United States of Minnesota stay home on their next outing, then head to Los Angeles on May 18 and clear the 1-0 deficit for a piece of the spoils. Injured players have either returned to training or regained their competitive fitness. Sporting is on the rise. Or so it seems: Last week, SKC lost 4-0 in the open game City of St.Louis.
“There were a lot of different things that happened in that game that I could talk about, but I don’t want to,” Vermes said of the match – the team’s fifth game in 14 days – marred by worthy management. suspicious, although he admitted that his team’s match was outplayed. “It wasn’t a bad outing, especially considering where we’ve been.”
However, there is no moral victory in professional sports. Only results matter. And with two consecutive home games going against SKC for the first time this year – seven of the next 10 are at Children’s Mercy Park, starting Sunday with a game against Portland Wood (3pm ET, FOX/FOX Deportes) – we’ll soon find out if Vermes’ team can climb the leaderboards and position themselves to challenge for a spot in the knockout stages.
“The crazy thing is we’re not far from a few wins,” Vermes said. Without a doubt, the Timbers are a beatable foe; eighth place Portland is one point above the post-season threshold. The more pressing question is which version of Sporting Kansas City comes out?
“We’ve been a different team since the Seattle game,” Fontàs insisted. “We’ve shown that we can beat the best in this league. That’s our team and we have to prove it on Sunday.”
MLS . NOTES
1. Let’s play two
Sunday has a pair of national televised competitions, with Nashville SC–Columbus crew limited to Week 15 (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes). Second in the East behind Supporters Shield frontman Cincinnati, Nashville is looking to claim a fourth straight home win for the first time since entering the MLS in 2020. Meanwhile, Crew is not doing so well. when losing the last six matches. go nine.
For Wilfried Nancy’s army, the key to stopping the home team is stopping Hany Mukhtar. Easy said, harder done. The German, who scored twice in Columbus’ upstream win over Charlotte last weekend, has scored or assisted 14 of Nashville’s 19 goals in 2023.
Full standings for Week 15:
2. Open Cup Quarterfinals
There are 2 more “down” matches at the US Open Cup in the middle of the week, with Columbus Crew and Charlotte FC lost to the lower division Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Birmingham Legion respectively. Pittsburgh visited Cincinnati in the quarterfinals of the 109-year-old knockout in early June. Birmingham will host Lien Miami.
The other side of the frame is an MLS-wide problem. After beating Austin in the round of 16, Chicago fire will welcome Houston next; Dynamo has eliminated Minnesota United. Meanwhile, Real salt lake beat their Rocky Mountain rival Colorado rapids second time in four days. RSL faces LA Galaxy in quarters.
3. The galaxy is far, far away
Galaxy will be poised to win Tuesday’s Open Cup against a mostly reserve LAFC team, but the most successful club in MLS history is still last among the tournament’s 29 teams. .
The last two defeats were particularly bad: a 0-2 loss in Columbus on May 17, followed by a 3-0 loss before United States DC in Washington. Greg Vanney’s team returns to Carson after this weekend’s game against Charlotte, but after that, the next four Galaxy games will follow.
Vanney has to hope that the solo goal is spectacular Riqui Puig Tuesday’s 2-0 win keeps the Spaniard through to the MLS. 23 years old Barcelona the new product has only scored one goal in 12 matches this season.
4. Red alert
At the Eastern Conference, another marquee club also sits in the basement. Toronto football team, which has the highest salary in the league with nearly $26 million (Galaxy is second with $23.5 million), has lost three of its last four games with its trip to DC on Saturday. After the loss in injury time against Austin, the Italian star Federico Bernardeschi made headlines with comments seemingly directed at trainer Bob Bradley.
“We need to change something,” Bernardeschi said. “We need more tactics. We need the idea of how we play.”
On Wednesday, Bradley told the Canadian press that Bernardeschi was “out of line.” “Fede was wrong to say that after the game,” the veteran manager said. On Friday, Bradley revealed that Bernardeschi – fourth highest paid player in MLS – won’t play on Saturday.
After scoring eight goals in 13 games when it came to mid-season from Juventus In 2022, Bernardeschi only scored 3 goals after 12 games this year. Compatriots and designated players Lorenzo Insigne were even less efficient, scoring just one goal in seven appearances due to an injury that runs through 2023. Insigne is the league’s second-highest earner. Together, the pair account for more than half of the Reds’ wage spending.
A scathing report in The Athletic on Friday detailed the depth of dysfunction within the TFC. It also draws a damn off-field photo of Bernardeschi and Insignewho less than two years ago helped lead Italy to the European title.
5. The Quakes duo helped the US win the U-20 World Cup group
After more victory Ecuador And FijiU.S. under-20 men’s national team beat Slovakia 2-0 on Friday afternoon to top Group B. Forward Cade Cowell opened the scoring with his second goal in as many matches while Niko Tsakirisby Cowell San Jose earthquake team-mates, fixed the three points with a goal in second-half stoppage time.
The United States has not conceded a goal in its first three games in Argentina. The Americans will face an opponent to be determined in the quarterfinals next week.
Doug McIntyre is a football writer for FOX Sports. Prior to joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was an editor for ESPN and Yahoo Sports, and he covered the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at various FIFA World Cups. . Follow him on Twitter at @ByDougMcIntyre.
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