What a week in MLS.
St. Louis CITY SC won, global stars made their debuts and Hell is Real got chippy. It was truly a week unlike any other.
As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com. The author does not decide the rankings, but he does get a little rush out of moving your team in particular down a few spots when he can.
Make it six straight wins for the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions.
They were notably shorthanded last week, but still earned a 3-2 win over Chicago and a 1-0 victory at Montréal – largely thanks to Luis Suárez scoring three goals.
New midfielder Casemiro debuted against Montréal and looked effective as expected on the ball. Oh, and Inter Miami did this all while Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul rested following the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Previous: 1-0 win at MTL | Next: 8/1 vs. CLB
Nashville earned a 1-0 win over Montréal before running into an Orlando side that seems to have figured a few things out. Orlando won 1-0 and limited Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge to just one shot. Nashville have scored twice in their three matches since returning from the World Cup break.
Previous: 1-0 loss at ORL | Next: 8/1 at DC
Someone went and let the LAFC attack get hot.
They’ve outscored opponents 10-1 in their three games since the World Cup break. Seven of those came last week in wins over Real Salt Lake and Sporting KC. Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min scored five of the seven. After not scoring at all before the World Cup break, Son has scored in three consecutive games.
LAFC are tied on points atop the Western Conference and are playing as if they might be about to take the lead for good and never look back.
Previous: 4-0 win vs. SKC | Next: 8/1 at VAN
Vancouver went on the road twice and only came away with a point.
They fell 4-3 to Cincinnati before settling for a dull 0-0 draw at Minnesota. Fortunately for them, that draw marked the end of a seven-match road trip. They’ll be back at BC Place soon, and they’ll need the boost from a home crowd.
Star midfielder Sebastian Berhalter is reportedly on his way to England, and the ’Caps are tied with LAFC and San Jose for the top spot in the West. They were the best team in the league in the first half of the season, but the second half is already presenting some challenges.
Previous: 0-0 draw at MIN | Next: 8/1 vs. LAFC
The good news is San Jose got Timo Werner back in the lineup. The bad news is it didn’t help last week.
The Earthquakes got thumped by Orlando City in a 4-0 loss, and then Werner had a potential game-winning penalty saved against the LA Galaxy in a 1-1 draw.
They’re still tied on points for the top spot in the West, but they have just one win in their last seven matches.
Previous: 1-1 draw vs. LA | Next: 8/1 at CIN
The Revs had an excellent week.
New England picked up four points and officially added a DP attacker who’s already proven himself in MLS. Jack Harrison is back stateside after leaving New York City FC and spending time with Leeds United, Everton and Fiorentina, among others.
They already have elite match winners in Carles Gil and Matt Turner. Adding another to the mix might be enough to make them a genuine trophy contender.
Previous: 4-1 win vs. ATL | Next: 8/1 at MTL
This should sum up the kind of week NYCFC had:
They started things with a 2-1 win over Columbus and followed it with a 3-1 win over Chicago (featuring Nicolás Fernández Mercau kicking a ball as hard as humanly possible).
They’re up to fifth in the East and on the edge of a home Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot.
Previous: 3-1 win vs. CHI | Next: 7/31 vs. TOR
Houston's four-point week featured a 1-1 draw with D.C. United and a 3-0 romp over Texas rivals Austin FC.
The Dynamo are quietly putting together a playoff-contending performance this season. They’re equal on points with fourth-place RSL and seven points behind the cluster of teams tied for first.
Previous: 3-0 win vs. ATX | Next: 8/1 at SKC
RSL got steamrolled by LAFC in a 3-1 loss and then stumbled, 2-1, at Portland a few days later. Morgan Guilavogui picked up a controversial red card in the 34th minute vs. the Timbers, and that sealed their fate.
After an excellent first half of the year, RSL are tied with two teams for fourth place in the increasingly compact West table. To put it simply: They’re as close to 13th place as they are to third place.
Previous: 2-1 loss at POR | Next: 8/1 at STL
New DP winger Allan Saint-Maximin still hasn't debuted, but Charlotte went ahead and put together a four-point week anyway. It could have been six, truthfully. The Crown blew a 2-0 lead to Atlanta United midweek, but they learned from their mistakes. Charlotte rolled to a 2-0 win over the Red Bulls on Saturday.
Previous: 2-0 win at RBNY | Next: 8/1 at CHI
A 2-2 draw with Portland and a 1-0 loss at San Diego didn’t inspire optimism this week. Dallas were ineffective in attack during the loss, and their new goalkeeper, Daniel, left the match with just 19 minutes in with an injury.
It wasn’t all bad news, though. Benji Flowers, a 15-year-old winger, signed a homegrown deal with Dallas last week. He'll reportedly join EPL side Chelsea FC in a few years. Big, big potential here.
Previous: 1-0 loss at SD | Next: 8/1 at LA
The hype around Chicago is fading.
Star center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi will be out for a significant period following a thigh tear in training, and the Robert Lewandowski era started with a two-loss week. Oh, and Golden Boot presented by Audi-leading striker Hugo Cuypers is off to CF Monterrey.
With Mbokazi out, Lewandowski will need to notably outperform Cuypers for Chicago to make the leap they hoped for post-World Cup.
Previous: 3-1 loss at NYC | Next: 8/1 vs. CLT
St. Louis are the hottest team in the league not named Inter Miami.
They’re unbeaten in their last eight matches after wins over LA and Colorado this week. That’s four straight wins now.
On top of that, they just added Danish attacker Carlo Holse as a Designated Player. It’s the most optimistic things have felt around this team since their inaugural 2023 season.
Previous: 1-0 win vs. COL | Next: 8/1 vs. RSL
No one had a more eventful pair of matches than Cincy last week.
They beat Vancouver, 4-3, in one of the wildest games of the year and followed it up by getting into a donnybrook with the Crew after losing Hell is Real. The post-match festivities will get all the attention, but it’s worth pointing out that, in a vacuum, losing to a middling Crew side is another sign that this team is below the standard we’ve come to expect from them the last few seasons.
Cincy have 23 points and a -1 goal differential after 17 matches.
Previous: 2-1 loss at CLB | Next: 8/1 vs. SJ
A mixed week. Minnesota fell 2-1 to Sporting KC and then earned a respectable 0-0 draw with Vancouver. They’re right on the edge of the playoff line.
Previous: 0-0 draw vs. VAN | Next: 8/1 vs. SD
Martí Cifuentes is Portland’s new head coach. The Spaniard most recently led Leicester City and is the first Timbers head coach without prior experience in the United States. He’ll take over a team that’s earned seven points from three matches since returning from the break.
Portland drew 2-2 with FC Dallas midweek before earning a 2-1 win over 10-man RSL on Saturday.
Incredibly, they also saw off Felipe Mora in style:
Previous: 2-1 win vs. RSL | Next: 8/1 vs. SEA
No one put together a more impressive week than Orlando City.
Antoine Griezmann scored on his debut as the Lions whomped San Jose, 4-0. Eduard Atuesta had three assists in the win as well.
After taking down one of the West’s top teams, Orlando went ahead and took down the league’s top team. They stifled Nashville en route to a 1-0 win, with Tyrese Spicer scoring off a spectacular Justin Ellis assist.
The wins themselves are impressive enough, but back-to-back shutouts for a struggling defensive team are a massive step forward.
Previous: 1-0 win vs. NSH | Next: 8/1 at RBNY
D.C. didn’t face the stiffest competition last week, but a four-point week is a four-point week.
They drew 1-1 with Houston before swiping a 2-1 win against Toronto thanks to a 100th-minute penalty from Tai Baribo. The latter result put them into a playoff spot in the middle of the crowded Eastern Conference.
Previous: 2-1 win vs. TOR | Next: 8/1 vs. NSH
One of the league's most up-and-down teams hit another down moment. They went pointless after losses to Philly and Charlotte.
Previous: 2-0 loss vs. CLT | Next: 8/1 vs. ORL
San Diego bounced back from allowing a 96th-minute winner to Colorado by earning a 1-0 win over Dallas.
They also added another Designated Player, acquiring Tunisia international winger Elias Achouri from FC Copenhagen.
Previous: 1-0 win vs. DAL | Next: 8/1 at MIN
Seattle are the last team you ever expect to slam the panic button on… but, phew, things aren’t going well right now. They’ve lost five in a row and have been outscored 9-2 over their three post-World Cup break matches.
Injuries are definitely playing a real role in those struggles, but the Sounders have seemingly been perpetually injured for a while now. At some point, you have to have the "staying healthy is a skill too" talk.
Notable changes could be on the way if the current group doesn’t course-correct soon.
Previous: 1-0 loss at PHI | Next: 8/1 at POR
The Galaxy brought in a major addition this week, signing former Celtic star striker Kyōgo Furuhashi. Fellow striker João Klauss should return soon from injury as well.
There wasn’t as much cause for celebration on the pitch. LA lost 3-1 to St. Louis, then survived to earn a point in the Cali Clásico thanks to a saved stoppage-time penalty.
Previous: 1-1 draw at SJ | Next: 8/1 vs. DAL
A 2-1 loss to NYCFC midweek set the Crew up for a potential bummer of a week. But Columbus bounced back from the defeat and an early FC Cincinnati goal to earn a 2-1 win in Hell is Real.
Previous: 2-1 win vs. CIN | Next: 8/1 at MIA
Loïc Williams’ 96th-minute winner somehow rolled and bounced off the post in a 1-0 midweek win over San Diego. Any momentum from that moment immediately got thrown out the window against St. Louis, though. Rob Holding picked up a red card in the 12th minute, and that was that. Colorado fell 1-0.
Previous: 1-0 loss at STL | Next: 8/1 vs. ATX
The Union… may be rescuing their season?
It’s not wise to get too far ahead of things, but it is worth noting that the vibes were different last week. Interim manager Ryan Richter helped guide Philly to wins over New York and Seattle, Milan Iloski scored for the fourth and fifth consecutive match, and 16-year-old star Cavan Sullivan is starting to terrorize defenses.
Throw in an impressive performance from 18-year-old center back Neil Pierre and the Union suddenly have some real upside.
Previous: 1-0 win vs. SEA | Next: 8/1 vs. ATL
Toronto just signed German defensive midfielder Niklas Dorsch on a long-term deal. They’ll need him to get integrated into the team quickly if they’re going to turn things around.
They haven’t won a match in 11 tries now and are sitting six points below the playoff line. They were supposed to start pulling themselves out of their rut this year. Instead, they’re fighting for any momentum.
Previous: 2-1 loss at DC | Next: 7/31 at NYC
Austin started the week with a convincing 3-1 win over Seattle, then threw those good vibes aside in Houston. The Dynamo scored three times in the first 32 minutes, and Austin remained the only team in MLS without any road wins this season.
Previous: 3-0 loss at HOU | Next: 8/1 at COL
SKC pulled out a 2-1 win over Minnesota before running into LAFC. They’re still at the bottom of the Western Conference table. That win over Minnesota was enough to pull them out of the Wooden Spoon "lead," though.
Previous: 4-0 loss at LAFC | Next: 8/1 vs. HOU
Two losses for Montréal last week. To be fair, how many teams would take a point or three from an Inter Miami and Nashville SC double game week?
Previous: 1-0 loss vs. MIA | Next: 8/1 vs. NE
Things won’t get any better until the roster does. In the meantime, the current group will have to find a way to pull themselves out of the hole they’ve created. The Five Stripes are officially leading the Wooden Spoon race.
Previous: 4-1 loss at NE | Next: 8/1 at PHI
