Battle of the Commissioner’s Picks in Chicago
On Wednesday evening, the two players selected as Commissioner’s picks for the 2023 MLS All-Star Game will face off against one another, as the third-leading MLS scorer of all-time, Kei Kamara, and the Chicago Fire welcome versatile Homegrown midfielder Mathieu Choinière of CF Montréal to Solider Field (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
Sitting just one goal behind Landon Donovan (145) for the second-most goals in MLS history, Kamara hopes to enter All-Star week on a high note as the club looks to continue their strong run of form as winners of three of their last four matches. The 24-year-old Choinière will look to stop a charging Chicago squad and help Montréal change their momentum heading into the upcoming MLS season hiatus.
Before taking the field as teammates at Audi Field in the MLS All-Star Game next Wednesday, these two 2023 standouts will look to pad their resumé’s and punctuate the first half of the MLS season with positive performances.
Transfer Reinforcements En Route This Summer
As the calendar flips to July, MLS clubs have already begun adding international talent to boost their chances at making the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and ahead of Leagues Cup. With the Secondary Transfer Window officially open, several new faces have already made an impact and will continue to do so in the coming months.
- Chicho Is Back – One of the biggest stars to re-enter MLS in the Secondary Transfer Window is Real Salt Lake’s Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango, who joined from Pachuca in LIGA MX. The Colombian striker played an integral role in LAFC’s 2022 MLS Cup run and scored 30 goals in two seasons for the club from 2021-22. Arango debuted for the Claret and Cobalt on Saturday and made his impact immediately felt, becoming the fifth player in RSL history to score in his debut.
- Designated Players en Route – Several clubs have already made big splashes on Designated Players who will be making their debuts shortly. FC Cincinnati added striker Aaron Boupendza for their Supporters’ Shield run, while Minnesota United FC brought in prolific Finnish striker Teemu Pukki.
- Familiar Faces in New Places – Some of the familiar names in MLS will be debuting some new kits this summer. CF Montréal made a big splash acquiring Kwadwo Opoku from LAFC and Austin FC bolstered their back line with the loan acquisition of U.S. U-20 International Brandan Craig from Philadelphia. The Colorado Rapids also added the versatile Andrew Gutman from Atlanta as they make their second-half push.
MLS Leaders Ahead of the MLS All-Star Game & Leagues Cup
As the summer of soccer continues with MLS players competing in the semifinals of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup as well as the 2023 MLS All-Star Game and Leagues Cup 2023, these are some of the key storylines through 24 matchdays, including the current league leaders in various categories.
Supporters’ Shield Race
FC Cincinnati currently leads the Supporters’ Shield standings with 45 points through 21 games played in a historic season for the club. They stand seven points clear of No. 2 St. Louis CITY SC, who are enjoying a stellar inaugural MLS season, and No. 3 Nashville SC, who have allowed a league-low 17 goals through 22 games played.
MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi
Rewarding Nashville’s defensive solidarity in attack is reigning Golden Boot winner Hany Mukhtar with 13 goals. Hot on the German’s trail, though, is LAFC forward Dénis Bouanga with 12 goals in his first full season for the club. Six players, including Atlanta United newcomer Giorgos Giakoumakis and U.S. Men’s National Team and FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira, are tied for third with 10 goals each.
Assist Leaders
Atlanta United midfielder and 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Thiago Almada and Columbus Crew forward Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernández are tied with a league-high 10 helpers so far this season. Close behind them are Philadelphia Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag, New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil, and Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Héctor Herrera, who is the hoping to drive the Dynamo to its first playoff appearance since 2017.
Clean Sheet Connoisseurs
Seattle Sounders FC’s Stefan Frei leads the league with 11 clean sheets and is the only goalkeeper in MLS to reach double digits so far this season. Roman Celentano has also protected FC Cincinnati’s net well this season, keeping nine clean sheets and surpassing Przemysław Tytoń for most clean sheets in the club’s MLS history. Twenty-two-year-old Jonathan Sirois rounds out the top three with his eight clean sheets so far in what is his first season as CF Montréal’s first-choice goalkeeper.
2023 MLS All-Star Game Pre-Game Press Conferences
The complete 2023 MLS All-Star media schedule for the All-Star festivities is available here. Credentialed media will also receive daily schedules to assist with coverage.
On Tuesday, July 18, Commissioner Don Garber will meet with the media beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by a press conference with select MLS All-Stars and head coach Wayne Rooney at 2:30 p.m. ET Arsenal F.C. Manager Mikel Arteta and select players will meet with the media beginning at 3 p.m.
All three press conferences will take place in-person for credentialed media and will be available to view online via Zoom Webinar here.
Please reach out to Sahar Abdur-Rashid (sahar.abdurrashid@mlssoccer.com) with any questions.
Leagues Cup – East Region Preview
Getting to know the East:
The East Region’s previous MLS Cup winners consist of New York City FC (2021), Toronto FC (2017), and D.C. United (1996, 1997, 1999, 2004) as well as one previous Concacaf Champions Cup winner in Pumas UNAM, who won the tournament three times between 1980-1989.
The Groups
East 1: Philadelphia Union, Club Tijuana, Querétaro FC
East 2: CF Montréal, Pumas UNAM, D.C. United
East 3: New York City FC, Atlas FC, Toronto FC
East 4: New York Red Bulls, Atlético de San Luis, New England Revolution
Stories to Watch
- Youthful Coaches: The East Region features four of the tournament’s six youngest head coaches, with third-youngest coach Gustavo Leal (Atlético de San Luis) facing off against sixth-youngest Troy Lesesne (New York Red Bulls) on Sunday, July 30 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
- Campeones Cup II: Familiar foes face off in East 3 when NYCFC take on Atlas FC in a repeat of the 2022 Campeones Cup, where NYCFC won 2-0 on the night. Nick Cushing led NYCFC to victory as the interim head coach and now has the chance to do so as a full-time head coach.
- All-Star Bounce: Following his stint in charge of the 2023 MLS All-Star team, D.C. United head coach Wayne Rooney will return to his club side to compete in his first intracontinental competition with D.C. as he faces CF Montréal and Pumas UNAM in the East 2 group.
Players to Watch
- Dániel Gazdag (Philadelphia Union): The Hungarian international has been a revelation in the midfield since arriving to Philadelphia and ranks third among all MLS players in goal contributions with 57 combined goals and assists since the start of the 2021 season.
- Carles Gil (New England Revolution): The 2021 Landon Donovan MLS MVP winner has recorded more assists (57) than any other player in MLS since his debut in 2019 and established himself as one of the best creative midfielders to ever play in MLS.
- Juan Dinenno (Pumas UNAM): Dinenno has been a reliable goal scorer for Pumas since his arrival to the club in 2020, and the Argentine striker finished the 2022-23 LIGA MX season as one of five players to score at least six goals in both the Clausura and Apertura.
MLS NEXT Pro Clubs Gear Up for International Competition
MLS NEXT Pro announced today that the League’s annual international competition, the MLS NEXT Pro Invitational, will return this month and will feature teams from Premier League 2 and the Bundesliga. Also in July, two MLS NEXT Pro clubs will host Wrexham AFC during the popular European club’s U.S. tour.
This year’s MLS NEXT Pro Invitational will again take place in the Salt Lake City area, with five matches over eight days, July 18-25. Competing from MLS NEXT Pro will be Real Monarchs, Colorado Rapids 2, and Whitecaps FC 2. They will face Crystal Palace U21 from England’s Premier League 2 and TSG Hoffenheim U23 from Germany’s Bundesliga.
In addition to the MLS NEXT Pro Invitational, National League champion Wrexham AFC embarks on a four match, 10-day tour of the United States, in which two of the four friendlies will take place against MLS NEXT Pro clubs.
LA Galaxy II will host the club made famous by the hit streaming show “Welcome to Wrexham” at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, July 22. Wrexham will then close out their American summer tour in Philadelphia – hometown of celebrity co-owner Rob McElhenney - against Union II at Subaru Park on Friday, July 28.
Fans around the world will be able to watch the MLS NEXT Pro Invitational and both Wrexham matches exclusively on mlsnextpro.com.
Tap-Ins: Matchdays 25 & 26
A look at other headlines and activity around Major League Soccer ahead of Matchdays 25 and 26:
MLS Season Pass Broadcast Schedule: Matchday 25
Below is the MLS Season Pass broadcast schedule for Matchday 25, including English-language commentators for each match with the play-by-play talent listed first, followed by the match analyst.
