Top Things to Watch in MLS this Week
The Countdown is on for MLS All-Star Minnesota
Only 13 days remain until 2022 MLS All-Star Minnesota festivities begin, and tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27 at 5 p.m. ET, is the deadline for media to apply for credentials for all events, including the 2022 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target (Aug. 10), MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T (Aug. 9), MLS All-Star Concert presented by Target (Aug.8), and all MLS All-Star week media, fan, and community events.
LAST CHANCE: APPLY HERE FOR MLS ALL-STAR MEDIA CREDENTIALS
As the All-Star anticipation is building in the Twin Cities, the best players in MLS are peaking into top form ahead of the midseason showdown against the best in LIGA MX, especially those participating in both the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge and the MLS All-Star Game. Austin FC forward Sebastián Druissi is outpacing all current MLS players with 13 goals, including his two last week, with fellow MLS All-Star Game and Skills Challenge heavy hitters Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas) and Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC) nipping at his heels with 12 goals apiece. New England Revolution midfielder and reigning Landon Donovan MLS Most Valuable Player Carles Gil has returned to his contributing ways with a league-leading 11 assists, and New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson’s 11 clean sheets rank best in MLS this season.
For more information on 2022 MLS All-Star Minnesota – including a complete listing of media opportunities and events, visit MLSsoccer.com/Media-Resources.
Tickets are available at MLSsoccer.com/All-Star.
LAFC’s Bale & Chiellini to Debut at Home vs. Perennial Power Seattle
It’s happening. The Los Angeles Football Club’s highly touted transfers will debut in front of the home fans this week, when five-time UEFA Champions League winner Gareth Bale and nine-time Serie A (Italy) champion Giorgio Chiellini make their first LAFC home appearances against the Concacaf Champions League victors and two-time MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders FC this Friday (11 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes).
After appearing in LAFC’s last two outings, and notching his first MLS goal last week, Bale will have the home crowd eager to amplify the heroics of its new World Cup-bound Welsh player on the attack. Meanwhile defensively, Chiellini is already adding strength and leadership to the backline, as the three-time Serie A Defender of the Year has earned a starting role in LAFC’s last two matches while helping LAFC to wins in all three of his MLS appearances.
With the home side arriving to much fanfare atop the league table, LAFC cannot sleep on Seattle. En route to winning their first MLS Cup in 2016, the Sounders went on a 12-game unbeaten streak to finish out that regular season, going 12-1 in their final 13 league games. After picking up win against Colorado last week, this could be another defining moment to right the ship with 11 games remaining ahead of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Will Bale and Chiellini bring victory to the 3252, or will Seattle earn a statement win over the top team in the Western Conference?
Loons & Timbers Ride Goal-Filled Unbeaten Runs into the Weekend
Minnesota United FC continues to gain steam ahead of hosting MLS All-Star, as the Loons have won five of their past six games and are riding a six-game unbeaten streak heading into their match against the Portland Timbers on Saturday (3 p.m. ET, ABC / ESPN Deportes).
Minnesota sits in third place in the Western Conference after a 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes last week that saw Franco Fragapane and 22-year-old Bongokuhle Hlongwane get on scoresheet. The emergence of a young new star is rounding out their attack, as Hlongwane steps up as an additional option alongside MLS All Star Emanuel Reynoso.
For the Timbers, Jaroslaw Niezgoda has led the way with five goals during Portland’s own seven-game unbeaten run (4-0-3). The Polish striker’s form has brought a consistent level of production across the board for the Timbers as six different players have chipped in with goals over their last seven games. Eryk Williamson has also found his top gear since returning to the starting lineup with three assists in five games, while 22-year-old winger Santiago Moreno has blossomed over this stretch with three goals and two assists for the Timbers.
As two of the hottest teams in the West collide, will the Loons maximize a variety of attacking options, or will the Timbers’ free-scoring forwards rain goals in the Midwest?
Vancouver and Toronto to Meet in Canadian Championship Final
A berth in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League is on the line tonight (10:30 p.m. ET), as Vancouver Whitecaps FC welcome Toronto FC to BC Place for the 2022 Canadian Championship Final, Canada Soccer’s highest professional soccer competition. The two MLS clubs will meet in the finals for the seventh time in the history of the event, as both teams will look to lift the coveted Voyageurs Cup and secure a place in CCL for the ultimate chance to play their way into the FIFA Club World Cup.
Following sensational debuts from Italians Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi last week, Toronto FC will look to its new-look attack to boost the club to its record ninth Voyageurs Cup victory. Vancouver, who will be looking for their second Canadian Championship and their first since 2015, will also enter the match with new reinforcements in the form of recently acquired Julian Gressel, who will look to help slow the high-powered Toronto offense.
An MLS side has won the Canadian Championship every year since 2009, with Toronto FC holding the record of eight Voyageurs Cup wins, followed by Montreal with five, and Vancouver with one.
The Canadian Championship will air live and exclusively on OneSoccer, will be available as a linear channel on Telus’s Optik TV in Canada (Channel 980) as well as online at OneSoccer.ca, through the OneSoccer app and on the fuboTV Canada platform.
Three MLS Clubs Vie for Position in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
Three MLS squads - the New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC, and Sporting Kansas City – will look to carve out their place in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final in a pair of semifinal matches on Wednesday, July 27.
In the evening’s first match, Eastern Conference foes Orlando City SC and the New York Red Bulls will battle for a berth in the U.S. Open Cup Final at Exploria Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+), as both clubs are in search of their first U.S. Open Cup title. This is the second consecutive semifinal match hosted by Orlando City, as the club fell to eventual champions Atlanta United in 2019, the last year the U.S. Open Cup was contested. The Lions have won their last three U.S. Open Cup matches over fellow MLS teams, including back-to-back penalty-kick victories over Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC. They welcome a Red Bulls squad that has lost just once in its past five league matches, including a 4-3 victory at Austin FC on Sunday.
Winners of four U.S. Open Cups, Sporting Kansas City could become the first MLS club to win five Open Cup championships as they travel west to take on Sacramento Republic of the USL Championship (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+). Wednesday’s match marks the second consecutive lower-league opponent in the U.S. Open Cup for Sporting KC, after defeating Union Omaha 6-0 in the quarterfinals on the strength braces from Dániel Sallói and Felipe Hernández.
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the oldest national cup competition in United States soccer and the victor earns an automatic berth into the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. A non-MLS club hasn’t won since 1999 – the only time since MLS has been a part of the competition that the league hasn’t produced the champion.
MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT Stars Highlight U.S. U-19 Roster
The U.S. U-19 Men’s Youth National Team announced on Friday their July/August training camp roster that was filled with MLS NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT talent. Head coach Marko Mitrović called in 23 players to the roster, which included 21 from MLS clubs and the other two players featuring on MLS NEXT rosters. Below are some notes on the 23-man roster:
- 14 players have appeared in MLS NEXT Pro this season and seven of those have seen action in at least 10 games. New England’s Esmir Bajraktarevic and Nolan Buck lead the way with 14 games played this season.
- Marcos Zambrano-Delgado (Philadelphia Union) and Jack Panayotou (New England Revolution) were each top scorers and helped lead their way to championships at MLS NEXT Cup in 2022. Zambrano-Delgado scored seven goals in the U17 division and Panayotou totaled six goals in the U19 division.
- Houston Dynamo FC, the New England Revolution and Orlando City SC each have three players represented on the roster – the most of all clubs.
- Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting is the only player on the roster with MLS experience, having played in six games over the past two seasons. Baker-Whiting was named to the 2022 Generation adidas Cup Rising XI earlier this year.
- The two players not affiliated with MLS academies – Charles DeMarco (BW Gotschee) and Santiago Suarez (Sacramento Republic FC) – have excelled in MLS NEXT this season. Suarez helped his squad to an unbeaten spring slate and DeMarco has been terrific between the sticks, resulting in his first career national team call-up.
Bürki Stifles in St Louis CITY2 Debut
Swiss international goalkeeper Roman Bürki made his debut for St Louis CITY2 on Friday night in a dominant 2-0 shutout over North Texas SC. Bürki made 176 appearances in the German Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund from 2015 to 2022 and proved himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the league, recording 60 clean sheets. He also played a key role in Dortmund’s two DFB-Pokal victories in 2016-17 and 2020-21. The 31-year-old was the fourth-ever signing by St. Louis CITY SC and will start in net for the club during their inaugural season in 2023.
With Bürki’s shutout performance, St Louis CITY2 continued their blistering form with wins in eight of their last 10 matches. The club sits in second place in the Western Conference and trail the Tacoma Defiance by only one point. On Saturday (10 p.m. ET, MLSNEXTPro.com), CITY2 and Tacoma will meet with the top spot in the conference on the line as Bürki looks to stifle the league’s most dynamic attack.
Farsi Becomes Second Crew 2 Player to Sign MLS Contract
On Friday, the Columbus Crew signed Mohamed Farsi to an MLS contract, making him their second signing from Columbus Crew 2 this season. The Crew continue to invest in their bright, young players and join the New England Revolution as the only teams to sign multiple players from MLS NEXT Pro to first-team deals. Farsi joins dynamic forward Jacen Russell-Rowe as Crew 2 players who have converted MLS NEXT Pro success into first-team contracts. A Canadian U-23 international, Farsi’s six assists are tied for the second-most in MLS NEXT Pro and he has appeared in three MLS games this season.
