Articles: Football-soccer

Sporting Kansas City finally found the attacker who changes the geometry. Now Raphael Wicky has to decide how long he can use him. André Luiz has scored four times in his first four SKC starts and produced five goal contributions in his first five appearances. Yet Wicky confirmed after Saturday’s win in Houston that André […]

Brais Méndez says he finally feels connected to Columbus. Sunday is an awkward time to test the wiring. Mohamed Farsi and Sean Zawadzki are out. Taha Habroune is away on international duty. Rudy Camacho and Diego Rossi are questionable. That removes or threatens several of the players around the spaces Méndez has increasingly occupied since […]

Paul Arriola has become the player Minnesota cannot comfortably plan around. Push the wingbacks forward, and the Sounders have a runner waiting for the space behind them. Hold them deeper, and Cameron Knowles takes width away from an attack already missing Joaquín Pereyra. That choice matters because Seattle’s own absences have clarified Arriola’s role. Dejan […]

Seattle finally found three goals. Then one of the men responsible got on a plane. Dejan Joveljić scored in Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Colorado, the Sounders’ first three-goal MLS performance since May 13. He will miss Wednesday’s match while on international duty with Serbia. That removes the striker just as Seattle’s attack showed signs of […]

Apparently, putting Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga on the same team means bookmakers are legally required to set the total at three goals. San Jose may have something to say about that. The Earthquakes arrive on a four-match unbeaten run in which they have conceded one goal, including consecutive clean sheets against Houston. LAFC arrives […]

Real Salt Lake has gone 11 MLS matches without winning. Vancouver arrives in Utah with something more useful than knowledge of that number. It arrives with somewhere to press. The Whitecaps’ own pre-match scouting identifies RSL’s desire to play from the back and calls for Vancouver’s high press to work “disciplined and together.” Normally, surviving […]

New York City FC finally stopped losing players on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the availability report kept going. Six players are out against the Red Bulls, including Maxi Moralez and Keaton Parks. That strips the team of two major sources of midfield invention, even as it already asks Nicolás Mercau to carry much of its scoring […]

San Diego knows what happens when Temwa Chawinga finds space behind them. Friday begins with no one knowing whether Kansas City’s most dangerous runner will be there to find it. Chawinga is questionable with a thigh injury after scoring her 10th league goal against Orlando last week. She has scored in five consecutive regular-season starts […]

Seattle Reign have gone three matches without conceding. Angel City are about to test that run by making the field longer. The return of Maiara Niehues and Sveindís Jónsdóttir has given Angel City more speed and directness, while Gisele Thompson’s higher position allows Evelyn Shores to advance from the left. Laura Harvey has already identified […]

Yuzuki Yamamoto has scored in three consecutive matches. Bay FC has lost three consecutive matches. Wednesday adds another complication: Bay is playing its second road game in five days, while Denver returns home with 12 goals across its last three matches. That puts Yamamoto directly against the part of Bay’s schedule where another competitive performance […]