Major League Soccer

17 August 2026

Major League Soccer

17 August 2026

By Charles Boehm

The days are getting shorter and children are heading back to school. The FIFA World Cup is now behind us, and so too is Phase One of Leagues Cup.

You may not have heard a starter’s pistol or a bell ringing, but there is no doubt about it: the packed Matchday 20 schedule marked the unofficial beginning of the MLS run-in. Apart from the newly merged September-October FIFA international window, it is full steam ahead from now until early November as clubs battle to secure their place in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Here is how it all began this weekend.

Music City statement

After the match, Hany Mukhtar insisted it was not one, and that view is understandable given it is still only mid-August and his side still have 15 league matches left to play. Nashville SC’s main man will remain wary of any complacency that could bring about an autumn slump.

Even so, we would respectfully disagree with Hany on this point. The Coyotes’ 4-1 thrashing of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami absolutely was “a statement” about their trophy credentials, handing the Herons their first league defeat since 2 May with an emphatic win in front of an appreciative home crowd at GEODIS Park.

Mukhtar struck twice as the hosts displayed ruthless opportunism, though Sam Surridge’s outrageously clever backheeled finish for NSC’s third goal was arguably the pick of the lot, keeping the English forward firmly in the hunt in the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race.

Miami are Nashville’s nearest challengers in both the Supporters’ Shield and Eastern Conference standings, and the gap between the two sides is now five points. That is not an insurmountable margin, but it is a solid one. As Goal.com’s Tom Hindle put it, Nashville “surely have one hand on the Supporters’ Shield now, barring a shocking collapse.”

Orange rising

Nostalgia can be a complicated thing, and it is not always useful for sports teams longing for the glory days. But it certainly felt appropriate when the Houston Dynamo honoured their 2006 MLS Cup-winning side ahead of the LA Galaxy’s Saturday night visit to a sold-out Shell Energy Stadium.

Twenty years after that team’s memorable arrival in their new city, La Naranja saluted their originals by wearing their new ‘Archive’ third kits — inspired by the 2006 and 2007 designs — for the occasion. And the 1-0 victory over LA was the ideal tribute: their fourth straight clean-sheet win, improving their Western Conference-best mark over the last 13 matches to 9W-2L-2D, lifting them to the top of the West table — until Vancouver Whitecaps reclaimed first place on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire — while extending their unbeaten run to seven games.

With excellent structure and timely finishing, Ben Olsen’s side have quietly established themselves among the MLS elite. It was also fitting that Guilherme converted Saturday’s winner from the penalty spot, considering how central the all-round Brazilian star has been to their success with 12g/7a.

Those 19 goal contributions account for 67.9% of Houston’s league production this season, the highest figure in MLS, and well within range of the 71.4% record set by Sebastien Le Toux for the 2010 Philadelphia Union.

Still, do not overlook Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The ‘Caps had to dig deep to beat regional rivals Seattle 2-0 in the Matchday 20 nightcap at Lumen Field, a result that sent them back to the top of the Western Conference standings and sealed their second straight Cascadia Cup title.

Thomas Müller scored the clinching goal after Nouhou handed Vancouver a free kick inside the Sounders’ penalty area, and the visitors had exactly the right set-piece routine prepared for that moment.

Vancouver, Miami and Nashville are the only MLS teams averaging two points per game or better. Something suggests we will be talking a lot more about all three between now and December.

Another Philly Lazarus act

All of a sudden, the previously struggling Philadelphia Union look unstoppable once again.

Last year’s Supporters’ Shield winners have been completely transformed since the coaching change and the lineup adjustments made by interim manager Ryan Richter during the World Cup break. They have now won four in a row since the season resumed, and their last two victories have been astonishing comebacks from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Last time, it was Atlanta United who were left stunned. On Sunday evening, it was New York City FC, who were 2-0 up at half-time in the Bronx thanks to penalties converted by Pigeons newcomers Bénie Traoré and Luighi. No problem — Philly simply roared back with three unanswered goals, with the side from the City of Brotherly Love inspired by assists on all three goals from brothers Cavan and Quinn Sullivan.

The significance of it all was plain to see for little brother and the DOOP faithful.

Still only 16, Cavan is making that leap right before our eyes, displaying the immense talent that made him one of the most coveted young prospects in world football. Remarkably, a Union side that won only one of their first 15 league matches now sit just five points behind the Eastern Conference playoff places.

STL surging

A difficult 1W-6L-3D start to the season? Questions over the dependability of the attack? The team’s top scorer having returned to Germany for personal reasons?

None of it seems to have unsettled St. Louis CITY SC, who went to San Jose Earthquakes and won 3-1 in their own stadium, stretching their current unbeaten run to 10 matches across all competitions, the longest such streak in the young club’s brief history.

The often-criticised Simon Becher scored twice to lead the way, making up — at least for one evening — for the recent exit of Marcel Hartel.

First-year head coach Yoann Damet has done admirable work with STL, implementing a bold, high-tempo system reminiscent of that of his former boss Wilfried Nancy, and it has dramatically raised the floor for a club already in the playoff positions and keen to keep pushing forward.

New signing Carlo Holse is still working his way towards full sharpness, and sporting director Corey Wray still has a couple of weeks left in the transfer window to fill the Designated Player spot vacated by Hartel.

Finally, TFC

Thanks mainly to their stadium’s role as a World Cup venue, Toronto FC had not played at BMO Stadium for three long months. And it had been even longer since their previous win, a chaotic 3-2 result against Colorado by the lakeside on 4 April.

So it was easy to imagine the relief when the Reds snapped their 13-match winless run with Saturday’s 2-1 victory over New England, a result they hope proves to be “what you need to kick-start your season,” in the words of head coach Robin Fraser.

That said, this was hardly a textbook performance. TFC generated a meagre 0.1 expected goals compared to the Revolution’s 2.7, a frankly absurd difference that reflects A) the unusual Will Sands own goal that put the Reds ahead and B) just how extraordinary new signing Niklas Dorsch’s long-range winner really was.

This one was well worth watching.

Your current Golden Boot leader is Petar Musa, who scored his 14th goal of the season to guide FC Dallas past their I-35 rivals Austin FC by a 2-1 margin, a result that leaves the North Texans in pole position for Copa Tejas bragging rights over their two in-state rivals.

As impressive as ATX have been in Leagues Cup, where they progressed and will face LIGA MX heavyweights Toluca in the quarter-finals later this month, the Verde & Black defended poorly on the Croatian striker’s clinical winning goal.

There are signs of life in ATL. Atlanta United have been in a similar position to Toronto, away from home for months and ill-fated at every turn, drifting drearily towards the bottom of the standings despite major investment in the squad.

But the Five Stripes showed some fight by coming from a goal down to beat Red Bull New York 2-1, their first win in more than three months.

Central midfielder Tristan Muyumba recovered from an obvious early miss to curl a superb equaliser into the top corner. Youngster Adrian Gill, once a teenage prodigy at FC Barcelona, looked impressive on his MLS debut. And ATLUTD are reportedly close to completing a huge transfer deal for Switzerland international Breel Embolo. Let us see whether their season still has some life in it after all.

It is hard to argue that there is a hotter men’s professional football team in North America right now than Chicago Fire FC, who carried over the momentum from a perfect 3W-0L-0D Leagues Cup Phase One by defeating Portland 2-1 at Soldier Field on Sunday.

That makes it five wins from five, and sets up an enticing midweek trip to face Antoine Griezmann and Orlando City.