SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. MINNESOTA UNITED FC

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. The Loons have left their comfy nest and fly to The Evergreen to face our beloved Sounders FC. There are seven teams currently scratching and clawing to secure two MLS Cup qualification berths, including Sounders and the Loons. Strap in. It’s going to get woolly.

What: MLS league match, Seattle Sounders FC v. Minnesota United FC.

Where: Royal Brougham Park, Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

When: 5:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 26 September 2026 CE.

At Stake: Points in the league for the purposes of MLS Cup qualification. The midweek victory over the Salt Lake has vaulted Sounders six places in the MLS league table to 20th position. Sounders are on 32 points, 25 points adrift of leaders Nashville. The western regional qualifying table for MLS Cup currently looks like this:

8 LA Galaxy 27 matches played 33 points

9 Portland         26 matches played 32 points

——————————————————————————————————————————-

10 Sounders 25 matches played 32 points

11 San Diego 26 matches played 31 points

12 Austin 26 matches played 30 points

13 Salt Lake 26 matches played 29 points

14 Minnesota 26 matches played 29 points

15 Kansas City 25 matches played 18 points

Saturday’s relevant matches in the late-stage qualifying scramble are:

SEA v. MIN, ATX v. SD, RSL v. NE, LAG v. COL, and SJ v. POR.

Where to Watch: Apple TV.

Where to Listen: iHeartMedia Seattle, which you would imagine to be KJR’s feed, and El Rey 1360 AM.

If you’re like me, you’re still basking in the celebratory glow/massive relief following our midweek victory over the Salt Lake. With all the injuries and absences in the Salt Lake squad, fate was handing us a golden opportunity, and the lads came through with a clutch 2:0 performance.

The winless streak is over, and we can now get that monkey off our back, and also recover our wallet from said monkey. Cheeky fucking monkey. All kidding aside, it’s  been a long and sad haul for the fans, supporters, and the Sounders’ squad. Hope springs anew, and we will try to put all those difficulties and the sadness that came with them firmly in the rear-view. We carry on, and go again. This is what we do.

There are seven teams in the western region that are battling hammer and tongs to try to secure the last two berths for MLS Cup: LA Galaxy, Portland, Sounders, Loons, San Diego, Austin, and Salt Lake. That scenario seems like a super-agro, death-match version of Musical Chairs at a child’s birthday party. Seven agro, sugar-fuelled children. Two chairs to sit in. The music is going to stop soon. What could possibly go wrong?

MLS Cup has 18 qualifying places in a league of 30 teams. That means 60% of the league qualifies for this thing. It’s pretty embarrassing if you end up in the 40% that are shit out of luck after bashing away for 34 matches. Professional athletes don’t like being embarrassed, so it’s gonna be some utterly mental, take-no-prisoners football from here to the 34th and last match of the MLS league championship. Only then can MLS Cup begin.

If you have the time and means, get yourselves to the ground and link up with ours. Tie your scarves proper and stay hydrated. Remember to bring an extra layer, as it will likely get quite chilly on Saturday after the sun goes down. For the rest of us, it’s pubs and dwellings for stories and tellings. Houses and flats for pints and cats. Boats and ships for pie and chips.

Sounders. Loons. Both with nothing left but MLS Cup to play for. May the Universe have mercy on us all. It’s MLS league football under the Saturday night lights of Royal Brougham Park. Buckle up. It’s gonna be straight mental. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

What a difference a day makes. (photo credit: soundersfc.com)

The Good News

Sounders are unbeaten in six straight matches (1-5-0) and won their first match since May. The trend seems to be an upward one and that’s good news for the club and our fans.

We’re no longer the worst in the league at scoring goals. We have one more goal scored than 30th place Kansas City, who have hit 29.

Historically, the Loons don’t really win at Royal Brougham Park. Sounders have an all-time league record of 8-0-1 when hosting Minnesota United. Granted, all-time stats aren’t as meaningful as current form, as there is all sorts of churn and turnover throughout MLS squads on a yearly basis. So do with this statistic what you will.

The Loons are in a truly crappy patch of form just now. Their record in their last five matches is 0-1-4. In addition, their away record in the league is pretty ordinary at 5-3-7 this season. As if that weren’t trouble enough, Minnesota United are missing Harvey, Triantis, and Smir who are all on national team duty, and their best playmaker, Pereyra (3 goals, 12 assists), is injured and unavailable for selection.

Over the last three matches, the Sounders’ attack is showing signs of life, hitting six goals for an average of two goals per match. Our defence is improving and remains tied for fifth-best in the league.

The Bad News

Unfortunately, for us, four of the six goals we’ve scored in the last three matches were hit by Joveljic, who is currently playing his football with Serbia and is thus unavailable for selection.

Danger men for the Loons are as follows: Kelvin Yeboah (14 goals, 2 assists) leads the line, Markanich (7 goals, 3 assists) is next, with Caldeira (5 goals, 1 assist) and Chancalay (4 goals, 4 assists) rounding out the best of the goal scorers for Minnesota United.

The two-day turnaround between the midweek match and the Saturday match comes at the worst possible time for us. Sounders need every point they can get in the standings to even have a shot at qualifying for MLS Cup. That means sending out veteran players on short rest, which significantly increases their chances of becoming injured.

Although we’re no longer the worst in the league at goal scoring, we’re currently tied for second-worst in the league with Atlanta (30 goals). For stark contrast, league leaders Nashville have hit 63 goals in the league this season.

With Sounders form on the upswing, MLS Cup qualification seems like a manageable proposition. The question that needs asking is, should we manage to qualify, whether our football will be of a high enough standard to truly challenge for the trophy.

The Side I Would Select

The two-day turn-around between the midweek fixture against the Salt Lake and the Loons on Sat…well, the timing is terrible. We need every point, but if we keep running the vets on short rest, the probability they get injured becomes higher, and I feel that’s how we ended up in the injury situation that marked the club-record losing streak we endured for two and a half months over the summer.

We need Sailor and Kim to play big at the centre-half positions and give Ragen, who is just off injury list, a rest. Gomez Andrade can spell one of them for a run-out later in the match. Nouhou has to go this match, because we don’t have another left-back in the squad. It’s moments like these where it would be dead useful to have not sold Baker-Whiting to Nashville.

Kingston at defensive-midfield because he’s young enough to carry the load. Dotson in the other holding midfield role because he’s not had a lot of run recently, and also will bring needed experience.

Let’s run out Clark on the left, as he’s had a bright start. Let’s let the Clark crack on, as it wouldna be prudent to run out Arriola on two days rest. Morris on the right because there’s really no one to spell him. Gomez can run the attack from the #10 position and is young enough to carry the load. No sense in running out Albert on short rest. Musovski because he scored last match, and also he’s the only true centre-forward we have that is available, as Joveljic is with Serbia and we lent De Rosario to Sonderjyske.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Sailor

RCH    Kim

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Kingston

RDM   Dotson

LF     Clark

CAM   Gomez

RF     Morris

CF     Musovski

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

Schmetzer is in an impossible position. The club has stripped our depth, and the star players we’ve had over the years have never truly been replaced. The Gaffer also hates to lose, and will do anything in his power to secure MLS Cup qualification. Look for these to play come Saturday.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH     Ragen

RCH    Gomez Andrade

RB     Alex

LDM    Brunell

RDM   Cristian

LF     Arriola

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Morris

CF     Musovski

Intangibles

The Referee for Saturday’s match will be Nabil Bensalah.

SEA record with Bensalah as Ref: 0-0-0

MIN record with Bensalah as Ref: 1-0-0

SEA aggregate squad estimated transfer value: €50.83M

MIN aggregate squad estimated transfer value: €43.4M

SEA 2026 transfer fees paid: €5.2M

MIN 2026 transfer fees paid: €3.2M

General notes on personnel

Minnesota transfers IN:

Stroud (New York RB) €403,000

Fischer - reserves

Chancalay (New England Revolution) €85,000

Callender (Charlotte FC) €380,000

Rizvanovich - reserves

Gonzalez (Deportes Tolima) €850,000

Caldeira - draft

Rodriguez (Leon) free

Duncan (New York RB) free

Jackson (Jagiellonia Bialystok) loan

Malone (Sturm Graz) €1.5M

Valerius (NAC Breda) loan

Minnesota transfers OUT:

Dotson (Seattle Sounders FC) free

Keller (New Mexico United) free

Lod (Chicago Fire) free

Mesanvi (Indy Eleven) free

Shashoua (Birmingham Legion) loan

St. Clair (Inter Miami CF) free

Rosales (Austin FC) €1.28M

Speel (Shelbourne) loan

Jung (Suwon Bluewings) loan

Kmet (Dunajska Streda) loan

Farina (Cerro Porteno) end of loan

Rizvanovich (Brooklyn FC) loan

Fischer (Hartford Athletic) loan

Kmet (Banik Ostrava) undisclosed

Michel (Alajuelense) loan

Speel (Almere City) loan

Fitz (Wolfsburger) loan

Padelford (New York RB) loan

Comparison against common opponents

SEA 2:0 COL

COL 3:3 SEA

MIN 0:1 COL

(against COL: SEA 1-1-0 +2, MIN 0-0-1 -1) decisive edge SEA

RSL 2:1 SEA

SEA 2:0 RSL

MIN 1:1 RSL

RSL 1:1 MIN

(against RSL: 1-0-1 +1, MIN 0-2-0 0) marginal edge SEA

STL 0:1 SEA

SEA 4:1 STL

STL 4:2 MIN

(against STL: SEA 2-0-0 +4, MIN 0-0-1 -2) decisive edge SEA

SJ 0:1 SEA

SEA 3:2 SJ

SJ 1:5 MIN

SJ 4:2 MIN USOC

(against SJ: 2-0-0 +2, MIN 1-0-1 +2) edge SEA

SEA 2:1 DAL

DAL 0:1 MIN

MIN 1:2 DAL

(against DAL: SEA 1-0-0 +1, MIN 1-0-1 0) marginal edge SEA

SKC 1:1 SEA

SKC 2:1 MIN

(against SKC: SEA 0-1-0 0, MIN 0-0-1 -1) marginal edge SEA

SEA 1:1 SD

SD 1:2 MIN

MIN 1:1 SD

(against SD: SEA 0-1-0 0, MIN 1-1-0 +1) edge MIN

SEA 0:2 LAG

LAG 1:1 SEA

LAG 1:2 MIN

MIN 2:3 LAG

(against LAG: SEA 0-1-1 -2, MIN 1-0-1 0) edge MIN

LAFC 1:0 SEA

MIN 0:1 LAFC

(against LAFC: SEA 0-0-1 -1, MIN 0-0-1 -1) even

SEA 1:5 POR

POR 2:1 SEA

MIN 2:0 POR
POR 5:4 MIN

(against POR: SEA 0-0-2 -5, MIN 1-0-1 +1) decisive edge MIN

ATX 3:1 SEA

SEA 1:2 ATX

ATX 2:2 MIN

MIN 2:2 ATX

(against ATX: SEA 0-0-2 -3, MIN 0-2-0 0) decisive edge MIN

SEA 0:2 VAN

VAN 0:3 SEA CCC
SEA 2:1 VAN* CCC *Spokane

VAN 6:0 MIN

MIN 0:0 VAN

(against VAN: SEA 2-0-1 +2, MIN 0-1-1 -6) decisive edge SEA

CIN 1:1 SEA

MIN 1:0 CIN

(against CIN: SEA 0-1-0 0, MIN 1-0-0 +1) edge MIN

TIG 2:0 SEA CCC

SEA 3:1 TIG CCC

TIG 0:0 MIN LC

(against TIG: SEA 1-0-1 0, MIN 0-1-0 0) marginal edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

The Loons as they lined up in their 2:3 defeat against LA Galaxy at Simpson Street on 19 September.

GOALKEEPER

Drake Callender, 28

United States

Notable Clubs: Inter Miami CF (92/0), Minnesota United (26/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Developed by Cap FC United, Placer United, and San Jose Earthquakes. Played his university football for California (54/0). Won a Leagues Cup and Supporters Shield with Inter Miami CF. Named 2023 Leagues Cup Best Goalkeeper.

DEFENCE

Anthony Markanich, 26

United States

Notable Clubs: Colorado Rapids (13/0), St. Louis City SC (29/1), Minnesota United FC (59/16)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Developed by Chicago Fire and Olympiacos Chicago. Played his university football for Northern Illinois (67/17).

Morris Duggan, 25

Germany

Notable Clubs: Minnesota United FC (48/1), Rhode Island FC (9/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Developed by Kirchheimer SC and FC Ismaning. Played his university football for Iowa Lakes CC (NJCAA) (23/0) and Marshall (37/3).

Nicolas Romero, 22

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Atletico Tucuman (77/2), Minnesota United FC (38/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.8M

Notes: Full name: Fernando Nicolas Romero. Developed by Atletico Tucuman.

Carlos Harvey, 26

Panama (31/3)

Notable Clubs: Tauro (1/0), Los Angeles Galaxy (10/0), Phoenix Rising (30/5), Minnesota United FC (55/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €600,000

Notes: Presumably developed by Tauro. Won a Panamanian league title with Tauro.

MIDFIELD

Joaquin Pereyra, 27

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Rosario Central (45/1), Famalicao (15/0), Atletico Tucuman (112/4), Minnesota United FC (66/9)

Estimated Transfer Value: €5M

Notes: Developed by Rosario Central. Won a Copa Argentina with Rosario Central.

Owen Gene, 23

France

Notable Clubs: Amiens (97/0), Minnesota United FC (47/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Developed by US Croissy, Versailles, and Amiens. Has played for France (1/0) at youth levels.

Wil Trapp, 33

United States (20/0)

Notable Clubs: Columbus Crew SC (185/2), Inter Miami CF (21/0), Minnesota United FC (174/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Developed by Columbus Crew SC. Played his university football for Akron (45/1).

Kyle Duncan, 29

United States (1/0)

Notable Clubs: New York RB (147/6), Oostende (7/0), Minnesota United FC (22/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Developed by New York RB. Won an MLS league title with New York RB.

FORWARD

Kelvin Yeboah, 26

Ghana

Notable Clubs: WSG Tirol (56/10), Sturm Graz (34/17), Genoa (28/1), Augsburg (13/1), Montpellier (13/0), Standard Liege (14/6), Minnesota United FC (64/30)

Estimated Transfer Value: €7M

Notes: Developed by West Ham United and Gozzano. Won an Austrian Second Division title with WSG Tirol.

Marcus Caldeira, 21

Canada

Notable Clubs: Forge FC (3/0), Minnesota United FC (8/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Developed by Mississauga Falcons, Erin Mills SC, and Sigma FC. Played his university football for West Virginia (84/42). Won a Canadian championship with Forge FC.

Familiar Faces

None.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Anchor, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Kim, Kossa-Rienzi, Lopez, Nouhou, Alex, Ragen, Sailor, Brunell, Dotson, Gomez, Kingston, Clark, Cristian, Rusnak, Arriola, Morris, Musovski.

Minnesota from:

Callender, Duncan, Romero, Markanich, Boxall, Duggan, Gressel, Taylor, Diaz, Chandler, Jackson, Trapp, Gene, Chancalay, Yeboah, Malone, Randell, Gonzalez, Hlongwane, Caldeira, Dieng, Adebayo-Smith.

Note: Harvey, Triantis, and Smir, have all been called in to their national teams.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

OUT: Rothrock (hamstring), Ferreira (hamstring), De la Vega (quadriceps), Petkovic (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Minnesota -

OUT: Pereyra (lower extremity, we’ll say scrotal swelling), Stroud (lower extremity, we’ll say cellulitis of the groin).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Dotson out next match if booked.

Minnesota: No players suspended. Diaz and Duggan out next match if booked.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC left-centre-half Jackson Ragen has completed 1255 passes this season, the most of any player in the squad. (per Sounders FC Communications)