The Seattle Sounders are as deep as they appear, while Sporting KC set an ignominious mark with yet another loss It’s time for celebration in Seattle – the Sounders have vanquished their bogey team. After knocking LAFC out of the playoffs with a 2-1 win in November, Saturday’s 5-2 result felt like conformation that LAFC no longer have Seattle’s number after they knocked the Sounders out of the Open Cup and Leagues Cup in 2024. Those results were part of a 10-match unbeaten run against Seattle that dated back to May 2021 ..read more

The 2025 MLS season kicks off this week. We convened a panel of writers to discuss what they’re most looking forward to this year Seeing more really good soccer in 2025. Over the last few years, it feels like the quality of the average coach in MLS has noticeably increased. Only a handful of MLS teams are still holding on to the “let’s play a 4-2-3-1 and defend in a mid-block” era with both hands. Pretty much every team has a distinct, observable style. JW ..read more

Draw for revamped competition held in Miami Kylian Mbappé and Neymar to meet in group stage Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will open this year’s Club World Cup against Egyptian club Al Ahly, as Kylian Mbappé and Neymar face off for Real Madrid and Al-Hilal. Premier League champions Manchester City will face Juventus, Moroccan side Wydad AC and Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in the opening group stage of Fifa’s controversial tournament, while Chelsea will take on Brazil giants Flamengo, Mexico’s Club Leon and Esperance Tunis ..read more

Galaxy and Red Bulls reach final with Saturday wins Andres Reyes powers New York to 1-0 win over Orlando Dejan Joveljić lifts Los Angeles in 1-0 win over Seattle The Los Angeles Galaxy will host the New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final after the pair won their conference championship games on Saturday. The Red Bulls will have a chance to win their first MLS Cup title after a 1-0 win at Orlando City ..read more

A rebuild is afoot in Toronto, Cincinnati’s woes continue, while a new contender emerges in the Pacific Northwest Welcome back to the Guardian’s MLS Power Rankings, where I have a beef with your specific team and your specific team alone. Unless you’re the last-place San Jose Earthquakes, in which case you have enough to worry about without me getting all up in your face. Now, as a reminder, these aren’t your standard, run-of-the-mill power rankings. We’re still ranking teams from worst to first. But along with the rankings, we’re diving deep into a handful of teams from around the league who ..read more

Solo effort enough to beat Seattle Sounders 1-0 LAFC play Houston Dynamo for place in MLS Cup final Denis Bouanga’s moment of magic was enough to give Los Angeles FC a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference semi-finals, moving LAFC one step closer to defending their MLS Cup title. Bouanga scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in the 30th minute, goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau made seven saves, and defending champion LAFC advanced to the Western Conference final on Sunday night ..read more

Al Ahly’s late goal ends Seattle debut 1-0 in Club World Cup Sounders were first US team to ever take part in competition Mohamed Afsha scored on a deflected shot in the 88th minute and sent Al Ahly into the Club World Cup semi-finals by beating the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Saturday. Afsha scored after coming on as a substitute in the 63rd. He lifted Al Ahly into the semi-finals for the third straight year, and brought an abrupt end to the first appearance by a team from the United States in the competition ..read more

MLS Cup final: Columbus Crew 3-0 Seattle Sounders Sounders denied back-to-back titles by the Crew How a group of fans in a bar saved the Crew from extinction Lucas Zelarayan scored midway through the first half and added the clincher in the 82nd minute and the Columbus Crew won their second MLS Cup title, beating the defending champion Seattle Sounders 3-0 on Saturday night. Derrick Etienne Jr also scored in the first 45 minutes for Columbus. The Crew withstood Seattle’s second-half pressure and finally celebrated after Zelarayan’s second goal. ZELARAYAN OPENS THE SCORING@ColumbusCrewSC ..read more

Perennial also-rans Philadelphia are the improbable favorites as the MLS playoffs kick off on Friday night. But usual suspects Seattle Sounders and Toronto FC are right there with them Eighteen teams, 17 matches, 23 days. What promises to be the most unpredictable Major League Soccer playoffs in the 25-year history of America’s top division kicks off Friday night with a pair of play-in games ahead of this weekend’s first round proper. Here’s an idea of what to expect. Related: Philadelphia Union quell New England to claim Supporters' Shield and top seed ..read more

The league does not have the lengthy history of other competitions but it has delivered plenty of memorable uniforms What makes a good soccer kit? For some, bold and brash is best. For others, clean and simple works. Some fans remember their favourite kits not on the basis of their design, but on what their team achieved wearing them. And yet there are some kits that rise to the surface as era-defining or iconic. Major League Soccer might not have the long and storied history of other competitions, but it has had more than its fair share of memorable kits in 25 years of existence. Some weird ..read more