LAFC, Minnesota United primed for marquee matchup Sunday

By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

Editor’s Note: MLS Footnotes takes you inside the major talking points around the league and across American soccer.

After their 3-0, opening day thumping of the Colorado Rapids back in late February, new LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo and his players went out of their way to insist that they’re capable of playing far better.

As LAFC piled up more wins the past two months, that messaging has remained. Heading into Sunday’s marquee MLS match against surging Minnesota United (10 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports app), LAFC sit alone atop the Supporters’ Shield race as the 2022 season nears the quarter pole. 

If LAFC can indeed play better, that poses a scary question for the rest of the league: How much more can they improve?

“It’s not that we need to be better, but we need to be more consistent,” midfielder Ilie Sanchez said. “There are many reasons why we are up there. But let me tell you that it maybe looks easy, but it hasn’t been easy.”

It won’t be easy on Sunday. Minnesota have won their past two matches (against the Rapids and Chicago Fire) by a combined 6-1 score, with star attacker Emanuel Reynoso registering a goal and three assists.

The Loons will surely relish the opportunity to beat the league leader on its own turf. Adrian Heath’s squad has been excellent on the road so far this year, tying the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Union and upsetting the second-place New York Red Bulls. Minnesota’s lone defeat away from home was a narrow one two weeks ago at Austin FC, which trails only LAFC in the overall standings.

Not that Sanchez and his teammates are looking over their shoulders. They’re proud of the early results and are determined to build on them. But the focus hasn’t changed. They’re not looking at the big picture at all right now.

“We’re winning games, but still we’re not satisfied,” Sanchez said. “We need to improve. And the good thing about it is, the coaching staff is on top of us, working on the mistakes and the details that we can do better.”

MLS FOOTNOTES

1. Sounders shooting for history

It’s easy to think that Seattle have the CONCACAF Champions League title all but sewn up after their stirring comeback from a late 2-0 deficit against Pumas in the first leg of the regional championship. Following a lengthy video review, Nicolás Lodeiro scored the Sounders’ equalizer from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of second half stoppage time:

The momentum is on the Sounders’ side following the draw in Mexico City. More than 61,000 tickets have been sold for the return leg in Seattle next Wednesday (10 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Sports app). A win would give MLS its first Champions League title and break Liga MX’s 16-year stranglehold on the competition. 

Yet CONCACAF’s inexplicable decision not to use away goals as the tiebreaker in the finale after doing so in previous rounds hurts the Sounders, who would have only needed a scoreless or 1-1 tie to hoist the trophy.

Even if Seattle had that advantage, longtime MLS fans know that hosting the decisive contest doesn’t guarantee glory. Real Salt Lake lost at home to Monterrey in 2011 after earning a tie south of the border in the opener. The same thing happened four years later, when Montreal drew mighty Club America at Estadio Azteca but couldn’t finish the job in front of an enormous partisan crowd.

2. Portland teams up for Ukraine

From a soccer perspective, Seattle’s game was the most important involving an MLS team last Wednesday. From a human point of view, the distinction belonged to the rival Portland Timbers.

The Timbers and NWSL Portland Thorns joined forces for a mixed-squad friendly to raise money for children and families impacted by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Not only did the PTFC for Peace charity match raise more than $500,000 for UNICEF USA, it was also the first co-ed game in the United States featuring top-flight professional men’s and women’s players.

The match was refereed by Sergii Demianchuk, a Ukrainian immigrant. Vova Kubrakov, a 17-year-old Timbers Academy player who was also born in Ukraine, scored late in Team Blue’s 4-3 loss to Team Yellow:

Kubrakov and his family fled to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, in 2014 after Russia invaded his hometown of Lugansk in the eastern part of the county. They moved to the U.S. two years later.

“It means a lot to just be on that field,” Kubrakov said at halftime. “I know that this money that’s raised here is going to go to people in need in my country. My heart aches for everyone there. I have family there. I just hope that everything ends soon.”

3. Walker, Designated Player

It’s rare to see an MLS team ink a U.S. Men’s National Team member to a rich contract — especially when that player is a center back who has spent his entire career in the domestic league.

But that’s what Nashville SC did with Walker Zimmerman on Friday, a day after FOX Sports reported that the 28-year-old U.S. starter would become the league’s fourth American DP and 71st overall in 2022.

The other USMNT-eligible DPs this season are FC Dallas forward Jesus Ferreira, Columbus Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe and Rapids forward Gyasi Zardes, whom the Crew traded to Colorado on April 22. The only American center backs previously signed as designated players were Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez, both 2014 World Cup vets.

Nashville, which opens their sparkling 30,000-seat Geodis Park Sunday vs. the Union, also reupped star attacker Hany Mukhtar. Financial details were not disclosed, but Zimmerman will now earn at least $1.6 million per season, the minimum DP salary, through 2025. He made $981,050 last year, according to the MLS Players Union.

Mukhtar’s new pact also runs through 2025, with a club option to extend it an additional year.

4. Between the lines

Austin and Inter Miami are the only MLS teams currently riding three-game winning streaks, which makes it hard to understand the betting line for Miami’s trip to New England this weekend.

Phil Neville’s side started their run by beating the reeling Revolution 3-2 in South Florida on April 9, but they’re still a whopping +475 to win in Foxborough on Saturday per FOX Bet.

A tie between Miami and Bruce Arena’s 2W-5L-1T Revs pays out at +325.

5. Let Freedom ring

Speaking of the Herons, Miami’s city commission on Thursday approved a 99-year lease agreement with club owners Jorge and Jose Mas and David Beckham for the long-planned Freedom Park development, which includes a 25,000-capacity downtown stadium for Inter Miami.

It’s not a done deal yet; a crucial vote on zoning for the site must pass before construction can begin. If it does, the venue would open in 2025. Inter would keep their current facilities in Ft. Lauderdale to house their academy and development squads.

6. New life for Sanchez in L.A.

Many MLS observers were surprised when Sporting Kansas City didn’t pick up Ille Sanchez’s option after last season. The Spanish central midfielder had been one of SKC’s most consistent performers since arriving in MLS in 2017.

That’s exactly what he has been for LAFC after signing as a free agent. The Barcelona academy product has played every minute of the club’s eight games in 2022.

“Honestly, leaving Kansas City was hard,” said the 31-year-old Sanchez. “My five past years in Kansas City where fantastic. I found a place where all that mattered was soccer. We had everything we needed to perform. 

“And this is pretty much the same that I found here.”

One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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