The first Wonderwall of the season came extremely fast with Minnesota United winning 1–0 over previously unbeaten in all competitions FC Cincinnati. This came off a Kelvin Yeboah goal, with Yeboah scoring on a rebound following a Tomás Chancalay free kick that cracked the post.
For the first match of the season in Minnesota, Cameron Knowles made only a single change to his side from the draw in Austin. Jefferson Díaz was slotted into the right centre-back spot, replacing D.J. Taylor. New offseason signing James Rodríguez was made available from the bench.
Starting XI for #MNUFC & #FCCincy One swap from last week in Austin for the Loons, Jefferson Díaz in for D.J. Taylor and James is available from the bench.
— Northland Soccer Journal (@northlandsoccer.com) 2026-02-28T21:08:20.461Z
FC Cincinnati came out of the gate strong and fast, just like would be expected from a team unbeaten in all competitions. The Lions controlled the pace of the match and possession, wracking up a metric ton of set pieces early on. Minnesota's defence stumbled at points but ultimately prevented Cincinnati from scoring.
From that point on though Minnesota's confidence began to come in and the Loons successfully started to push up the pitch. MNUFC managed to bag a number of shots, but couldn't get a single shot on target until after 40 minutes of play. That only came when Joaquín Pereyra fired a shot from just outside the box and it bounced into the waiting arms of Cincinnati keeper Roman Celentano.
A combined 16 first half shots wasn't able to net one goal for either side sending both teams to the dressing room drawn level at nil-nil.
The second half started as the first half had finished with Minnesota bearing down on goal from the word go. Just over 20 minutes into the second half MNUFC finally struck home and became the first team in 2026 to score on FC Cincinnati when Kelvin Yeboah headed home a play that started as a Tomás Chancalay free kick.
LOONS COUNTRY LET'S RIDE 🤠
— Minnesota United FC (@mnufc.com) 2026-02-28T23:15:35.538654Z
A few minutes after the goal Cincinnati's Tom Barlow struck Minnesota's Michael Boxall in the head, something that ultimately required Boxall to come out of the match. No card was issued on the play and we have inquired to the Professional Referees Organization (PRO) regarding the call and we will provide an update once we hear a response.
The James debut watch will continue and Minnesota will now play their next two matches away from home, starting next weekend when they head back south to face Nashville SC on 7 March. The Loons will then head out to Vancouver for their 14 March match before returning home to play Seattle Sounders on 22 March.
