It’s time.
We are even now emerging from our basements, after a weeks-long World Cup vortex. The US looked promising in the group stages before flopping against Belgium in the round of 16, France looked the part then didn’t, and most of us have ingested more commentary than we would have liked about rescinded red cards, cables in the sky, and “mistaken identity.” Watching two to four games a day has been great, but it couldn’t last forever. It’s time to walk outside, squint against the sun, and return to real life.
One of the upsides of returning to real life is that the MLS is back. I’m not talking about the pandemic era tournament in Orlando either, I’m talking about MLS teams – most importantly Minnesota United – once again taking the field. It’s been a while – a solid month to be exact – since the Loons drew 1-1 with Real Salt Lake. We all need a refresher course. What happened before we put this proverbial World Cup book mark in the middle of the season, and what happens next?
I’m glad you asked.
Minnesota United’s 2026 season: part 1
I’m not going to recap every game; instead I’ll discuss some high and lowlights to try and provide broad strokes of what happened up to this point. Minnesota opened the season reasonably enough – drawing 2-2 on the road in Austin, and then things began to trend downward. A discouraging 3-1 loss at Nashville was followed by low watermark 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place. This led to the predictable and warranted gnashing of teeth.
While Loons fans were understandably concerned after the massacre in British Columbia, I went on the record calling for patience and calm on the Minnesota United subreddit – a place where rational takes can get lost amongst the brandishing of pitch forks. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to respond to a miserable performance,” I said, in what was for me a fairly long post. I claimed it was too early to tell whether the Vancouver game was an aberration or a trend. “I’m not mashing the panic button, but I’m certainly looking at it.”
And I’m glad I didn’t mash that button, because the Loons responded with a five game unbeaten run – including four wins. This streak led to some cautious optimism and a heady rise up the Western Conference standings, before the things kind of settled back down to Earth with an uninspiring run of games leading up to the World Cup break, including dispiriting home shutout losses to LAFC and Colorado. Somewhere in the mix was a fun come-from-behind win on the road at Columbus, and a few ultra slick passes from James Rodriguez – yes, Rodriguez did play for Minnesota in the months leading up to the World Cup before announcing his retirement, that wasn’t just a weird dream.
So, where does that leave us? We currently sit eighth in the West with 22 points – six wins, five losses, and four ties. That puts Minnesota squarely in a no-man’s land somewhere between contending at the sharp end of the conference and struggling at the bottom alongside teams in the Missouri region. Fans may not have sung Wonderwall since April 18, but there is still all to play for, and an optimistic person could point out that we are only three points behind fourth place FC Dallas and that alluring home playoff zone.
So what’s next?
Minnesota officially resumes play Wednesday July 22 at Sporting Kansas City, who sit bottom of the Western Conference. Twenty regular season games remain on the MLS schedule, plus at least three Leagues Cup contests. Of those 20 MLS contests, 11 are at home. Nine of the 20 are against Western Conference teams currently below us in the standings, and the two Eastern Conference foes on offer are Atlanta (14th place) and Orlando (12th place) – who recently signed French star Antoine Griezeman from Atletico Madrid.
Other contests that stand out on the remaining schedule include home and away games against second place San Jose, since we have yet to meet them in MLS play, as well as tough road outings at both Seattle (September 26) and LAFC (November 1).
What can we reasonably expect from this Minnesota United side? The smart money is probably on the Loons landing somewhere in that 6th to 9th place in the west taking to the road for the playoffs. Outside of their poor performance at Vancouver, the team’s defense remains a relative strength that should provide stability down the stretch. Drake Calendar has done a reasonable job of replacing club legend Dayne Saint Claire in net, and the team seems pretty comfortable with the three center back formation – which allows them to flex their depth at that position. Carlos Harvey – coming off a strong performance representing Panama at the World Cup – will return to Minnesota looking to fight for more time on the right, and Nicolas Romero, who nailed down a spot last season, is still struggling to find minutes.
The team’s ability to score goals consistently, however, remains elusive. Most of the offense seems to run through Joaquin Pereyra, who has one goal and five assists, and striker Kelvin Yeboah has found the net eight times, but the remaining pieces of the puzzle aren’t regularly distinguishing themselves; sometimes it feels like it’s hard to know where the next goal is coming from. Creating consistent goal scoring chances is an issue, and striker depth has been a concern ever since Tani Oluwaseyi left for Spain.
Rodriguez and Austrian Dominik Fitz are two players that were signed to help carry Peyrera’s playmaking load. Rodriguez – a piece that seemed to kind of land in Minnesota’s lap – provided the team with some flexibility and dynamism in the attack. Fitz – a player the team worked hard to sign last year around this time – has shown flashes being able to get into the half spaces and help the team connect, but he has been hampered by injuries and struggled to adjust to the league. With Rodriquez retiring and Fitz yet to make an impact (and possibly on the move), it seems like attacking midfielder is a position in which the Loons could be eager to invest. The summer transfer window opened July 13 and extends through September 2.
What the Loons will be playing for when they line up for their final regular season game at home against San Jose on November 9 is obviously hard to predict. Can they close what is right now a small gap to Dallas, maintain their momentum and nail down that final home playoff spot? That seems unlikely. It seems reasonable to assume, however, that they will be jockeying for playoff spots as the season winds down. The team’s defensive stability should serve them well, but the front office will probably have to invest in additional attacking talent if they are serious about making a playoff run.
