Sporting Kansas remains on the road this weekend as the team travels north to take on Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in St. Paul. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV in English and Spanish. The match will also be available on the radio locally on ESPN 94.5 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).
1. PULIDO RE-SIGNS, CONTINUES CHASING GOLDEN BOOT
Sporting Kansas City star forward Alan Pulido signed a new contract with the club through 2026, the club announced earlier today. The news comes on the back of another goal for Pulido, firing home a well-taken finish to pull a goal back for Sporting in what turned out to be a futile effort in the 3-2 loss to Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium.
With his side trailing 3-1, Pulido cut between a pair of Miami defenders before curling home a brilliant finish into the side-netting, leaving USMNT goalkeeper Drake Callender with no chance. Pulido, who was named to the bench of the MLS Team of the Matchday earlier this week, has been in red-hot form this summer with an MLS-best 12 goals since the start of June and the Mexican international is now tied for second in the MLS Golden Boot race with 13 MLS goals in 2023.
In his fourth season with the club, Pulido now has 29 goals and 11 assists in 61 appearances across all competitions for the club. With 27 goals in 56 MLS regular-season matches, Pulido is now first in club history in goals per game.
2. BOUNCING BACK IN MINNESOTA
Sporting Kansas City will look to bounce back from the sobering 3-2 loss to Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium last Saturday night when the team heads up north to take on Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field this weekend. Prior to last weekend’s loss, Sporting had begun their final stretch with back-to-back home wins over San Jose and st. louis.
Sporting began the match in Miami on the front foot and took the lead through Daniel Salloi. However, a first-half brace from Leo Campana and a third from Facundo Farias saw Miami take a two-goal lead and condemn Sporting to defeat despite Alan Pulido’s late goal.
Pulido’s goal saw him move up to second in the Golden Boot race, just one behind leader Hany Mukhtar, while he also leads Sporting with 17 goal contributions this season in all competitions (14 goals, three assists). Erik Thommy, who recorded the assist on Pulido’s goal, now as four goals and a team-leading 12 assists across all competitions this season - with his 16 goal contributions good for second on the team - while Salloi’s 15 goal contributions (8 goals, 7 assists) placing him third.
Since the start of May, Sporting have gone 8-6-5 in MLS play and rank second in MLS with 35 goals scored (1.94 goals per match). The team went 0-7-3 and scored just three goals in its first 10 league matches through the end of April.
3. THE LOONS BECKON
Sporting Kansas City will remain on the road this weekend as the team travels north to take on Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field in St. Paul. Sporting are set to face Minnesota twice in their final six matches of the 2023 campaign, with those two games having an outsized impact on the club’s postseason hopes, as Minnesota sits in seventh place and just five points ahead of SKC.
Sporting made light work of the Loons earlier this season, cruising to a 3-0 victory at Children’s Mercy Park on May 13. Dany Rosero headed home Daniel Salloi’s corner kick early on before Salloi capped a flowing move with an excellent finish into the side-netting to make it 2-0. Tim Melia first conceded and then saved a penalty kick shortly before halftime before Gadi Kinda’s scooped strike made the points safe late on.
Sporting and Minnesota have gone hammer and tongs since the Loons joined MLS in 2017 - facing one another on 20 occasions (17 regular season, 2 U.S. Open Cup, 1 Playoffs). Sporting has only played one other team (FC Dallas) 17 times since the start of the 2017 season.
4. SALLOI RIDING HOT STREAK
Sporting Kansas City forward Daniel Salloi continued his fine run of recent form by firing home the opener in the club’s eventual 3-2 loss to Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium last Saturday night.
Salloi latched onto a huge rebound spilled by Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender following Felipe Gutierrez’s strike from distance and slotted home his seventh goal of the year in MLS play and eighth in all competitions. Salloi has now scored or assisted in each of his last five regular season appearances since July 12.
Salloi is one of four players in MLS with seven or more regular season goals in each of the last three seasons along with stars Hany Mukhtar, Luciano Acosta and Jesus Ferreira. The Hungarian international is currently fourth in Sporting’s all-time scoring charts with 45 goals, while he’s tallied 56 goals in 204 appearances across all competitions.
5. INTERNATIONAL RECAP
Sporting Kansas City duo Gadi Kinda and Marinos Tzionis will both return to the club this week after the pair jetted off to represent Israel and Cyprus, respectively, at the international level over the past week.
Venturing overseas for his first national team involvement since October 2021, Kinda was part of an Israel side that will drew 1-1 with Romania last Saturday before earning a 1-0 victory over Belarus on Tuesday. Kinda - who was an unused substitute while still dealing with an ankle injury for both games - has earned five career caps for Israel and punctuated his international debut with a sensational long-range goal in a 3-1 friendly win at Montenegro on June 5, 2021, before making his first start for the team four days later in a friendly defeat at European powerhouse Portugal.
Tzionis and Cyprus resumed their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a pair of matches during the FIFA window, falling 3-0 to Scotland last Friday before visiting suffering a 6-0 defeat to powerhouse Spain on Monday. Tzionis, who earned his 25th cap in the loss to Spain, has blossomed as a key contributor for the Cyprus national team, scoring two goals for his home country while competing in the UEFA Nations League and FIFA World Cup qualifying.
