Sporting Kansas City remains at home this weekend as the team prepares to set a club attendance record and a record for highest-attended soccer match in the state of Missouri as the team hosts Inter Miami CF at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:40 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 Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), while tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
1. HOME FRUSTRATIONS
Sporting Kansas City endured another frustrating day at home this past weekend, letting a 3-0 halftime lead slip as the team settled for a disappointing 3-3 draw at Children’s Mercy Park. It marked the second straight home match that Sporting had surrendered points from a commanding position, having seen a 2-0 lead turn into a 3-2 loss to the LA Galaxy on March 23.
Sporting is now 63-0-2 when leading 3-0 in the MLS regular season. The only other time Sporting Kansas City had failed to win with a 3-0 lead was April 2, 2011 in a 3-3 draw against Vancouver on the road. The team has outscored opponents 11-1 through the 64th minute and been outscored 9-1 from the 65th minute onward this season.
Despite some frustrating home results early in the season, Sporting is still sitting in a tie for fifth in the Western Conference with a winning record (2-1-4). The team has trailed for a total 17 minutes this season - the fewest in all of MLS - and Peter Vermes’ squad has lost just twice in their last 13 matches dating back to last season, going 6-2-5 in that time.
2. SPARRING STAR-STUDDED INTER MIAMI
Sporting Kansas City remains at home this weekend but in an unfamiliar venue as the club is set to host a star-studded Inter Miami CF squad at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night, led by former FC Barcelona quartet Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez.
Sporting and Miami have only faced off once since the Floridians joined MLS in 2020, with SKC falling to a 3-2 loss at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Sept. 9, 2023. Daniel Salloi gave Sporting the lead on the night but Miami roared back with two goals from Leonardo Campana and another from Facundo Farias to take a two-goal lead before Alan Pulido netted a consolation goal late on.
Sporting will now return to Arrowhead where the team played their first 12 seasons in MLS from 1996-2007. Sporting’s last competitive game at the venue was on Sept. 13, 2008 while the last time the Kansas City Wizards played any sort of match at Arrowhead was on July 25, 2010 in a monumental 2-1 victory over Manchester United in a friendly match.
The Wizards did play 11 MLS matches against the precursor to Inter Miami, the Miami Fusion who operated from 1998-2001. Kansas City went 4-6-1 in those games.
3. SPORTING RETURNS TO ARROWHEAD AFTER 14 YEARS
Sporting Kansas City is set to make their return to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this weekend when the club hosts Inter Miami CF on Saturday night.
Sporting last played at Arrowhead on July 25, 2010 when the then Kansas City Wizards earned a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in a friendly match that proved transformational for the club’s future.
In front of 52,424 spectators - the biggest soccer crowd in Missouri history at the time - the 10-man Wizards got goals from Davy Arnaud and Kei Kamara either side of a Dimitar Berbatov penalty to capture the hearts and minds of the Kansas City public. In the following 12 months, the club rebranded to Sporting Kansas City and opened their permanent home at Children’s Mercy Park.
Sporting played the opening 12 years of the club’s existence at Arrowhead Stadium until 2007 and their most recent competitive match at the venue came the following year on Sept. 13, 2008 when Sporting Legends Josh Wolff and Arnaud each scored in a 2-0 victory over the LA Galaxy.
4. AGADA BAGS BRACE, NAMED TO TEAM OF THE MATCHDAY
Sporting Kansas City forward Willy Agada maintained his red-hot start to the 2024 season this past weekend, netting a brace with a pair of first-half goals in Sporting’s 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers at Children’s Mercy Park.
The Nigerian frontman first saw an opportunistic effort deflect beyond Maxime Crepeau in the Portland net to open the scoring in the 13th minute before redirecting Robert Voloder’s header across goal into the corner to give his side a 3-0 lead in first-half stoppage time.
The 24-year-old, who was named to the MLS Team of the Matchday and nominated for MLS Player of the Matchday, now has 12 goals in 11 career regular season starts at Children’s Mercy Park and he has scored or assisted a goal in each of Sporting’s last three matches.
Among players with at least 15 career goals for Sporting Kansas City in all competitions, Agada ranks second in club history with 0.69 goals per 90 behind only Miklos Molnar (0.70 goals per 90).
5. ROSERO CONTINUES EARLY-SEASON SCORING FORM
Sporting Kansas City center back Dany Rosero scored his second goal of the season with a towering header in the club’s 3-3 draw with the Portland Timbers at Children’s Mercy Park last Sunday afternoon.
It was a carbon-copy of his first goal of 2024, meeting Memo Rodriguez’s corner kick from the left side in front of the Cauldron to power home a header into the back of the net. Through seven games, Rosero is now one shy of his goal total from all of 2023, where he scored twice in MLS play and once in Leagues Cup.
Rosero has scored five of Sporting’s eight headed goals since the start of 2023, all coming off set pieces. The center back has scored all five of his goals for the club on headers. During the entire 2023 regular season, Sporting had three total goals scored by defenders (Rosero 2, Robert Castellanos 1). Seven games into the 2024 regular season, Sporting has already equaled that total (Rosero 2, Jake Davis 1).
