Sporting Kansas City returns to the friendly confines of Children’s Mercy Park this weekend when the team hosts Austin FC on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream in English and Spanish on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. The match will also be available on the radio locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish). Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
1. RIGHTING THE SHIP
Sporting Kansas City is aiming to find some stability when the team returns home this weekend to take on Austin FC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. After snapping a 10-game winless run with a win against Seattle on June 8, Sporting has now dropped their last three matches and will be looking to pick up a positive result this weekend.
Austin, led by Sporting Legends Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud as head and assistant coach, are currently in eighth place in the West with a 7-7-6 record and picked up results in both of their matches last week - a 1-1 home draw with LAFC and a 1-0 road win over Minnesota.
Sporting was shutout for just the third time all season during their 4-0 setback against the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field on Saturday night. Sporting currently ranks eighth in MLS with 1.55 non-penalty goals per game, however Sporting has also gone 17 regular season matches without a shutout, setting an unwanted club record.
2. HOSTING PAIR OF SPORTING LEGENDS
Sporting Kansas City returns home this weekend to play host to Austin FC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night and will welcome back a pair of Sporting Legends in the process. Leading Austin is head coach Josh Wolff and assistant coach Davy Arnaud, both of whom enjoyed lengthy careers in Kansas City and have been inducted into the Sporting Legends Hall of Honor.
Saturday’s match is the second and final meeting of the regular season between Sporting and Austin, with the Texas side already claiming a 3-2 victory at Q2 Stadium on May 18, 2024. Johnny Russell gave Sporting a first-half lead but a brace from Jader Obrian and a header from Sebastian Driussi put the hosts in control. Jake Davis fired home a scorcher to reduce the deficit to one goal but Austin saw the game out.
Sporting last hosted Austin on June 10, 2023 at Children’s Mercy Park and cruised to a 4-1 victory. Alan Pulido was honored with Player of the Matchday recognition after scoring twice and adding an assist in the match, while Robert Castellanos and Khiry Shelton also got on the scoresheet.
Sporting trails the all-time series with Austin 2-5-1, but has a winning 2-1-1 record at Children’s Mercy Park.
3. SKC ICON ESPINOZA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Longtime Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza announced his retirement from professional soccer on Wednesday after an outstanding 16-year playing career highlighted by 14 seasons in Kansas City.
A former MLS All-Star, FIFA World Cup veteran and Olympian, Espinoza helped Sporting to three U.S. Open Cup titles and 10 appearances in the MLS Cup Playoffs as one of the most accomplished players in club history and one of the longest-serving midfielders in Major League Soccer.
Espinoza, a fan-favorite at Children’s Mercy Park and a beloved member of the Kansas City community, spent two separate stints at Sporting from 2008-2012 and 2015-2023. He ranks second in club history with 399 appearances in all competitions while placing third in starts (330) and minutes (29,162), fifth in assists (49) and 10th in total goal contributions (63).
Espinoza, who scored 14 goals in a Kansas City uniform, is Sporting’s all-time leader with 21 games played in the U.S. Open Cup - a tournament he helped the team win in 2012, 2015 and 2017 - and sits third on club charts with 21 playoff appearances.
4. USMNT SET TO PLAY COPA AMERICA MATCH IN KC
Copa America USA 2024 arrived in Kansas City this week, with Canada claiming a 1-0 victory over Peru in a hotly-contested match at Children’s Mercy Park on Tuesday night and now all attention shifts to a mouthwatering fixture between the U.S. Men’s National Team and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium next Monday, July 1.
The USMNT and Uruguay both opened their Copa America runs with two-goal victories, as the U.S. cruised past Bolivia 2-0 courtesy of goals from Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun, while Uruguay dispatched Panama 3-1 in their opener.
The oldest national team tournament in the world, Copa America 2024 will be played across 14 cities in the United States from June 20 to July 14. The competition’s 48th edition includes 32 matches played over 25 days with 16 participating teams: 10 from CONMEBOL and six from Concacaf, as guests.
The Group Stage will be played from June 20 to July 2, followed by the Quarterfinals from July 4 to 6, the Semifinals on July 9 and 10, the Third Place Match on July 13, and the Final in Miami on July 14.
5. USMNT TO RETURN TO CMP ON SEPT. 7 vs. CANADA
The United States Men’s National Team will kick off its fall home schedule with a matchup against Canada at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 7 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan., U.S. Soccer announced on Tuesday.
The international friendly will be the first USMNT match after Copa América and will be broadcast live on TBS, Telemundo, truTV, Universo, Max, Peacock and Fútbol de Primera.
The United States is 17-10-13 all-time against Canada. The national teams squared off twice in 2023 in Concacaf competitions with the USA first collecting a 2-0 victory in the Nations League championship match on June 18 in Las Vegas. On July 9, following a dramatic 2-2 draw in extra time, the USMNT utilized two penalty kick saves from Matt Turner to defeat Canada in a shootout at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati in the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
The USMNT, currently No. 11 in the FIFA rankings, is unbeaten all time in Kansas City (10-0-2) and at Children’s Mercy Park (8-0-2). A host city for FIFA World Cup 2026, Kansas City has a rich history of supporting the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams, who are a combined 16-0-6 in Kansas City and 12-0-4 at Children’s Mercy Park.
