Sporting Kansas City returns to MLS action this weekend with a home match against Eastern Conference foes Orlando City SC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. The match will 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. MLS IS BACK
Fifteen days since Sporting Kansas City’s last match, the club is back in action this weekend with a return to MLS regular-season play as the team hosts Orlando City SC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Both Sporting and Orlando were eliminated from Leagues Cup 2024 on the same night on Aug. 9 in the Round of 32.
Sporting has eight matches remaining in the regular season following the Leagues Cup break along with a pivotal U.S. Open Cup semifinal against USL Championship outfit Indy Eleven at Children’s Mercy Park on Tuesday, Aug. 27. In an odd scheduling quirk, following their 15-day hiatus, Sporting will play two matches in four days on Aug. 24 and 27 before another 11-day spell without a match as Sporting is next in action on Sept. 7 at the New York Red Bulls.
Sporting enters the stretch run of MLS action nine points out of the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Orlando, meanwhile, have surged up the table in recent months after a slow start and find themselves seventh in the East.
2. ORLANDO THEMES
Sporting Kansas City returns to MLS regular-season action this weekend for a rare match against Eastern Conference foes Orlando City SC at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Sporting has not faced off against Orlando in over three years, with the last meeting coming in early 2021.
During Sporting’s home opener on April 23, 2021, the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Children’s Mercy Park. Gianluca Busio’s neat finish gave the hosts the lead in the first half but Nani’s impudent backheel finish earned the visitors a draw late on.
Sporting and Orlando had also met during the truncated 2020 season at Children’s Mercy Park on Sept. 23, 2020, with the Lions claiming a 2-1 victory. Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel gave Orlando a two-goal lead before Johnny Russell pulled one back in the second half.
Sporting’s last visit to Inter & Co Stadium in Orlando came on Aug. 14, 2019, where an early Akindele goal condemned the visitors to a 1-0 loss. Sporting trails the all-time series 2-3-2, including a 2-1-1 mark at home.
3. SPORTING SIGNS DEFENDER JOAQUIN FERNANDEZ
Sporting Kansas City has signed 28-year-old Spanish center back Joaquin Fernandez, the club announced last week. Joaquin has signed an MLS contract through 2025 and will occupy an international spot on Sporting’s roster.
A 6-foot-3 center back who can also play as a defensive midfielder, Joaquin logged over 300 professional appearances during a 12-year European career, including 85 matches in the top-flight Spanish La Liga with Real Valladolid.
Joaquin joined the UD Almeria youth academy in his hometown and made his senior debut with Almeria B in the Spanish third division as a 16-year-old in December 2012. In 2015, he was promoted to Almeria’s first team in the Spanish Segunda. Joaquin was a regular starter for Almeria from 2016-2018, logging 35 appearances each season.
In 2018, Joaquin moved up to La Liga by signing for newly promoted Real Valladolid. Joaquin was a starter in La Liga from 2018-2021, and although Valladolid was relegated to the second tier in 2021, the team bounced back into the top flight by finishing second in the 2021-22 Spanish Segunda. Joaquin made a career-high 27 La Liga appearances in 2022-23 and played his final match for Valladolid in a 3-1 victory over European powerhouse FC Barcelona on May 23, 2023.
In June 2023, Joaquin moved abroad for the first time in his career by joining Turkish side Trabzonspor, making 17 appearances and helping Trabzonspor finish third in the league to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
4. SUMMER OF AGADA
Sporting Kansas City forward William Agada has been in fine form throughout the summer of 2024, scoring six goals in his last six starts for the club since July 7 and eight goals in his last nine starts since June 19 across all competitions.
Agada leads Sporting with 11 goals this season in all competitions. Ten of Agada’s 11 goals this season have come at home and he has now scored 20 goals in 20 home starts at Children’s Mercy Park since debuting for the club in July 2022. With two further multi-goal games this summer against Real Salt Lake on June 19 and FC Dallas on July 7, Agada is now tied for fifth in club history with six multi-goal games in the regular season, one shy of a tie for third.
On a league-wide scale, Agada ranks second in MLS in both expected goals per 90 minutes (0.78) and non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes (0.73). He also ranks sixth in total shots per 90 minutes (4.54) and seventh in total expected goals (11.0).
5. FEILHABER TO BE INDUCTED INTO SPORTING LEGENDS
On Saturday night, Sporting Kansas City will induct MLS Cup champion and World Cup veteran Benny Feilhaber as the newest member of Sporting Legends.
Feilhaber, who spent six standout seasons at Sporting and now serves as Sporting KC II head coach in MLS NEXT Pro, will be formally inducted into the Sporting Legends hall of honor in an on-field ceremony at halftime of Saturday’s match when Sporting hosts Orlando City SC at Children’s Mercy Park. Feilhaber is the 13th club icon to join Sporting Legends, an initiative launched in 2013 that tributes all-time greats while providing a platform for inductees to engage with supporters and the Kansas City community.
Feilhaber enjoyed a brilliant 15-year playing career highlighted by a 2013 MLS Cup and two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups with Sporting as well as a 2007 Concacaf Gold Cup title and a 2010 FIFA World Cup appearance with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Feilhaber played 426 professional matches during a club career that took him to the German Bundesliga, English Premier League, Danish Superliga and MLS. The playmaker amassed 41 goals and 60 assists in nine MLS seasons from 2011-2019.
