Sporting KC Weekly Schedule: Oct. 2-8, 2017

Sporting Kansas City suffered a 1-0 loss to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday at Children's Mercy Park, falling at home for the first time in 24 regular season matches. Manager Peter Vermes' men (12-7-11, 47 points) will look to bounce back this Saturday when the club visits Minnesota United FC (9-16-5, 32 points) at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT with three hours of live coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO. The match will also air live on ESPN 99.3 FM (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish), while the Sporting KC Uphoria app will provide live updates. A victory on Saturday would guarantee Sporting KC a club-record seventh straight appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs, which will begin Oct. 25 and culminate with the 2017 MLS Cup on Dec. 9.

Sporting KC’s Matt Besler, Benny Feilhaber and Graham Zusi were named to the U.S. Men’s National Team on Sunday for the country’s final two World Cup qualifying matches in CONCACAF’s Hexagonal. The trio will join head coach Bruce Arena’s 26-man squad ahead of Friday’s all-important showdown with Panama at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, broadcast live at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2, Univision and UDN.

The U.S. MNT currently occupies fourth place in the Hexagonal standings, one point behind Friday’s opponent Panama. The top three finishers will advance automatically to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia next summer, while the fourth-place team will face either Australia or Syria in a two-legged playoff in November with a World Cup berth on the line. Wins over Panama and Trinidad & Tobago would ensure the U.S. a top-three finish and an eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.

A new episode of the Sporting KC Show will air at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday on Sports Radio 810 WHB. Hosts Nate Bukaty and Carter Augustine will handicap the Western Conference playoff race, preview Saturday's match at Minnesota United FC, and look ahead to a full weekend of international action as Besler, Feilhaber and Zusi prepare to meet Panama in a crucial World Cup qualifier.

Sporting KC midfielder James Musa has joined the New Zealand Men’s National Team for an international friendly against Japan on Friday at Toyota Stadium in Nagoya, Japan, kicking off at 5:20 a.m. CT. Musa appeared twice for New Zealand last month as the All Whites defeated Solomon Islands to win the OFC Playoff Final. The result propelled Musa’s country into a two-legged World Cup playoff — to be played Nov. 6 and 10 — against the fifth-place finisher from the South American qualifying region. That opponent will be determined next week when CONMEBOL qualifying concludes.

Sporting KC midfielder Kevin Oliveira has joined the Cape Verde Men's National Team for a crucial World Cup qualifier against Senegal on Saturday at Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde in Praia, Cape Verde, kicking off at 12:30 p.m. CT. Oliveira was previously named to Cape Verde's squad for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Uganda in June, where he was an unused substitute. The creative midfielder is seeking his first international appearance at the senior level, having represented the Cape Verde U-16s in 2012.

Sporting KC’s 17-year-old homegrown defender Jaylin Lindsey has joined the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will run from Oct. 6-28 in India. Lindsey and the U.S. U-17s begin group stage action against hosts India on Friday (9:30 a.m. CT), followed by matches against Ghana next Monday (6:30 a.m. CT) and Colombia on Oct. 12 (9:30 a.m. ET). Each of the Americans' group stage games will air live on FS2 and Universo.

The Swope Park Rangers stretched their unbeaten run to four matches with a 2-2 draw at Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday, reversing a two-goal deficit to move into a tie for second place in the USL's Western Conference. Led by head coach Nikola Popovic, the Rangers will visit OKC Energy FC (12-11-7, 43 points) in the penultimate match of their regular season campaign, slated for 5 p.m. CT Sunday at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City. The contest will stream live on SportingKC.com.

The Sporting KC Academy is set to host the 2017-18 Generation adidas Cup West Region qualifying event this weekend, running from Friday through next Monday at Swope Soccer Village. The event will showcase elite youth talent from MLS academies at the U-15 and U-17 levels. Five other MLS academies will join the Sporting KC U-15s and U-17s in the West regional, with all teams slated to play three games this weekend.

Sporting Kansas City fans can visit SportingKC.com/helpful to cast their vote for the Westlake Ace Hardware Helpful Moment of the Month. Individuals can choose among three nominees for the month of September, with each participant receiving a $7 coupon to Westlake Ace Hardware locations in the Kansas City area. The grand prize includes a $300 Westlake gift card, a Sporting KC replica jersey and two tickets to an upcoming match at Children's Mercy Park.

For news, photos and instant updates throughout the 2017 season, follow Sporting KC on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (sportingkc), and download the club’s official mobile app Sporting KC Uphoria on the App Store or Google Play.