Starting XI: Salt Lake Stalemate

Starting XI, presented by Ford, is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Sporting KC pushed its unbeaten streak to 10 straight games across all competitions after tying Real Salt Lake 1-1 on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium. Benny Feilhaber’s second-half penalty kick —the very first spot kick awarded to Sporting KC this season — was enough to lift the current undefeated streak into rarefied air among the club’s all-time longest, as Sporting KC’s 10-game run without a loss is now tied for the fourth-longest in team history.

2. Chicago Showdown

Manager Peter Vermes' men return to Children's Mercy Park this Saturday at 7 p.m. CT for a marquee interconference matchup against the Chicago Fire (11-4-5, 38 points). FOX Sports Kansas City Plus and FOX Sports Midwest Plus will broadcast three hours of live coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. CT, while listeners can follow the action live on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

A limited number of tickets for Saturday's match are available at SeatGeek.com as Sporting KC prepares to face a Chicago side that boasts four MLS All-Stars in German World Cup champion Bastian Schweinsteiger, Golden Boot leader Nemanja Nikolic, MLS veteran Dax McCarty and defender Johan Kappelhof. Sporting KC is unbeaten in a club-record 19 straight regular season home games dating back to June 2016.

3. Onto the Final

The United States punched its ticket to the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final with a 2-0 triumph over Costa Rica in Saturday’s semifinal showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Sporting KC duo Matt Besler and Graham Zusi both started and played 90 minutes along the backline in a shutout effort, helping the U.S. reach its sixth Gold Cup Final in the last seven tournaments.

Besler and Zusi will remain with the U.S. MNT for Wednesday's CONCACAF Gold Cup Final against Jamaica, set for 8:30 p.m. CT at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The match will air live on FS1, Univision and UDN as the Americans seek their sixth Gold Cup title.

4. Remarkable Rangers

The Swope Park Rangers (12-4-2, 38 points) extended their record-setting unbeaten streak to 10 games with a seventh straight victory last Thursday, earning a 2-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC 2. The team’s fifth straight road triumph came via Adrian Zendejas’ fifth straight clean sheet, propelling SPR to second place in the USL’s Western Conference.

The Rangers are back at Children's Mercy Victory Field on Saturday to host Reno 1868 FC (7-4-6, 27 points) inside Swope Soccer Village. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. CT matchup can be secured at SeatGeek.com or at the venue box office on matchday. The game will also stream live on SportingKC.com with further updates available through the club’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

5. Upon Replay

Major League Soccer confirmed last week that beginning on Saturday, Aug. 5, all MLS matches — including the 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs and MLS Cup — will incorporate Video Review. A fifth member of a game’s officiating crew, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), located in a booth at the stadium, will have access to all available broadcast angles and check all plays for potential clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents in four game-changing situations: goals, penalty decisions, direct red cards, and cases of mistaken identity. Click here for more information about VAR implementation.

6. Summer Camp

Sporting KC Academy defender Jaylin Lindsey has joined the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team for the squad's first domestic training camp since the 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship, which took place in Panama from April 21 - May 7. U-17 head coach John Hackworth has assembled a 29-man roster that is competing at Atlanta United FC's training grounds for a nine-day training camp through July 29.

The 17-year-old Lindsey joins a talented player pool for the first of four U.S. U-17 training camps that will take place prior to the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, slated for Oct. 6-28 in India. This group of players is nearing the end of its two-year cycle and will move up to the U-19 age group after the U-17 World Cup. In May, Lindsey was selected to the CONCACAF U-17 Championship Best XI after helping the U.S. to a second-place finish in the tournament.

7. No Longer First

A busy weekend in MLS saw Sporting Kansas City relinquish first place in the Western Conference. FC Dallas claimed top spot with a 2-1 road win against Montreal, while third-place Houston Dynamo closed the gap with a 3-1 victory at D.C. United. In other notable Western Conference clashes, the Portland Timbers bounced back into the win column with a 2-1 result at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Seattle Sounders FC claimed their second home win of the week with a 3-0 demolition of the San Jose Earthquakes. MLSsoccer.com’s Calen Carr and Susannah Collins provide a full rundown of Week 20 — also saving some love for the U.S. MNT — in a new episode of This Week in MLS.

8. Reggae Boyz Rejoyce

So it’s USA-Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, right?

Not so fast, says Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz sprung a shocking 1-0 upset of Mexico in Sunday’s Gold Cup semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, using Kemar Lawrence’s superb free kick in the 88th minute to book a spot in the final against the United States. In a classic scenario of David vs. Goliath, David prevailed to give itself a shot at Jamaica’s first Gold Cup title in the nation’s history. And as SI.com’s Avi Creditor points out, Wednesday gives the U.S. a rematch against a Jamaica side that knocked the Americans out of the 2015 Gold Cup at the semifinal stage.

9. Neymar Saga Stretches On

The future of one of the planet’s best players remains very much up in the air as the transfer saga involving Brazilian star Neymar drags onward. Neymar has long been linked with a move from FC Barcelona to French juggernaut Paris-St. Germain, but on Sunday Barcelona defender Gerard Pique added intrigue by tweeting a photo of him and Neymar in Spanish that says “He stays.”

Neymar is reportedly tempted by a move to PSG, where he would link up with numerous countrymen on the big-name roster, and some reports have even claimed that the forward has agreed to a deal with the French side. All the while, Barcelona has moved to quash any speculation of an impending move. Stay tuned, folks.

10. Ticket to Ride

Single-game tickets for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal between Sporting Kansas City and the San Jose Earthquakes are now on sale via SeatGeek.com. The match at Children's Mercy Park will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT on Aug. 9 as Sporting KC continues its pursuit of a fourth U.S. Open Cup title. Additionally, single-game tickets for all Sporting Kansas City regular season home matches in 2017 are on sale to the general public at SeatGeek.com. For more ticket information, call 888-4KC-GOAL.

11. Klement’s Creation

Sporting KC fans can cast their votes for the Klement’s Sporting Sausage creation that will be sold in Children’s Mercy Park from Aug. 6 through the end of the season. Each entry will receive a Klement’s coupon in the mail prior to the contest’s conclusion. A grand prize will include a year supply of Klement’s products, a $50 Price Chopper gift card, two match tickets to a Sporting Kansas City match, a team-signed soccer ball and the opportunity to watch warm-ups from the field level at Children’s Mercy Park. Visit SportingKC.com/Klements for more information and to vote.

Games to Watch (July 25-27)