MLS Is Back: Knockout Stage Takes Shape; El Trafico Fallout; What Next for Canadian Teams?
MLS appears to be in the clear.
The last four batches of test results released by the league indicate that the bubble is working, with no new positive tests and the focus firmly on the sporting aspect of the MLS Is Back tournament.
As the group stage hits its final stretch and the knockout bracket starts to take shape, here are five things that stand out from the latest set of games in Orlando:
Knockout stage participants lining up
Entering Monday, San Jose was the only team to have clinched a first-place group finish, doing so by virtue of one snoozer, one thrilling comeback and one more straightforward procession to three points punctuated by another Chris Wondolowski goal (No. 161 in his career). The Earthquakes were joined Monday night by Orlando City, with the host club drawing the Philadelphia Union to top Group A. The Union are also through, as the second-place team in the group.
Beyond the Earthquakes, who will play a third-place finisher from either Group A, C or D, Orlando and Philly, three other teams have clinched their places in the knockout rounds so far: Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Columbus Crew.
Only eight of the 24 participating teams won't wind up going through, and the only one assured of going home early so far is Inter Miami, the expansion team that went winless in its three games and has the ignominy of starting its inaugural year at 0-5-0–a worst for an MLS expansion team.
El Trafico Lite still delivers
The LA Galaxy-LAFC budding rivalry has been defined by some clear characteristics in its short time in the MLS spotlight. One of those has been its marketable superstars. Another is the likelihood of madness breaking out. Despite a lack of the former, the latter was in full abundance in their Saturday night.
The 6-2 LAFC win–LAFC's first regular-season win in the rivalry, even though nothing about this is "regular"–was absent both Carlos Vela and Chicharito. Vela has been sitting out the competition entirely, while Chicharito was a late scratch after suffering a calf injury in training–one that has ended his stay in Orlando, the Galaxy would reveal Monday night. The void they created didn't prevent things from going off the rails early, where an own goal and two penalty kicks started the festivities. Bradley Wright-Phillips dialed it back for a beautiful goal resembling his peak Red Bulls days, while Diego Rossi's four-goal breakout capped the entertainment while putting the Galaxy to the sword. The tournament-worst -5 goal differential entering their finale makes it extremely unlikely that a win will be enough to make it into the knockout stage as a third-place finisher.
You can take the atmosphere, fans and top stars out of El Trafico, but the clubs will still deliver a show, so it appears.
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Toronto FC's new answer and Canada's big question
Jozy Altidore didn't feature–didn't even make the bench–in either of Toronto FC's first two matches, despite claims that he's fully fit. Normally, that'd be cause for concern for the Reds, and perhaps it still should be, but his understudy has fared quite well to soften the blow. Ayo Akinola, the 20-year-old U.S. youth international who maintains international eligibility for Canada and Nigeria, has five goals in two games, including a hat trick against the Montreal Impact. He's shown an adeptness at making runs to combine with playmaker extraordinaire Alejandro Pozuelo, and he's given TFC a real boost. That's one answer that TFC needed to sort. Now there's another.
Provided MLS's season continues outside of Orlando, as the league has maintained is the plan, it's unclear how the three Canadian teams–Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver–will move forward. Canadian government has barred the Toronto Blue Jays from playing home games at the Rogers Centre, over concern regarding players and personnel traveling to and from the United States, where the coronavirus outbreak has not diminished.
It's true that the NHL will have a presence in Canada, with Toronto and Edmonton acting as hub cities, but that means there won't be the regular back-and-forth travel that would be necessitated by any MLS resume-play plan that requires teams to remain in their home markets. After overcoming one headache and putting on tournament that appears to be on steady ground in Florida, the league–and by extension its three Canadian teams–have another one to deal with north of the border.
Sort of a January camp addendum
U.S. men's national team coach Gregg Berhalter has been in attendance in Orlando, and what he's seen amounts to a January Camp 2.0 Adjacent for MLS-based players in the U.S. pool. Is there a better way to assess this particular group of players for how they'd perform in a World Cup than by seeing how they fare in a tournament modeled after one?
Of course, Berhalter is not the one running training or coaching the games, and Dallas and Nashville's U.S.-eligible talent isn't available. Nevertheless, he's had to have been pleased by what he's seen from the likes of Akinola, Brenden Aaronson, Jackson Yueill, Jordan Morris, Chris Mueller, Jeremy Ebobisse, Justin Glad, Aaron Herrera, Gyasi Zardes and some other U.S. players who have been on or around his radar in the past, particularly during the annual winter camp. With no national team games until October at the earliest and three missed international windows due to the pandemic, it certainly suffices as something that's better than nothing to witness in person for a coach without full hands-on access to his team for nearly six months.
Big-picture perspective
It's tempting to look at success and failure in this tournament and make sweeping proclamations about them, but when that temptation hits, keep in mind that, save for the competition's champion, this monthlong exercise ultimately amounts to three regular season games. Those who compete in the knockout stage and fall short of the title won't really be gaining more than those who missed out on the elimination rounds entirely.
Some clubs clearly should feel more heat than others for their performances–Miami, and the Galaxy, for starters, as they currently sit at the bottom of their respective conferences–but not all teams being bounced or on the verge of being bounced before the knockout stage are in serious peril. Atlanta United, for instance, already had two wins in the bag before the shutdown and will welcome the addition of Jurgen Damm if and when play resumes after the tournament. The Colorado Rapids also know that no matter what, it also has at least six points in the big picture. Abject failure in Orlando, while clearly not desired, doesn't necessarily spell doom. It does, however, leave a bad taste in the mouth that will linger for however long the wait is until "normal" play resumes.
