Most teams have seven games left. The end is nigh. Until then…
Each week, we’ll look at four teams rising or falling in the standings, three players making an impact, and three storylines to watch. An Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs race 4-3-3, if you will.
Four teams we're monitoring
- 6th in Western Conference
- 41 points (11W-9L-8D)
Well, they’re at least trying something. LAFC are clearly one of the most talented teams in the league. They also clearly became too set in their “relinquish possession and wait to hit in transition”-based ways under now-former head coach Marc Dos Santos.
They didn’t take control of matches often enough, even when teams began inviting them to. Once opponents forced LAFC out of their comfort zone of sit back and counter at speed, the Black & Gold didn’t have another club in the bag. That’s not the only reason they’ve gone 1W-4L-5D over their last 10 MLS games. It is a major reason, though.
Whoever takes over for Dos Santos for the rest of the season will be tasked with finding a workable Plan B for LAFC.
A team with Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min is capable of winning a title. LAFC will need to use the ball in possession more effectively to pull it off. Not all the time. But at least some of the time.
Honestly, a vibe shift and removing a few of the restrictive plates put on the team tactically might be all they need to look like a contender again.
- 2nd in Western Conference
- 47 points (13W-6L-8D)
FC Dallas get to claim responsibility for Dos Santos’ exit after their 1-0 win over LAFC last weekend. They also get to claim second place in the Western Conference standings. They’ve climbed to within three points of first-place Vancouver and, with perhaps the league's best striker guiding them, they seem set to make a real push to finish atop the conference.
It’s all happened quietly. They didn’t get the early-season buzz of San Jose or the everything-since buzz that St. Louis have earned. They’ve just been solid for basically the entire year. That being said, they’re in their best form of the season right now. If there were ever a time to start paying close attention, it’s during this 10-match stretch where they’ve grabbed 2.1 points per game. Shorter term, Dallas have won four of their last five and are on a six-game unbeaten run.
None of it feels like a fluke. They do a lot well, do very few things poorly and have benefited from a talismanic campaign from striker Petar Musa (18g/5a). Meanwhile, fellow No. 9 Logan Farrington (9g/5a) and attacker Joaquín Valiente (2g/13a) have kept Musa from having to shoulder the entire load himself.
- 9th in Western Conference
- 35 points (9W-9L-8D)
Is… is it happening?
The Seattle Sounders used to have a reputation for figuring things out later in the year. They’ve left this one a little later than usual, though. Still, after going 13 matches without an MLS win, they won twice last week to jump back into a playoff spot.
Now, we should note that beating Real Salt Lake and Minnesota United right now doesn’t prove Seattle can compete with the best of the best. RSL and Minnesota are two of the only teams struggling as much as Seattle. But we know what this team is capable of when they’re healthy and in form. They’re still not 100% or anything, but they’re not a triage unit anymore either.
If they can continue to integrate new DP striker Dejan Joveljić – who… um… missed the last couple of matches with an injury (seriously, why does this keep happening up there?) – and other key contributors like Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan can continue rounding into form (as they return from injuries), they should find themselves in the playoffs. From there, anything can happen.
- 9th in Eastern Conference
- 33 points (8W-10L-9D)
A 2-2 draw with an Atlanta United side missing multiple key players isn’t really much to celebrate, especially considering New York City FC took and surrendered the lead twice. The result did get them back above the playoff line, though.
How long that will last isn’t clear. This group has been struggling for a while now. They’ve won once in their last 10 matches. That one win came against an underperforming RSL side. And the upcoming schedule isn’t kind. With seven games left, their next four matches are against Chicago, Miami, LAFC and Orlando. Only LAFC is at home.
With Cincinnati and D.C. trailing close behind with a game in hand, there’s a real chance NYCFC are sitting there on Decision Day regretting taking one point instead of three from Atlanta.
Three stars making an impact
The Quakes are resurgent and, unsurprisingly, Judd is playing his part.
He scored twice in San Jose’s win over Portland last weekend. He’s scored four times in the last three games and 15 times in 1,768 minutes this season. And he's the fourth player in club history to reach that goal tally in a regular-season campaign.
After a slump, the Quakes have taken 10 points from their last four matches. They’re back in the West's top four.
Iloski spent the first half of the season playing out of position under former Philadelphia Union head coach Bradley Carnell. With Carnell gone and interim manager Ryan Richter in charge, Iloski has returned to playing as a No. 9 and returned to terrorizing MLS defenses.
He did that plenty while on loan at San Diego FC before they decided not to permanently acquire him from Denmark's FC Nordsjælland after a successful stint. Now, he’s helping the Union look like one of the league’s most dangerous teams.
They’ve taken an MLS record-tying 32 points from their last 12 matches, and Iloski has scored nine times in that span. Three of those nine came last weekend in a 4-2 win over Orlando City.
It sure seemed like we wouldn’t see Mbokazi again this season. But there he was on Saturday night, patrolling the back line for Chicago for 80 minutes. In August, the Fire’s star center back picked up a thigh injury that head coach Gregg Berhalter said would likely force him to miss the rest of the season.
Fortunately, Berhalter got that one wrong. Mbokazi, 21, is one of the league's best young players. Having the South African international around to help out defensively is a massive boost for a Fire side sitting just a point below the top four in the East.
On a related note: The Fire ended a six-match winless streak over the weekend. Their 1-0 win over Charlotte marked their first clean sheet since May.
Three storylines to track
A number of teams in the West are seemingly getting their lives together at the right time. Seattle and San Jose both ended poor runs of form recently and seem to be on the upswing. Maybe RSL are about to join them. They picked up a critical 3-0 win over New England last weekend, ending a 13-match winless streak.
They were one of the best teams in MLS earlier in the season. There’s a chance something close to that team is still in there. The same can be said for the Sounders and the Quakes.
The LA Galaxy also notched their first back-to-back wins of the season to climb above the playoff line.
How much of this is just normal “MLS happens” and how much of it is a sign that these teams are actually ready to compete at a high level again?
The Whitecaps don’t look like a juggernaut anymore. The underlying numbers had them as far and away the best team in MLS through the first half of the season. Since returning from the FIFA World Cup break without star midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, they’ve faltered. Now, multiple teams have caught up to them near the top spot in the West.
Four teams are within six points. Dallas are three points behind and in good form. St. Louis are six points back and in unstoppable form. The Quakes look a lot like the best version of themselves again. Can the ‘Caps hold everyone off?
Charlotte are 6W-2L-4D since the break. They haven’t beaten a team above the Wild Card spots, and both losses were to Chicago.
Orlando took down Nashville and San Jose during the early stages of their post-World Cup heater, but just got thumped by both New England and Philadelphia.
Chicago have just four wins since the break, but three of them came against either Charlotte or Orlando.
New England have six wins since the break, although the only two that came against teams above the Wild Card spots came against Chicago and Orlando.
Are any of these teams actually good enough to take down Nashville in the playoffs? What about red-hot Philly or ice-cold – but still Inter Miami – Inter Miami? It’s clear these are solid MLS sides. Solid alone doesn’t win you a title, though. A little more proof of concept is needed here before we can confidently say this group of good but potentially not great teams are serious about a run to MLS Cup.
