It's no secret that soccer is growing in the United States. More children are playing the game, it's become much more accessible on TV with a myriad of different streaming options and soccer jerseys are almost becoming a fashion statement on the street.
If you were busy and couldn't catch the last seven months of the MLS season, here’s what you missed: LAFC and NYCFC crushed it, Cincinnati did the opposite and everyone else was more or less the same, which is why 60 percent of teams make the playoffs. You also missed some fiendishly good goals and saves.
Not to worry: MLS released its nominees for both the AT&T Goal of the Year and the Allstate Save of the Year on Wednesday.
These days, you’re not a football star if you don’t have a statue. Whether it’s been possessed by a demon or part of a prank, everyone from Cristiano Ronaldo to David Beckham has one. So of course, there’s a Zlatan statue now.
With Decision Day behind us, it’s time for the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs! Actually, we’ve got to make it through an international break, but then — it’s time for the 2019 MLS Cup Playoffs! It’s our first taste of the newfangled MLS playoff schedule, with the top seven teams from each conference battling it out in single-elimination matches. Play begins on Saturday, Oct. 19, and concludes with MLS Cup 2019 on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Here’s a look at the MLS playoff schedule 2019, including match dates, times, TV information, previews and predictions.
It’s happened again, although the result is less disastrous this time around. Last year, despite the brilliance of Zlatan Ibrahimović and his record of 22 goals in 27 games, the LA Galaxy missed out on the playoffs after a catastrophic choke-job against an already eliminated Houston Dynamo on Decision Day.
You probably know by now, but the man in the above video is not LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimović — it's Bayern Munich swingman Nihad Đedović. But Đedović is, without a doubt, Zlatan’s basketball-playing doppelgänger.
Đedović is one inch taller than Zlatan, but he’s got the same professional athlete physique, the same flowing lion’s mane turned man bun, the Zappa beard and the nose.
The final day of the MLS regular season — dubbed “Decision Day” — is less than two weeks away (Sunday, Oct. 6). The picture in the Eastern Conference is clear with six of the seven playoff spots already decided, but the Wild West is only settled with regards to the top seed, Los Angeles FC.
It was awfully late on a Sunday night, but hopefully you didn’t check out of last night’s LA Galaxy vs. Sporting KC match on FS1 at halftime. At that point, the score was level at 1-1. After an exchange of seven second half goals, it would finish 7-2 in favor of the Galaxy.
Zlatan Ibrahimović registered his third hat-trick for Los Angeles, and in the process, he set a new single season Galaxy record by bringing his total on the year to 26, surpassing a Carlos “El Pescadito” Ruiz record that had stood since 2002.
Barring a meeting in the 2019 MLS Playoffs — please let that happen — LAFC’s wait for a victory over El Tráfico rivals LA Galaxy will go into a third season. On Sunday night at Banc of California Stadium, the two clubs played to a frantic 3-3 draw after an early Zlatan Ibrahimović brace was answered by two from LAFC’s Latif Blessing. Cristian Pavón and Carlos Vela would also exchange goals.
Another Zlatan Ibrahimović brace — giving him four goals in four days after scoring two against FC Dallas last Wednesday — wasn't enough to power the LA Galaxy beyond Western Conference rival Seattle on Saturday night. The Sounders earned a dramatic point after a comical own goal from Jørgen Skjelvik in the 82nd minute.