Soccer <\/p>\n
The new kids in town, San Diego FC<\/a>, take their first-ever trip to Texas this weekend, making their Lone Star State bows at Q2 Stadium for our Matchday 5 Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire clash at Austin FC<\/a> (4 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n San Diego have figured things out quickly, or so it seems anyway, with two wins and two hard-fought draws in their four outings thus far. They\u2019ve exhibited a level of solidity that is unusual in an expansion side.<\/p>\n The hosts are finally finding the same, albeit in their fifth year of existence. It\u2019s not sexy, but it\u2019s a necessary foundation for any kind of meaningful success in MLS.<\/p>\n Also necessary: goals. Austin are starting to be a little bit desperate for them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin FC<\/strong><\/p>\n San Diego FC<\/strong><\/p>\n There will be no grumbles any time soon (I don\u2019t think, anyway) about this team from a fanbase that really wants to see winning soccer, and are willing to take their time until they get to \u201cattractive, winning soccer.\u201d There seems to be an overall understanding that new head coach Nico Est\u00e9vez has a lot of work to do to piece a largely new roster together and get it all flowing in the same direction.<\/p>\n That work has progressed rapidly on the defensive side of the ball, as the Verde & Black have conceded just twice in four games and have posted the best underlying numbers in the league.<\/p>\n It has been slower offensively, where they\u2019ve managed to score just twice (both from set pieces) and are in the bottom third in the league as per the underlying metrics \u2013 despite having reportedly spent more than $30 million to fix the attack over the past two windows.<\/p>\n So yeah, there won\u2019t be any grumbles yet. But there might be some whispers that Est\u00e9vez brought FC Dallas<\/a>\u2019s attacking woes with him from his previous stop if they don\u2019t generate an open-play goal sometime soon.<\/p>\n Ninety minutes at home in the national spotlight is a pretty great chance to show everyone that progress has been made.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The last time I was this impressed by an MLS expansion team was LAFC<\/a>\u2019s inaugural year, back in 2018. Yeah, I know that\u2019ll upset some folks in St. Louis<\/a> \u2013 CITY got out to a perfect 5W-0L-0D start back in 2023, and it was all pretty magical. But there were plenty of red flags with that team, from roster construction to underlying numbers to game model, that said it would fall apart. And by the two-thirds mark of that first season, it did.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all pointing in the other direction for San Diego. They are unbeaten in four (2W-0L-2D), have conceded just twice, have won the xG battle every time out and, if anything, have been a little bit unlucky in front of goal. All while mostly playing without Chucky, their star signing.<\/p>\n One green flag after another, to be honest. The Ni\u00f1os are good, folks, and my bet is they’ll get better throughout the season.<\/p>\n The job this week is simply to keep the vibes high, and the way to do that is to put the ball into the back of the net a couple of times.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin FC: Soooooo, who plays center back?<\/strong><\/p>\n Injuries and the international break are the ultimate MLS tax man, and Est\u00e9vez is undergoing an early defensive audit in Matchday 5.<\/p>\n Oleksandr Svatok<\/a> (Ukraine) and Leo V\u00e4is\u00e4nen<\/a> (Finland) are both away for massive international tilts. Svatok and Ukraine are attempting to gain promotion into UEFA Nations League A this window via a home-and-away series win against Belgium. Meanwhile, Finland\u2019s 2026 World Cup qualifying journey begins against Malta and Lithuania.<\/p>\n That leaves Brendan Hines-Ike<\/a> as the only healthy center back \u2013 opening-day starter Julio Cascante<\/a> is recovering from a hamstring issue \u2013 and, in my view, only one obvious solution on the roster.<\/p>\n That\u2019d be Ilie S\u00e1nchez<\/a>, who played central defense in an emergency more than a time or two when he was in Kansas City<\/a>. Which then begs the question: Would you rather Ilie defend space behind him (Cc: Anders Dreyer) or service in his own area?<\/p>\n No matter how Est\u00e9vez tackles the problem, the tax man cometh.<\/p>\n San Diego FC: Welcome to the Onni Valakari show<\/strong><\/p>\n With 1g\/1a in 117 minutes, the Finland international has been an effective attacking sub for Mikey Varas in all four games and put up big numbers per FBRef: 0.31 xG + 0.65 xA per 90.<\/p>\n With An\u00edbal Godoy<\/a> away with Panama for Concacaf Nations League<\/a> games, it\u2019s likely time to see Valakari<\/a> from the jump. At 6-foot-2, he\u2019s a threat on set pieces \u2013 see his Matchday 4 game-tying goal<\/a> vs. the Crew \u2013 and puts himself in good spots to receive the ball in dangerous positions.<\/p>\n What San Diego need most from whoever replaces Godoy is progressive passing INTO the final third, mostly to put Dreyer in positions to change the game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin FC<\/strong><\/p>\n We have a good idea of what they’ll be defensively, as it\u2019s clear Est\u00e9vez made fixing the defense his No. 1 priority. Look at the way they stymied LAFC in LA last week:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin’s rediscovered \u2013 or maybe just discovered \u2013 the defensive basics, which has made them very, very hard to break down early this season, and should give them time to figure out their attack. pic.twitter.com\/dero29q86a<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n I\u2019ll admit some surprise that it\u2019s actually a 4-4-2 \u2013 Vazquez has been playing up top with this winter\u2019s other big signing, Myrto Uzuni<\/a> (who will miss this game on international duty) \u2013 instead of some sort of 4-3-3, which is what Est\u00e9vez preferred in Dallas.<\/p>\n But I think that speaks to the issues still present in the roster build: there\u2019s no truly creative midfield hub who can carve open opposing defenses and create chances for the front line, thus it makes sense to sacrifice a bit of possession and a ton of field position for space to counter into. Vazquez, Uzuni and Bukari are all somewhere from \u201cpretty fast\u201d to \u201cextremely freaking fast,\u201d and so the open field should be Austin\u2019s friend. In theory.<\/p>\n In practice, they haven\u2019t even really made use of that. So far they\u2019ve managed just two through-balls all year as per Opta, which is (as you\u2019d expect) down near the bottom of the league. They hit a lot of long balls (fourth in the league) and complete a good amount of them (Vazquez has done a Benteke<\/a>-esque job of contesting aerials), but the vast majority of those have been in midfield. As such, Austin are tied for just 19th in final third entries and haven’t been efficient at turning those into chances when they make the trek upfield.<\/p>\n So yeah, very much a work in progress. My short take is they spent a lot of money on the front line without entirely thinking through their plans to get the ball to them in good spots, and it shows. But also, they\u2019ve been so good defensively and on restarts that they\u2019ve given themselves some breathing room anyway.<\/p>\n San Diego FC<\/strong><\/p>\n Through four weeks they\u2019ve played maybe the most compact soccer in the league, and have been committed to that no matter the game state. You can crack them open, but you have to be brave and precise:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew are so good at using width to crack open compact teams and get access to Zone 14. They gave San Diego \u2013 who play as compact as anyone \u2013 a real lesson on this goal pic.twitter.com\/YIVZUgpe0p<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) March 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That\u2019s their plan when they don\u2019t have the ball: compress the field and make you string together several special plays to get them into rotation. I\u2019ve written before that they remind me of nothing so much as the great Real Salt Lake<\/a> teams of 15 years back (we\u2019ll count this as my second Beckerman reference of the column), and that became even more true in the second half of last weekend\u2019s draw<\/a> with the Columbus Crew<\/a> when Mikey Varas switched the Ni\u00f1os out of their typical 4-3-3 into more of a 4-4-2 diamond with two strikers attacking the channels.<\/p>\n That type of formational flexibility breeds tactical flexibility. San Diego, more than anything, want to get on the ball a ton and control the game with it. They\u2019re at or near the top of the league in possession, passes per possession, passes into and within the attacking third, field tilt and all the rest. Varas told us in preseason that this is how they\u2019d play, and he\u2019s been good to his word.<\/p>\n But when they\u2019ve needed to pull another club out of the bag they\u2019ve done so, both in terms of changing up their attacking shape and changing up their pressing structure (look for San Diego\u2019s center forward, if they\u2019re playing a 4-3-3, to sit on Austin\u2019s d-mid, be it Ilie or Dani Pereira<\/a>, and make it very difficult for him to conduct the game).<\/p>\n This one could feel very chess master-y. Force me to make a guess and I\u2019d say that Austin\u2019s low block will force one of San Diego\u2019s fullbacks to play higher and be more aggressive pushing into attack than we\u2019ve seen from them over the first month.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I think it\u2019ll be the 4-4-2 again but don\u2019t be shocked if it\u2019s really a 4-3-3 with Bukari and J\u00e1der Obrian<\/a> flanking Vazquez. Also, be aware that this will be a VERY makeshift backline. Wiebe’s theory, which I have bought into, is Ilie will move to center back with Pereira coming back into the CM mix. Could be a chance for the kid to prove a point.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Not as hard-hit by absences as Austin, but there will be some work to do on that backline and central midfield. I’m still expecting the 4-3-3, but Varas has got that diamond in his pocket.<\/p>\n EDIT:<\/strong> And then we got some late-breaking news<\/a> that starting No. 9 Marcus Ingvartsen<\/a> will be out for a while. So this team’s depth is really starting to be tested.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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