Back to the Pacific Northwest rolls the Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire bus, where we have a clash between two of the best teams in the league when Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> host the Columbus Crew<\/a> (5 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n These are two clubs I\u2019ve slotted into the \u201ctrue contenders\u201d tier since before Matchday 1, and I\u2019ve kept them there all year despite some ups and downs. In each case, those ups and downs have had a lot more to do with injuries and absences than any structural issues, but in each case, I think it\u2019s fair to say both teams have somewhat underperformed expectations.<\/p>\n My guess is that\u2019s now a thing of the past. The Sounders rolled out of an encouraging FIFA Club World Cup<\/a> showing into a pretty dominant 2-0 win<\/a> over Austin FC<\/a> last weekend \u2013 no hangover there. The Crew, meanwhile, just finished a perfect, three-wins-in-three-games June with a 1-0 victory<\/a> over the Supporters\u2019 Shield-leading Philadelphia Union<\/a>, which ended the visitors’ 11-game unbeaten run.<\/p>\n In short, this game should rule.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle Sounders<\/strong><\/p>\n Columbus Crew<\/strong><\/p>\n The Sounders were very good in the second half of last year, making it to the semifinals of the US Open Cup<\/a> and the Western Conference Final. And they\u2019ve shown their depth throughout this year \u2013 it isn’t just Morris who\u2019s missed time; the backline has been decimated by injury. Then they showed their quality against Botafogo, Atl\u00e9tico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n That\u2019s great, but\u2026 this team came into the league 16 years ago and instantly won a trophy. And then they kept winning something, basically every other year, for 13 seasons, culminating in that landmark 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> (ne\u00e9 League) title.<\/p>\n Not a single trophy since then, though. Sure, they\u2019ve come close a few times, but the fans have grown tired of \u201cclose.\u201d<\/p>\n Every game of 2025, from here on out, is a chance for the Sounders to remind everyone who\u2019s actually got the most silverware over the past 15 seasons, and to put themselves in a position to add to the trophy case \u2013 be it by closing the Supporters\u2019 Shield gap (which, if they win this game, becomes a very manageable eight points), or at least securing home field for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n When the season was two months old, the Crew were still unbeaten. Then the games and injuries started to pile up, the schedule became unkind, and they suddenly found themselves in a month-long, six-game tailspin unlike anything they\u2019d faced during Wilfried Nancy\u2019s tenure as head coach.<\/p>\n With this three-game winning streak they’ve returned to the ranks of the favorites to win the Shield, even if they’re still nothing close to full health (goalkeeper Patrick Schulte<\/a> and center backs Rudy Camacho<\/a> and Malte Amundsen<\/a> are all still on the shelf, while left wingback Max Arfsten<\/a> is on Concacaf Gold Cup<\/a> duty with the USMNT<\/a>). There are currently only two teams in MLS at 2 ppg: Philly and Vancouver<\/a>. Columbus beat the \u2018Caps at the start of the month and beat the Union at the end of the month.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve entered \u201cevery point matters \u2013 a lot!\u201d days, and the Crew are taking it very, very seriously. This team, even after selling MVP finalist Cucho Hern\u00e1ndez and trading goalscorer Christian Ram\u00edrez<\/a> this past winter, is always in the hunt for trophies. This year\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle Sounders: How does Jes\u00fas Ferreira best fit into this Sounders group?<\/strong><\/p>\n Open question, that. Head coach Brian Schmetzer is still figuring it out, and so is Ferreira<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ferreira\u2019s FC Dallas<\/a> history tells us he\u2019s most comfortable and productive as a sort of second forward\/No. 10, with the freedom to find the ball and the game with runners oriented around him. In Dallas, the team was built around him and the game flowed through him. In Seattle, Ferreira is integrating into an established, successful group.<\/p>\n Albert Rusn\u00e1k<\/a> is the No. 10. Full stop. Schmetzer prefers to play with one striker. So where does that leave Ferreira, whose goal-scoring numbers (G, xG, npxG) are all at or close to per-90 career lows?<\/p>\n Mostly on the wing and still trying to fit in. Ferreira’s goal against Austin \u2013 arriving at the perfect time to slam home Paul Rothrock<\/a>\u2019s service at the far post \u2013 was a positive sign. The 24-year-old told me back when SNS rolled through vs. Minnesota United<\/a> that he was still getting to know his teammates and developing an understanding of their tendencies on the field.<\/p>\n Fitting in takes time, and the second half of seasons always seems to be Sounders time. Perhaps it will be Ferreira\u2019s as well.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Paulie Primetime \u27a1\ufe0f Jes\u00fas Ferreira @Jesusdferreira<\/a> gives us the 1-0 lead! ???? pic.twitter.com\/3FXUW1JV5A<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) June 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Columbus Crew: Can Jacen Russell-Rowe harness his full potential?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s July 3, and the 22-year-old forward has already set a career high with seven goals. And yet, each time we\u2019ve had the Crew on Sunday Night Soccer, Wilfried Nancy has taken time to both praise Russell-Rowe<\/a> for his immense talent but also challenge the Canadian international to raise his level.<\/p>\n Be more ruthless in the box. Be more aggressive against the ball. Be stronger in hold-up play. In sum, be a\u2026 well, a word I can\u2019t put in print\u2026 a player opposing defenders HATE playing against.<\/p>\n In fact, Nancy challenged Russell-Rowe in front of the whole team before Columbus\u2019 recent 3-1 win<\/a> against Atlanta United<\/a>. Russell-Rowe, who Nancy says is the best finisher on the team and was even when Cucho was around, responded by scoring twice\u2026 then didn\u2019t start against the Union. Nobody said it was gonna be easy.<\/p>\n General manager Issa Tall is looking for a DP attacker in the upcoming Secondary Transfer Window. That player would, you would think, eat into Russell-Rowe\u2019s future minutes. The time is now for the still-young No. 9 to truly maximize the return on his talent and make the decisions about who gets into the front three difficult down the line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jacen Russell-Rowe doubles the lead for the @ColumbusCrew<\/a>! pic.twitter.com\/z9k2gyTxby<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Seattle Sounders<\/strong><\/p>\n This time last year, the Sounders were in hell. Then, head coach Brian Schmetzer made two big moves by putting Jordan Morris up top and moving Roldan back from his spot on the wing into central midfield.<\/p>\n The obvious effect, both last year and this, has been to tilt the field in productive ways. Roldan has become a master at getting on the ball, whether via a build-out sequence or simply winning a 50\/50, and creating instant verticality:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This has worked against all comers, including the trio of giants the Sounders faced in the Club World Cup. Alongside Vargas, plus with guys like Jo\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> and Danny Leyva<\/a> in reserve, the Sounders have a lot of talent in deep-central midfield. They don\u2019t lose games there.<\/p>\n They arguably have more depth in the attack, but the struggle has been finding the right fit for all the pieces. Schmetzer has toyed with a 3-4-2-1 with flying wingbacks, reverted to the 4-2-3-1 with overlapping fullbacks, and has even used a 4-4-2 for a brief minute. It\u2019s been a process.<\/p>\n The non-negotiable is that they\u2019ve needed a true No. 9 to lead the line. If they have that guy out there, be it Morris or Danny Musovski<\/a>, who\u2019s done a lot of heavy lifting, it works. If it\u2019s a false 9 \u2013 i.e., if it\u2019s Ferreira, who was acquired this offseason and is still settling in \u2013 it\u2019s been\u2026 less good. It\u2019s been bad.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think this is fundamentally a Ferreira issue, but rather one of how the wingers in Schmetzer\u2019s system have been used. Sounder at Heart<\/a> did good work diving into this last week, and the tl;dr is that almost all the non-9s who\u2019ve come to the Sounders the past few years have seen their per-90 boxscore and underlying numbers drop. That includes DP Pedro de la Vega<\/a>, who is probably no longer a starter (but who I sure would like to see start at least once at left wing, which I suspect is his best position).<\/p>\n The other issue Seattle have battled is in their previously indestructible central defense, where both Jackson Ragen<\/a> and Yeimar G\u00f3mez Andrade<\/a> have 1) performed below their standards from the past couple of years, and 2) been hamstrung, as have most of their backups. That\u2019s left Schmetzer juggling reserves, and actually deploying starting right back Alex Roldan<\/a> at right center back last weekend, alongside Ragen (who, to be clear, was back to his best during the CWC and last weekend).<\/p>\n Throughout it all the Sounders are still the Sounders: they usually want 55% or more of the ball, they want their right back to overlap, they want their left winger will stay wide to try to beat dudes 1v1 (THIS IS WHY DE LA VEGA SHOULD GET A GAME OR TWO OUT THERE!!!), and their No. 10 (whether it\u2019s Rusn\u00e1k or Ferreira) will be more of a pass-before-the-pass guy than a true, primary playmaker.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all aimed towards getting possession on the sides of the box \u2013 the primary assist zones \u2013 for low crosses across the six-yard box (to the No. 9) or pullbacks to the spot (for the on-rushing 10, or sometimes even the No. 8).<\/p>\n This is modern, fundamental soccer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n
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