Soccer <\/p>\n
This weekend brought about \u2018Selection Sunday,\u2019 the official start of the NCAA basketball tournaments and the collective hoops mania they spark across the United States. Dozens of college teams will play hundreds of games over the next three weeks to determine their respective national champions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
March Madness is already underway for North American soccer lovers, though.<\/p>\n
After eight breathless Leg 1 matches, we\u2019ve reached the halfway point of the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a>\u2019s Round of 16, in essence, the zenith of this endemically entertaining tournament in terms of sheer number of games, participants and storylines. From here on out, things grow tenser and tighter as the wheat is separated from the chaff.<\/p>\n So it feels like a good moment to take stock of where the nine MLS participants stand before Leg 2 games this week.<\/p>\n My colleague J. Sam Jones penned a vital rundown<\/a> of this nonet (a new vocabulary word for this correspondent!) at the start of the tourney, ranking their prospects from top to bottom, which provides me with my framework here.<\/p>\n Who\u2019s rising, who\u2019s fading, who\u2019s holding steady? Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n EDITOR’S NOTE:<\/strong>\u00a0This story was updated on Monday morning.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Concacaf Champions Cup (@TheChampions) March 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Black & Gold<\/a> fell victim to some Costa Rican catenaccio Tuesday night. LD Alajuelense snuck out of BMO Stadium with a 1-1 draw<\/a> that forces Son Heung-Min<\/a> & Co. to travel 2,700 miles south and either win or produce a high-scoring draw to advance past the Ticos.<\/p>\n Despite a rather absurd 76% possession, LAFC leaked a first-half goal way, way against the run of play via Minnesota United FC<\/a> alum Alejandro Bran, and only a Denis Bouanga<\/a> equalizer averted complete disaster on home soil. That makes for a jittery situation in a hostile environment on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n The Angelenos looked absolutely ferocious in their opening-round destruction of Real Espa\u00f1a; it\u2019s too early to write them off. Still, an off night is often harshly punished in CCC, and doubly so against LIGA MX giants like Cruz Azul or Monterrey, one of whom awaits LAFC should they overcome Alajuelense.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n