Soccer <\/p>\n
The 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> is fast approaching its finale, which means the MLS season is nearly back.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a minute, though! With so many memorable moments from the planet\u2019s favorite soccer party still rolling around in our heads, it\u2019s easy to lose track of what transpired before the league\u2019s seven-week pause for the global spectacle.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll get you caught up in no particular order.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The World Cup\u2019s first visit to the United States in 1994 was a paradigm-shifting occasion, showing the region\u2019s passion for the game and laying the foundation for the launch of MLS two years thereafter.<\/p>\n The event\u2019s return to North America 32 years later has exposed the enormous progress of the past three decades, first and foremost in the protagonists out on the pitch.<\/p>\n The league sent a record 45 active players<\/a> to this summer\u2019s tournament, representing 22 of its 30 clubs and 17 nations around the globe, along with a range of notable alumni<\/a> like US internationals Tyler Adams and Chris Richards, hefty Canadian and Mexican contingents led by Alphonso Davies and Brian Guti\u00e9rrez, Colombia\u2019s Cucho Hern\u00e1ndez and more.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Four starts at only 20 years old in the World Cup for Mbokazi \ud83d\udcaa\ud83c\uddff\ud83c\udde6 pic.twitter.com\/J3tFdw6Vau<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 28, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That ferocious run of form that\u2019s got\u00a0Lionel Messi<\/a> in a lively World Cup Golden Boot race for defending champions Argentina? It\u2019s the continuation of what the GOAT did in Inter Miami<\/a>\u2019s first 15 matches.<\/p>\n In that span, Messi already posted numbers many players would be more than happy to produce over a full season: 12 goals and eight assists, both of which are tied for second-most in MLS, and 43 key passes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s got the defending MLS Cup champions in the thick of the Supporters\u2019 Shield race, sitting fourth at 31 points (9W-2L-4D) with an MLS-best 39 goals scored.<\/p>\n Oh, and they also christened Nu Stadium, their gleaming new home, one of the league\u2019s loveliest.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Messi makes no mistake for his 12th goal of the year. \ud83d\udcab@InterMiamiCF<\/a> lead 1-0 at home. pic.twitter.com\/QqiFVtiTgS<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 17, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n On the far opposite edge of the North American continent, Miami\u2019s opponents in last year\u2019s MLS Cup final have shown their terrific 2025 was no one-hit wonder.<\/p>\n With a 10W-2L-2D record in league play, Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> sit one point ahead of Miami in the Shield race and just one point behind early pacesetters Nashville SC<\/a>. They also remain very much alive in their quest for a fifth straight Canadian Championship<\/a> title.<\/p>\n German legend Thomas M\u00fcller<\/a> and US international Sebastian Berhalter<\/a> \u2013 both of whom earned 2026 MLS All-Star nods<\/a> \u2013 spearhead the slick-passing \u2018Caps, who have been the league\u2019s most statistically dominant side with an MLS-leading +22 goal differential and league-best numbers in both expected goals and expected goals against.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n \n
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