Sporting Kansas City returns home this weekend to kick off a three-game homestand when the team hosts FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, while the game will also be broadcast locally on the radio via Sports Radio 810 WHB. Tickets are available via SeatGeek.com.
1. HOMESTAND BECKONS
Sporting Kansas City is finally set for a series of home matches starting this weekend when the team hosts FC Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. The match comes at the conclusion of a nine-game stretch where Sporting played seven on the road dating back to April 19, with the club going 3-3-3 in that time, including a 2-3-2 mark on the road.
Sporting saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end this past weekend, suffering a 3-1 defeat to LAFC at BMO Stadium on Sunday night. Dejan Joveljic continued his fine form in front of goal with his 10th goal of the season to give Sporting the lead, but unanswered goals from Eddie Segura, Denis Bouanga and Olivier Giroud sealed the points for the hosts.
Sporting will now play five of their next six matches at home, including three straight against FC Dallas (June 14), Charlotte FC (June 25) and Real Salt Lake (June 28).
Since taking the helm following the departure of longtime Manager Peter Vermes at the end of March, interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin has picked up 15 points (4-4-3 record) - averaging 1.36 points per game which, extrapolated over the entire season to date, would place the team seventh in the West.
2. CLOSING OUT SEASON SERIES WITH DALLAS
Sporting Kansas City is set to close out the club’s season series with FC Dallas this weekend when the teams face off at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night.
Sporting has already faced Dallas once in 2025, falling to a 2-1 defeat at Toyota Stadium on March 29 in what was Peter Vermes’ final match at the helm, leading to interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin taking over and posting a 4-4-3 in the 11 games since. Sporting took the lead on the day through Daniel Salloi’s well-taken strike, only for Dallas to respond with a pair of goals before halftime from Lucho Acosta and Leo Chu to claim all three points.
Sporting hosted Dallas at Children’s Mercy Park twice in 2024, once in the regular season and once in U.S. Open Cup, with both matches coming three days apart. On July 7, Sporting earned a 3-2 victory in MLS play following a brace from William Agada and a late game-winner from Memo Rodriguez. Three days later, Sporting emerged as 2-1 winners after extra time in the Open Cup quarterfinals courtesy of goals from Agada and a game-winner from Dany Rosero.
3. JOVELJIC A MAN IN FORM
Sporting Kansas City forward Dejan Joveljic stayed hot this past weekend, scoring the opening goal in Sporting’s eventual 3-1 loss to LAFC at BMO Stadium on Sunday night.
Joveljic, who has five goals in his last four appearances, now has a team-leading 10 goals in just 16 regular-season appearances this season, placing him in a tie for third in the MLS Golden Boot charts. The Serbian is one of two players in the Western Conference with 10 regular season goals in both 2024 and 2025, along with Vancouver Whitecaps forward Brian White.
Joveljic has scored in four consecutive MLS regular season matches for the third time in his career (May 29 - July 4, 2022 and Feb. 25 - March 23, 2024). His four-game scoring streak is the longest active scoring streak in MLS. After scoring his first six goals of the season at Children’s Mercy Park, Joveljic has scored his last four goals in his last three road appearances.
The 25-year-old has 21 goals in his last 34 MLS games (including postseason) - spanning a full season worth of matches. The 21-goal total would have been enough to win the regular-season Golden Boot in 2023 and 2021.
In addition, Joveljic’s 31 goals in MLS play since the start of 2024 is tied for the most in the league alongside Lionel Messi.
4. GARCIA PLAYS PROVIDER
Sporting Kansas City midfielder and Designated Player Manu Garcia continues to show his qualities as he adapts to MLS, with the Spaniard recording his team-leading fifth assist of the season on the team’s opener in the 3-1 loss to LAFC at BMO Stadium on Sunday night.
Garcia leads Sporting with 27 key passes, more than double the amount of any other Kansas City player. The 27-year-old ranks fifth in MLS in fouls suffered (37), fifth in progressive passes (130), sixth in successful passes into the final third (117), eighth in successful passes into the penalty area (36) and 10th in successful through balls (7).
In his first season with Sporting, Garcia has tallied two goals and five assists, placing him third on the team with seven goal contributions, trailing Dejan Joveljic (11) and Daniel Salloi (9).
5. BASSONG EARNS THIRD CAP FOR CANADA
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Zorhan Bassong earned his third cap for the Canada Men’s National Team during the team’s 4-2 win over Ukraine on June 7 in the 2025 Canadian Shield tournament.
Bassong started and played 85 minutes against Ukraine before observing as an unused substitute in the 0-0 draw with the Ivory Coast on June 10. Both matches were scheduled during FIFA’s international window and served as tune-ups ahead of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Bassong was previously named to head coach Jesse Marsch’s roster for the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Finals in March. He had two prior career caps for Canada’s senior national team, both of which came in January 2020.
