Sporting Kansas City resumes the team’s 2026 MLS season this week with a visit to cross-state rivals St. Louis at Energizer Park on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and will be available to stream on Apple TV, while the game will also be broadcast locally on the radio via Sports Radio 810 WHB and La Grande 1340 AM.
1. MLS IS BACK
Sporting Kansas City and Major League Soccer are back in action this week following a seven-week break for the FIFA World Cup when Sporting travels to take on cross-state rivals St. Louis at Energizer Park in one of four MLS contests that serve as season restart curtain raisers on Thursday night.
Sporting ended the first portion of the season on a positive note with back-to-back wins over the LA Galaxy and Austin FC - the club’s first successive regular-season wins since July 2024 - before falling to Red Bull New York in the team’s final match before the break despite an encouraging performance.
Sporting restarts the season in 15th place in the Western Conference with a 3-9-2 record and 11 points and will now have 20 games to try to claw their way up the standings and reach the MLS Cup Playoffs - starting with Thursday’s match at St. Louis.
After an incredible summer of soccer in Kansas City with six World Cup matches and four teams electing to base camp in the region, Sporting will look to build on the momentum of the sport both locally and nationally as the team’s new era kicks on with three players already added this summer and the transfer window open until September.
2. RETURNING WITH A BANG vs. RIVALS ST. LOUIS
Sporting Kansas City resumes the club’s 2026 MLS season this week with a highly-anticipated rivalry showdown against St. Louis at Energizer Park on Thursday night.
Sporting last visited St. Louis on May 14, 2025, producing a rousing comeback in the second half to take a point home to Kansas City following a 2-2 draw. After falling behind 2-0 by the halftime interval, Sporting got goals from Tim Leibold and Dejan Joveljic in the second half to flip the script and claim the season series over their cross-state rivals.
The teams met at Sporting Park on April 5, 2025 in an emotional match - the first match since the departure of longtime Manager Peter Vermes. After a tense opening half, Joveljic scored a classy double in the second half to seal a first win of the season for the hosts.
All-time, Sporting trails the regular-season series 2-3-3 against St. Louis but also holds bragging rights with a 2-0-0 mark in the postseason after dumping their rivals out of the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2023 - while St. Louis is also yet to win a match at Sporting Park where SKC has gone 3-0-2 in all competitions.
3. POSITIVE SIGNS BEFORE WORLD CUP BREAK
After a challenging start to the 2026 season, Sporting Kansas City showed real signs of growth in the final three matches before the World Cup break - including a pair of wins over the LA Galaxy and Austin FC.
Sporting won back-to-back matches by beating the LA Galaxy 3-1 at Sporting Park on May 13 before topping Austin FC 2-1 at Q2 Stadium on May 16 to move to three wins on the season just before the league’s hiatus. It marked the first time Sporting had won two games on the bounce since July of 2024.
The underlying statistics also supported Sporting’s turnaround in form, as the team won the expected goals (xG) battle in their most recent three matches - including in the 2-1 loss to RBNY on May 23 - after losing the xG battle in all 11 games prior during the regular season.
After averaging 7.5 shots and 3 shots on goal per game over the opening 11 games, Sporting averaged 17.3 shots and 8.7 shots on goal per game in the three matches since.
4. GARCIA & HARRIS LOOK TO CONTINUE FINE FORM
Sporting Kansas City duo Manu Garcia and Calvin Harris will be looking to continue their fine form that the pair exhibited prior to the World Cup break when the team returns to action this Thursday with a trip to face off against rivals St. Louis at Energizer Park.
Garcia entered the break with goal contributions in three consecutive matches - all off the bench - as he recorded an assist in the 3-1 win over the LA Galaxy, the equalizing goal in the 2-1 victory at Austin FC and another assist in the 2-1 loss to Red Bull New York in the final match before the hiatus. That run marks his best form since last June when Garcia tallied goal contributions in four straight matches.
Garcia, now in his second season with the club, has recorded 13 assists in 41 games for a rate of 0.32 assists per game - the second highest in club history behind Preki.
Harris also caught fire prior to the World Cup, tallying two goals and two assists in his final three matches before the break. The Englishman tallied his first two goals for the club in back-to-back home games against the Galaxy and RBNY, while he also added a pair of assists in the victory over the Galaxy.
5. SPORTING ADDS THREE DEFENDERS THIS SUMMER
Sporting Kansas City has added three starting-caliber defenders so far this summer as the team continues to grow into a new era led by President of Soccer Operations & GM David Lee and head coach Raphael Wicky.
- June 2: Or Blorian (pre-contract)
- June 24: Emir Karic (transfer from Sturm Graz)
- July 1: Moises Mosquera (transfer from FC Juarez)
Sporting signed defender Or Blorian as a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Hapoel Be’er Sheva. Blorian arrives in KC having made 197 career appearances while playing in his native Israel. He led Hapoel Be’er Sheva to the Israeli Premier League title in his final season with the club, tallying two goals and four assists in 43 matches to help his club win their first title in eight years. Blorian has earned five caps for the Israeli National Team, making his international debut in October 2025.
Sporting acquired defender Emir Karic in a transfer from Austrian club Sturm Graz. Primarily deployed as a left back, Karic arrives in Kansas City following 343 career appearances while playing in Austria and Germany, tallying seven goals and 21 assists. After spending his early career in Austria before moving to Germany, Karic returned to Austria in 2024 and signed with Sturm Graz, helping the team retain the league title in his first season before enjoying a strong 2025-2026 campaign, recording five assists in 44 matches. Karic has earned one cap for the Bosnia & Herzegovina National Team after making the switch from Austria.
Sporting acquired defender Moises Mosquera in a transfer from Mexican club FC Juarez in July 2026. The Medellin, Colombia native previously made 109 senior appearances while representing Juarez in LIGA MX and CS Maritimo in Portugal. Mosquera is coming off his strongest season yet in 2025-2026, making 30 appearances in all competitions as Juarez qualified for the play-in round by finishing eighth in the Apertura as Mosquera ranked among the league’s top defenders for interceptions (99th percentile), aerial duels won (91st) and clearances (91st).
