Veteran midfielder Roger Espinoza and Sporting Kansas City are in full preparation mode for a situation none of the players have faced since they were middle schoolers: playing a real, competitive match at 9 o’clock in the morning.
Sporting’s group stage finale in the MLS is Back Tournament will come against a familiar foe in Real Salt Lake, but it will be played at a time during which most professional soccer players are more accustomed to training. The Group D encounter will kick off at 8 a.m. CT—that’s 9 a.m. local time in Walt Disney World—with Sporting needing a win or a draw to seal progression to the MLS is Back Tournament Knockout Stage presented by Audi.
However, it’s not the early start that has Espinoza sweating ahead of Wednesday’s clash. Rather, it’s the prospect of playing 90 minutes under the sweltering Orlando sun.
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Roger Espinoza joins The Program on Sports Radio 810 WHB
“It’s going to be very difficult just because of the weather here,” Espinoza said in a Monday interview with Sports Radio 810 WHB host Soren Petro. “It’s humid, it’s hot and the sun is right above you. When the ball goes in the air, it’s kind of hard to see it. Both teams are playing in the same conditions, so it’s a fair game. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re going to be ready.”
A win over RSL would see Sporting finish first or second in Group D, while a draw would result in a second-place or third-place finish. Sporting is guaranteed a spot in the Round of 16 with at least a tie, as Manager Peter Vermes’ men would—at the very worst—qualify as one of the four best third-place finishers across the six groups.
Even so, Espinoza says Sporting won’t be content to split the points with RSL on Wednesday. After all, the game counts toward the 2020 regular season standings, and Sporting sits just a point behind Minnesota United FC and Columbus Crew SC in the Supporters’ Shield race.
“I’ve been playing many years, so that’s not going to change the way I approach the game,” Espinoza said. “It won’t change for any of the guys (on our team). We’re still playing a game that counts toward the league (standings). When you go into a game, you want to win the game and you want to add points. We’ll worry about the playoffs here in Florida once we get there. But right now it’s all about the next game, and we want to add as many points in the table as we can. We’re not thinking that we just need to tie. We need to win, and that’s what we play for every time.
Sporting has a rich history of ousting RSL in high-stakes matchups, including MLS Cup 2013 and the 2018 Western Conference Semifinals, but the Utah side owns an impressive 8-1-5 record in the last 14 regular season meetings dating back to 2014.
“I expect them to fight like they usually do against us,” Espinoza said of an RSL side that has four points through two games in Group D. “This is the first time we’ve played them at a neutral site, so I expect a very tough game for both sides. They’re a team that has gotten better over the past couple of years (because) some of their younger guys have got more experience being in the league. As you can see, they’ve done well in our group.”
