Starting XI: World Cup Commotion

Starting XI is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.

Reigning Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup champions, Sporting Kansas City looks to defend their title against FC Dallas on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets for the Round of 16 match are included in Sporting KC Season Ticket Member Packages, while tickets for the general public are available on SeatGeek.com. Saturday's game features the top two teams in the Western Conference standings, as both teams are tied on 29 points.

2. The World Cup is Coming to North America

Yesterday, FIFA awarded the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. This will be the first World Cup to feature an expanded field of 48 teams. The successful United Bid includes 23 cities across three countries, 16 of which will end up hosting World Cup matches. Sixty of the 80 games will be played in the U.S., with 10 in both Canada and Mexico. Seventeen American cities are in the running to host games, including Kansas City, where matches would be played at Arrowhead Stadium. Fans can declare their support for Kansas City as a World Cup host city at kc2026.com!

3. Rangers Ride to Victory

The Swope Park Rangers defeated Western Conference leaders Real Monarchs 3-2 on Wednesday night after goals by Colton Storm, Matheus Silva and Tyler Blackwood. The Rangers offense was too hot for the Monarchs to handle: after only allowing one goal in their previous five games combined, they allowed three to SPR. The Rangers now head to Fresno, California to take on Fresno FC this Sunday at 8 p.m. with a live stream on ESPN+.

4. Chase Minter Earns USL Team of The Week Honors

Swope Park Rangers midfielder, Chase Minter was named to the USL Team of The Week following an outstanding personal performance against Colorado Springs Switchbacks last Saturday night. Minter made his 12th overall appearance and fifth start for the Rangers, delivering some impressive stats: 18 duels won, six fouls won, had six tackles, and created three chances. The 25-year-old earns his first ever USL Team of The Week honor in 2018 after joining the Rangers in February.

5. Leaders React

Following the announcement of the United Bid's successful effort to bring the 2026 World Cup to North America, local leaders held a press conference at Arrowhead Stadium to discuss the monumental moment. Click here for remarks from Kansas City Sports Commission President and CEO Kathy Nelson, Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan, Sporting KC CEO & President Jake Reid, Kansas City, Kansas Mayor David Alvey and Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Sly James.

6. No Other Place to Watch

Beginning today, and until the final match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, No Other Pub in the Kansas City Power and Light District will be Sporting KC’s World Cup Headquarters. No Other Pub will open every match day at 9:00 a.m. CT, showing a total of 54 matches live from Russia on the venue’s 150-square-foot video wall with surrounding HGTV screens as well to watch the action. Food and drink specials will be available during each day’s World Cup watch party, including bloody marys, mimosas, breakfast tacos and biscuits and gravy. Attendees can enter to win giveaways for Sporting KC tickets and other prizes. Click here for the full watch party schedule.

7. Host Cities

The United Bid, which was jointly submitted but the federations of Canada, Mexico and the United States will host the World Cup in 2026. So where could the matches be played? The bid included 23 cities as potential hosts for matches for the 48-team tournament. The list of 23 was pared down from an original group of 32 cities throughout the three countries, and the 23 will be cut down again, with up to 16 cities chosen to actually host World Cup games. Of the 16 cities still in contention, 15 boast an MLS teams, including Kansas City.

8. Vote Sporting

Voting for the 2018 MLS All-Star game can now only be done exclusively through MLSsoccer.com. Fans can vote for 10 players: a goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and two forwards. Sporting KC has eight players eligible for the match against Juventus on Aug. 1 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium:

• Goalkeeper: Tim Melia
• Defenders: Matt Besler, Ike Opara and Graham Zusi
• Midfielders: Roger Espinoza and Ilie Sanchez
• Forwards: Johnny Russell and Daniel Salloi

MLS All-Star head coach, Gerardo “Tata” Martino will select the matchday roster from the pool of eligible players, consisting of the All-Star Fan XI, two MLS Commissioner picks and players on the official All-Star Fan XI ballot. All voting ends at 11:55 p.m. PT on June 20.

9. World Cup Commotion

World Cup play opened up today with the host country Russia beating Saudi Arabia 5-0 with just over 78,000 fans in attendance at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. In Group A, Egypt and Uruguay will kickoff tomorrow at 7 a.m. CT. Group B play will start with Morocco and Iran at 10 a.m., followed by Portugal and Spain at 1 p.m. To follow along the 2018 World Cup with scores and highlights, click here for more info.

10. 2018 World Cup Favorites?

The 2018 World Cup began today, kicking off the most popular sports event in the world. Only eight countries have ever lifted the Cup, so it’s not surprising that the favorites to win are the world’s perennial soccer powerhouses. Brazil is being predicted as the top squad to be at the World Cup, followed by Spain, Germany, France, England, Belgium, Argentina, Portugal, Croatia and Uruguay. Follow along on ESPN.com for fixtures, results and coverage for this year’s champion.

11. King of the Court

For the second straight year, a summer series of soccer and entertainment is hitting futsal courts across Kansas City. Sporting KC will host King of the Court futsal tournaments on six separate Saturdays between June 16 and July 28, featuring 5-v-5 matches for age groups 8-12 as well as 13 and up. Each futsal tournament will also feature a block party complete with music, yard games, skills challenges, food trucks, music DJs and more. Tournament registration is free for all teams and now open at SportingKC.com/kingofthecourt.

Games to Watch (June 15-17, 2018)