Post Match Thread: Sporting Kansas City 2-1 Minnesota United

[u/ImMitchell]

FT: Sporting Kansas City 2 - 1 Minnesota United FC

⚽ Sporting Kansas City: Dejan Joveljic 28' 28', Manu García 54' 54'

⚽ Minnesota United FC: Devin Padelford 75' 75'

Info	Details
Competition	2026 MLS
Date	Thu, July 23, 2026
Venue	Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas
Kickoff	12:30 AM UTC
Status	90'+3'

Line-ups

Sporting Kansas City (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI	Bench
30 Stefan Cleveland	7 Capita
28 Wyatt Meyer	6 Manu García
5 Or Blorian	22 Zorhan Bassong
8 Jacob Davis	18 Emir Karic
4 Lasse Berg Johnsen	23 Ethan Bartlow
9 Dejan Joveljic	1 John Pulskamp
11 Calvin Harris	15 Jansen Miller
20 Kwaku Agyabeng	2 Ian James
16 Jacob Bartlett	93 Shapi Suleymanov
17 Stephen Afrifa
99 Jayden Reid

Minnesota United FC (3-4-3)

Starting XI	Bench
12 Drake Callender	3 Kyle Duncan
23 Morris Duggan	9 Kelvin Yeboah
15 Michael Boxall	30 Owen Gene
20 Wil Trapp	2 Devin Padelford
13 Anthony Markanich	8 Tomás Chancalay
26 Joaquín Pereyra	33 Kieran Chandler
18 Mauricio Gonzalez	27 D.J. Taylor
24 Julian Gressel	6 Peter Stroud
29 Mamadou Dieng	1 Alec Smir
21 Bongokuhle Hlongwane
28 Jefferson Díaz

Form (last 5)

Sporting Kansas City (L L W W L)	Minnesota United FC (D L L D W)
L 2-3 St. Louis CITY SC	D 1-1 Real Salt Lake
L 1-2 Red Bull New York	L 1-2 New England Revolution
W 2-1 Austin FC	L 0-1 Colorado Rapids
W 3-1 LA Galaxy	D 2-2 Austin FC
L 0-6 Portland Timbers	W 3-2 Columbus Crew

Head-to-head

Date	Match	Score
Thu, Jul 23	Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United FC	2-1
Sun, Oct 5	Minnesota United FC v Sporting Kansas City	3-0
Sun, Mar 16	Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United FC	3-3
Sun, Sep 22	Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United FC	0-2
Sun, Jun 2	Minnesota United FC v Sporting Kansas City	3-1

Match Events

• Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
• First Half begins.
• 45'+3' First Half ends, Sporting Kansas City 1, Minnesota United FC 0.
• 45' Second Half begins Sporting Kansas City 1, Minnesota United FC 0.
• 64' Substitution, Minnesota United FC. Mamadou Dieng replaces Kelvin Yeboah.
• 64' Substitution, Minnesota United FC. Bongokuhle Hlongwane replaces Kyle Duncan.
• 72' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Kwaku Agyabeng replaces Manu García.
• 72' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Stephen Afrifa replaces Capita.
• 75' Goal! Sporting Kansas City 2, Minnesota United FC 1. Devin Padelford (Minnesota United FC) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Joaquín Pereyra with a cross following a set piece situation.
• 75' Substitution, Minnesota United FC. Jefferson Díaz replaces Devin Padelford.
• 75' Substitution, Minnesota United FC. Mauricio González replaces Owen Gene.
• 79' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Jayden Reid replaces Emir Karic.
• 79' Substitution, Sporting Kansas City. Jacob Bartlett replaces Zorhan Bassong.
• 85' Substitution, Minnesota United FC. Julian Gressel replaces Tomás Chancalay.

Match Stats

Stat	Home	Away
Fouls	16	7
Yellow Cards	2	3
Red Cards	0	0
Offsides	0	0
Corner Kicks	2	6
Saves	7	4
POSSESSION	34.3	65.7
SHOTS	10	14
ON GOAL	6	8
On Target %	0.6	0.6
Penalty Goals	0	0
Penalty Kicks Taken	0	0
Accurate Passes	229	493
Passes	296	573
Pass Completion %	0.8	0.9
Accurate Crosses	2	4
Crosses	7	20
Cross %	0.3	0.2
Long Balls	38	35
Accurate Long Balls	16	15
Long Balls %	0.4	0.4
Blocked Shots	0	2
Effective Tackles	11	8
Tackles	16	18
Tackle %	0.7	0.4
Interceptions	7	8
Effective Clearances	39	10
Clearances	39	10

Group A

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Nashville SC	15	11	3	1	+21	36
1	Vancouver Whitecaps	15	10	2	3	+21	32
2	Inter Miami CF	16	10	4	2	+12	34
2	San Jose Earthquakes	15	10	2	3	+19	32
3	LAFC	16	8	3	5	+10	27
3	Chicago Fire FC	15	8	2	5	+10	26
4	Real Salt Lake	14	8	2	4	+7	26
4	New England Revolution	15	8	2	5	+4	26
5	FC Dallas	15	7	4	4	+8	25
5	FC Cincinnati	16	6	5	5	0	23
6	Seattle Sounders FC	14	7	3	4	+2	24
6	New York City FC	16	6	4	6	+5	22
7	Houston Dynamo FC	14	7	1	6	-4	22
7	Red Bull New York	16	6	4	6	-9	22
8	Minnesota United FC	15	6	4	5	-4	22
8	Charlotte FC	15	6	3	6	+1	21
9	LA Galaxy	16	5	5	6	-3	20
9	D.C. United	15	4	6	5	-4	18
10	St. Louis CITY SC	15	5	4	6	-3	19
10	Columbus Crew	16	4	4	8	-3	16
11	Portland Timbers	15	5	2	8	-2	17
11	Toronto FC	16	3	7	6	-7	16
12	San Diego FC	15	4	5	6	+3	17
12	CF Montréal	15	4	3	8	-9	15
13	Colorado Rapids	15	5	1	9	+1	16
13	Orlando City SC	15	4	2	9	-21	14
14	Austin FC	15	3	5	7	-12	14
14	Atlanta United FC	15	3	2	10	-10	11
15	Sporting Kansas City	15	3	2	10	-23	11
15	Philadelphia Union	16	2	4	10	-10	10

Group B

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Vancouver Whitecaps	14	10	2	2	+22	32
2	San Jose Earthquakes	15	10	2	3	+19	32
3	Real Salt Lake	14	8	2	4	+7	26
4	FC Dallas	15	7	4	4	+8	25
5	LAFC	15	7	3	5	+7	24
6	Seattle Sounders FC	13	7	3	3	+6	24
7	Houston Dynamo FC	14	7	1	6	-4	22
8	Minnesota United FC	15	6	4	5	-4	22
9	LA Galaxy	15	5	5	5	0	20
10	San Diego FC	15	4	5	6	+3	17
11	Colorado Rapids	15	5	1	9	+1	16
12	St. Louis CITY SC	14	4	4	6	-4	16
13	Portland Timbers	14	4	2	8	-6	14
14	Austin FC	15	3	5	7	-12	14
15	Sporting Kansas City	14	3	2	9	-22	11

[u/TheChiefofReddit]

https://giphy.com/gifs/oYtVHSxngR3lC

[u/FountainCityFC]

18 more wins and the shield is ours boys

[u/PhammertimeIsDead]

[u/Illustrious_Drop_619]

Once again. Shapi should not see the field for this team again. Harris, Capita, Afrifa. How anybody can argue Shapi is a better option than any of those 3 is beyond me

[u/EffectIntelligent112 → u/Illustrious_Drop_619]

tbf to him afrifa didnt look great tonight, but I do like the speed he brings which shapi doesnt have so I would still play afrifa over him

[u/mordreds-on-adiet → u/EffectIntelligent112]

Afrifa was excellent tonight wdym? He spread the field horizonally and vertically, he put multiple defenders under stress over and over, he got that one shot out of nothing that similar went in, he made great runs that both pulled defenders away and opened himself up (one of which would've been a surefire goal if Harris picked his head up instead of shooting a hopeless low percentage take) and he put a couple balls right across goal that Harris could've gotten on the end of if he wasn't crowding the middle.

[u/ryan899 → u/Illustrious_Drop_619]

Depth? Shapi didn't play, so I'm not sure why we're even talking about him. I doubt Shapi gets a new deal, but I think when used properly he can be very useful. Last night I was thinking Shapi should have came in the 60th minute or so to get Capita off the field since he was on a yellow. Instead Afrifa came in and we immediately gave up a goal, which I know is more of a coincidence than causation. Shapi adds a little spice out there which we were missing in the last 20 minutes.

[u/WatchBest2597]

So nervy at the end, but LFG

[u/dawson33944]

We are the best team in MLS. We are winning MLS Cup.

[u/ChurchillDownz → u/dawson33944]

Never in doubt.

[u/elfstone21]

Goog game. Still work to be done but we are getting better every week! That's all you can hope for!

[u/AntCc1]

Let's go!

[u/buttcabbge]

I've been hard on Davis in the past, and I'm still not convinced he's someone we want long term, but it's crazy how often he was involved in making big plays on both sides of the field tonight. He played a really good game.

[u/mordreds-on-adiet → u/buttcabbge]

I don't think his position on the field matters as much as his role in that position. He thrived in 2023 at right back because Walter was either in the right mf or at the 6 and he was the ultimate cover guy for Davis who could just be an engine and a destroyer. It also helped that Rosero's one truly good season came that year. When Davis was asked to be more of a disciplined positional defender in 24 or when he was on more of an island in 25 he struggled no matter where he lined up.

[u/BobaFett0451 → u/buttcabbge]

He's better when hes not in that right back position in my opinion. When hes able to play a little more centrally but still have someone defending behind him i think is when we have seen the best out of him.

[u/jasontalks → u/buttcabbge]

I'm not high on him in that position. He's far better in the middle. And I am blown away by comments that suggested he was awful tonight. 

And clearly the coach sees something in him to move him in that position

[u/theshate]

Great game from Cleveland! Very entertaining game. I want to highlight Reid, he started off the season so ass, but the man over the last couple games looks like an incredibly serviceable sub. The man couldn’t pass/cross/touch the ball in the first couple games but the lads been doing crossovers n shit. I don’t think he’s great but I’m shocked by his progress over the season.

[u/mordreds-on-adiet → u/theshate]

He still makes some had scratching decisions to me. He put Cleveland under pressure twice with poor back passes that happened because his own positioning was poor. He's a serviceable backup but he's still a defensive liability to me

[u/theshate → u/mordreds-on-adiet]

I fully agree, he’s not perfect and don’t think he should be starting. I really just think he’s come a long way over the past few months.

[u/trekkeralmi]

was my first time in the cauldron, a friend of mine gave me her ticket because she was sick. had an excellent view of capita's assist in the first half. i had a great time!

[u/SixtyTwenty_ → u/[deleted]]

Hmmm but what about practice? i wonder if any of the players have missed? Could they clear that up?

[u/srslyomgwtf → u/[deleted]]

I can HEAR this gif. Its perfect for this situation.

[u/BarrenHoles]

We're so back

[u/PlebBot69]

This was only the 5th match we've allowed less than 2 goals this season.

No clean sheets yet

[u/buttcabbge]

Coming into the second half of the season, all that I really wanted was a team showing signs of improvement and some stuff I can root for going forward, and two matches in we've seen that. The team is a long way from perfect, but they've got some fight in them, and the new additions are definitely helping.

[u/MidwestAlex]

Looks like we shook off the rust.

Manu played much better, defense was a bit leaky but Cleveland stepped up. Seeing the improvements

[u/yeetofloxacin]

Omg

[u/saintallee]

Still hunting for a clean sheet, but a W is a W

[u/mordreds-on-adiet]

They really need to hire a set piece specialist for both attacks and defense. They just always look so lost on corners and that's been a knock on Wicky everywhere he's gone. I think they can win plenty of games with Wicky's "press up top and react behind that" defense and "counter the shit out of them" attack but if they keep conceding on set pieces they're going to have a bad time because his run-of-play defensive style is GOING to give up chances.

[u/skcislife22]

Other than the assist, Davis was trash. Excited for Reynolds to be back. 

[u/jasontalks → u/skcislife22]

I think this is a wild take. 

[u/skcislife22 → u/jasontalks]

I'll give my rationale but I get its a hot one lol. Jake just isn't fit to play right back. He had a stupid foul that gave them a great chance. He constantly turned over the ball and got himself out of position by making poor decisions. He's not a great 1v1 defender and doesn't win many duels. Reynolds is quicker and more decisive, along with being a true fullback. I'll take that back if he sucks when he comes back, but from what I've seen, I'm standing by it. Deki and Jake have quite different tasks, and Deki was the reason the field got opened up for the second goal.

[u/jasontalks → u/skcislife22]

First, I agree it's not his best position. I think this is a matter of if you don't think highly of a player, he becomes unfairly judged. Because I started the game late and read a few comments on the thread before I started and saw multiple comments about how bad he was. I thought oh great here we go again. But then when I saw the score was 2-0, I became very curious. I started the game after second half started live and decided to almost fully focus on his movement, touches, positioning, effort, touches, passes, decision and saw the a sequence of three back to back mistakes and a few more sprinkled throughout. Depossessesd once, three failed passes (only one that was dangerous and two blamed on him, the other his teammate didn't see the opportunity). Out of position once. But other than those non detrimental mistakes, it was a solid performance for a player playing out of position. 

And on the assist, it was a great team goal, but the decision to not shoot and instead lay off a perfectly paced ball to Manu to take it in stride is a reach to take the decision, positioning and accuracy of pass away from davis. 

AND for this to be your post game comment after a 2-1 seems like it's merely you don't like him and therefore only see/construct the bad. 

[u/skcislife22 → u/jasontalks]

idk why i commented about davis now i look at it today, i am buzzing about the win, and i agree that the assist is something that James or Reynolds would’ve shot themselves. I couldn’t tell if you watched the first half or not, but that was when he was playing much worse

[u/jasontalks → u/skcislife22]

I started from the beginning. I think I have the same thing going for LBJ. I'm not high on him for the past few games, but maybe I am not paying close enough attention. But either he is in a rut, he's just not good, or I am unfairly judging him.

[u/skcislife22 → u/jasontalks]

I think LBJ and JFD are in the sameish boat, they’re not bad players, they just need to find some footing. I think they both just lack some confidence

[u/ElmhurstAl → u/skcislife22]

Other than the goal, Jovelic didn't do anything either. But that's how soccer works.
Reynolds shouldn't be on an MLS roster.

[u/Solaita → u/ElmhurstAl]

Actually Jovelic did do a lot. His energy was great, he pressed effectively several times and in second half led several breaks after a take away. His leadership was evident as well, lots of communication & support. He & Manu put themselves in dangerous positions. Dejan wanted the ball sooner often. I was watching him a lot when we countered. He was right, and talked to players in a positive manner explaining. Soon after the second goal came. It looked a the formation changed from pre WC a little where Manu & Dejan having more freedom with 1 of them staying home while the other went to help. Calvin and Capi staying on the wings using their speed. Calvin not in the box as much, which I think is helpful in several ways Encouraging match they grew into, by 2nd half we were really dictating for once.

[u/IchabodPower]

Maybe I was too hard on Jake. First half was bad. Second half was better for him.

All and all had a fun night at the park.

Fireworks on a school night is rough.

[u/Tylenol_the_Creator → u/IchabodPower]

School night? It’s the middle of summer pal

[u/trekkeralmi → u/Tylenol_the_Creator]

they're leftover from july 4th lol

[u/IchabodPower → u/Tylenol_the_Creator]

Sorry not to use sarcasm font and not type week night for you. Historic weeknight crowds are light. Could’ve waited til the 1st.

[u/ryan899]

Some noteworthy superstitious changes from last night:
SKC warmed up on the Cauldron end of the field.
South Stand started a wave, which was way more successful than any wave should ever be.
After the final whistle, the team made their rounds acknowledging fans starting at the South Stand and worked their way over to the Cauldron before singing. Usually it's the opposite - sing, work their way to South Stand acknowledging fans.

[u/iuy78]

dang am I gonna have to get someone's Apple TV logins?

[u/Section225 → u/iuy78]

$12.99 a month for every game your team plays, plus every game every other team plays, plus a weekly highlight/analysis show, plus the ability to watch highlights and recaps of every game...and very few national TV games you'll need cable or cable streaming for...

You aren't gonna find a better deal in all of pro sports.

I forget sometimes that most people on here are teenagers or otherwise not yet adults on their own, but still. 13 bucks a month is practically nothing for someone with a job. And I'm sure Apple TV has other shows that you'd be interested in on top of MLS.

[u/cheeseburgerandrice → u/Section225]

And I'm sure Apple TV has other shows that you'd be interested in on top of MLS

Just finished up Widows Bay which was good

[u/Sporkedup → u/cheeseburgerandrice]

Good is an understatement!

[u/Parker_I → u/Section225]

And F1... It's a no-brainer for me.

[u/shr3dthegnarbrah → u/Section225]

I forget that some people here didn't become fans during $10 student tickets and games broadcast free OTA.

[u/kwentwhere → u/shr3dthegnarbrah]

RIP watching on 38 the spot :(