2026 Wishes

The year 2026 is about two weeks old at this time and it’s time to look at the year ahead and what I’m wishing for this coming year. As I’ve done for a number of years, back to when I wrote on my own site, I have put together some wishes that I have for KC soccer in 2026. Here they are.

1. Silverware. Always number one on the list, Silverware is my number one wish for 2026. Last year saw the KC Current bring home the NWSL Shield with a record setting point total. It was the only piece of silverware KC teams brought home in 2025.

2. Sporting KC Return to the Playoffs. Given preseason started this week with just 17 players currently signed to contracts I expect a slow start to the 2026 season for Sporting under new head coach Raphael Wicky. The slow start will put Sporting back in the standings as the season works its way to the World Cup break. With that in mind I don’t have high expectations for Sporting in 2026, but would like to see them make a return to the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2026. Last year KC finished 13 points out of playoff position, so they’d need to see at least a 13 point improvement from 2025.

3. Improve Home Form for Sporting. One way Sporting can make up those 13 points is an improved performance at home. In 2025, Sporting took just 17 points at home, winning just four games. That’s tied for the fewest wins at home in team history with the 2009 season. If they were even close to their average point total at home since Sporting Park opened, they would have been right in the race for a playoff spot. In 2025 KC led in just 7 of their 17 league home games and led for just 177 minutes, with close to half those minutes led coming in a game Sporting didn’t even take a shot. That’s just under 12% of the minutes played at home in 2025 KC was in front. To say home form has to improve is an understatement, but there needs to be a drastic improvement in 2026.

4. A U22 Signing has a Break Out Season. MLS’s U22 Initiative hasn’t had the greatest start since it was instituted, there have been more misses around the league than hits. That includes Kansas City’s first three, Logan Ndenbe, Marinos Tzionis, and Robert Voloder. Two of which turned into rotation players for Sporting, but didn’t stand out over other players in their position, either with Sporting or around the league. David Lee has talked about using the 2DP/4U22 set up for the roster in 2026, and while Sporting currently has zero of those U22 Initiative players on the roster I’d like to see one have a break out season for Sporting.

5. Current Continue to Perform at the Top of the NWSL. To say I’m not a fan of the hiring of Chris Armas as head coach is an understatement. That said, the team is returning the majority of the roster that ran away with the Shield in 2025. They have a ready made replacement for the departing Hailie Mace already on the roster in Ellie Wheeler, though Mace’s ability to also play center back will be missed with Alana Cook still recovering from her ACL tear. There are big questions about the forward line with the departure of Bia Zaneratto and questions about the midfield depth as the team gets ready for preseason. Do they splash some money to try to bring in another high caliber striker? Even if they don’t they have too much talent to not be one of the best teams in the league.

6. Current USWNT Players Play Key Role in World Cup Qualifying. November of this year will see the CONCACAF W Championship take place with qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. The US needs to make the semifinals to qualify for the World Cup, meaning they need to win one game to guarantee qualification, and even a loss doesn’t eliminate them. Given the strength of the US team qualifying should happen, so what I’d like to see is one of the players who are becoming regular call ups for the US; Claire Hutton, Michelle Cooper, Ally Sentnor, play a key role for the US in the tournament.

7. Sporting KC II Finish Mid-Table. Similar to the first team, this is kind of hedging my bets for Sporting KC II in 2026. Especially because SKCII doesn’t even have a coach as of this writing. To call 2025 a disaster for KC’s second team may be putting it nicely, SKCII finished at the bottom of the Western Conference with just 17 points, winning just three times on the season. They finished with five points fewer than the next lowest team, Columbus, and finished 24 points off the playoff pace. Head coach, Istvan Urbanyi left the club in August with the announcement just saying he was “no longer with the club.” With the focus likely on the first team in 2026 again I don’t expect a huge amount of focus on the second team this year. But I’d like them to be a little more competitive this year. They don’t have to make the playoffs, but feeling like they might have a shot in August, September, October would be nice in 2026.

8. Comets Avoid Long Form Dip. I feel like every year when I write these the Comets are rolling into the new year on a high and my wish follows that roll. Then as other teams in the league even up on games play and the Comets dip in form sees those wishes not happen. So in 2026 I’d like to see the Comets avoid the long form dips they’d had in the new year. The last 4 years have seen the Comets struggle in the new year, in the 21-22 season the Comets won just 4 of their final 13 games. They recovered in the playoffs, taking care of Dallas before falling to Florida in three games. In 22-23 they had a stretch where they won just 5 of 14 in the new year before beating Harrisburg twice in their final 2 games. Even in the 23-24 season when the Comets made the final they had an 8 game losing streak in the new year. Then last year they won just 2 of their final 8 before falling to Milwaukee in the playoffs. Is it the fact that KC beats up on St. Louis early in the season and gets their point total up and coast? Cause this year they’ve taken 4 of 6 off St. Louis and beaten Utica (bottom team in the standings as of this writing) twice. They’ve lost their 3 games not against those 2 teams, 2 of those 3 games being at home.

9. World Cup Success in Kansas City. I’m not sure what my metric for success is here. Given the world situation right now there’s a lot trepidation about this summer’s World Cup among a growing number of people it seems. I want the World Cup here to go off successfully, I’d also like to find a way to take my kids to a game like my dad did in 1994 without selling a kidney. I want the atmosphere to be fun and exciting, I want the fan fest at Liberty Memorial to be well attended and fun.