Sporting KC
Sporting Kansas City at Austin FC Match Thread
Sporting Kansas City open up their 2025 MLS campaign with a trip to Austin FC and new head coach Nico Estevez
Sporting Kansas City at Austin FC
Time: 7:30 pm CST
Location: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas
How to Watch: Apple TV MLS Season Pass
Referee: Chris Penso
The Teams
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Sporting Kansas City
0-0-0, 0 points
T-1st in the West
Head Coach: Peter Vermes (17th season)
Availability Report: Khiry Shelton – Hamstring (Out), Jansen Miller – Back (Questionable)
Austin FC
0-0-0, 0 points
T-1st in the West
Head Coach: Nico Estevez (1st season)
Availability Report: Jimmy Farkarlun – Leg (Out)
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The starting 11 is a disappointment. How is it that Messi and Suarez can start tonight, after playing Wednesday on the road, but our players need extra rest? Those guys are almost 40 years old. Salloi shouldn’t be starting games for us anymore. I’d rather see Shapi and Afrifa at the wings. Manu and Shapi should be able to play 60-70 minutes by now. They were regular starters and in mid season before coming over here.
We have no concept of how good or bad Shapi is. What if he’s a level lower than Salloi?
The constant hate on Daniel is fascinating.
Just watch Daniel tonight. He is afraid of touching a player from the other team. He doesn’t challenge for any balls in the air. He will run in circles a lot without really going anywhere. He isn’t fast enough to beat any MLS left or right backs. What do you see he does well? Just curious what you think his strengths are?
Our two best chances against Miami both came from Daniel.
He just had a shot on goal and Agada launched the rebound into the stratosphere.
Salloi needs a strong 9 to help create space for him to cut in. He’s a technical player not a pacey player. His strength is being able to find space and hit a heavy ball or a curler.
He was poor last year. Who was good? Daniel has consistently been a solid player since 2021 albeit not a megastar. He wasn’t our worst player against Miami and got rated higher by Fotmob than Joveljic.
The hate on the guy is too much. Too hyperbolic and too much vitriol for the guy
If the best attribute of a winger is being technical, they need to find another position.
… Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery would like a word.
Speed fades. Technique doesn’t.
You are comparing Salloi with 2 of the best wingers of all time? Those 2 were faster at 40 then Salloi is now.
You said if the best attribute of a winger is being technical, they need another position. Neither Robben nor Ribery were the fastest players at their position. Their ability to create space for themselves and cut in and then shape the ball when they struck it towards goal is why they were good.
It’s fine. We’re not going to agree. But through the first 45 minutes, what has Thommy done? Very little. He’s been statistically worse than Salloi so far.
True. I said earlier I would have started Shapi and Afrifa at wingers. I’d love to see Tommy and Manu together in the midfield. Maybe we will see that later in the year.
Do you have any idea if Shapi can even play?
btw, Thommy was guarding absolutely nobody on that set piece goal.
but Daniel is the problem.
Shapi has 55 goals in 323 games according to Transfermarkt.
Salloi has 70 in 293.
I’m not sure Shapi is going to be what you’re hoping for.
The problem as I see it is that SKC/Vermes can’t seem to get the best out of a lot of players that come here and it we do then they get sold. It has been written that Vermes has a wage range and anyone out side of that is gone.
Shapi has 1 goal in the Champions League, 2 goals in Champions League Qualifying, 3 goals and 2 assists in the Europa League and 1 goal in Europa League qualifying. You are correct….we don’t know exactly how good Shapi is, but we do know Daniel has been really bad over the last 15 months. Shapi is also 2 years younger and the only natural right winger on the roster.
If Salloi is playing on the right wing, I’ve never seen him cut in and take a left footed shot. I don’t even know if he has a left foot. My problem with Salloi is more a mentality and toughness thing than a technical thing. He has always seemed the weakest link in the team to me other than one season when he had a lot of support down the left side and Gadi Kinda as an active, creative CM to play off of. As you said, he has to have a really strong supporting cast around him to do anything. He isn’t good enough to create anything on his own.
In MLS, most guys are one footed. Benny Feilhaber was essentially playing on a peg leg of a left and then had a really good right foot.
A player like Salloi needs good players around him to help create. That doesn’t mean he sucks. It means he needs a strong team. He’s delivered when the cast around him is good. Similarly, he’s been bad when the team around him has been bad.
He’s never been our weakest link. He’s always been our second best winger but that was competing against JFR. In the attack, Salloi has generally been better than Khiry (who at least pulled defenders out of space) and I’m not sure he was worse than Pulido dollar for dollar.
Well, because he does absolutely nothing to make this time better!! Tell me what he brings to the table. I’ll wait………
I think you all should talk about this on your next episode. I’m not hating on Salloi, but I would say I have been disappointed by him more often than I’ve been happy with him over the last 2-3 seasons. I think it’s a worthwhile conversation to have about whether or not that frustration is deserved with stats and the eye test.
Manu and Shapi not starting is not that disappointing since they just got here, I had some hope for Manu starting but none for Shapi. Joveljic not starting is much more of a head scratcher. I assume PV has some minute marks in mind for Manu and Joveljic.
Also probably want him to stay as fresh as possible for the game against Miami.
Messi and Suarez will take off plenty of games this year.
We have 0 chance of beating Miami by 2 goals on the road.
Ok.
Wait, what are the tie breaks? Don’t they just need to win by 1 goal? If there are some sort of away goal rules, they would benefit SKC, advancing with a 2-1 advantage. Surely there isn’t some rule that says Miami advance if the aggregate is 1-1?
Miami is currently up 1-0. SKC needs to win by 2 goals to advance regardless of the number of goals. Win by 1 goes to OT. Tie or lose they lose.
So they don’t need to win by 2 goals. They can win by 1 goal and win a shootout. Theoretically, anyway.
Miami will probably pound us by at least that since they are at home.
Agada….
Beautiful pass, but that finish… ugh
Can not wait for the subs because offensively this is about the same as last year
Agada! The more things change …..
Would have loved to have seen our best 11 play together from the star then sub in some other guys at 60 minutes.if a guy can play the second 45, they can play the first 45, take a 15 minute break at halftime, and play the first 15 minutes of the second half. They need game time together. I know Tommy was a winger in Germany, but he looks out of position. The starting 3 in midfield were outmatched. Radoja was out of position in the first 45 minutes. Seems like this game was poorly managed.
If memo is on the pitch, expect disappointment
I disagree. Memo is cheap as hell and was much better than Radoja in the attack. He has flaws, but that’s why he’s on the supplemental roster.
Cheap. That is the keyword.
Same could be said for other!!!