A times, there is just so much soccer we can’t keep up! Check out the Digital Crawl archives if you missed any stories. Plus, it’s a nice tie in for a similar segment at the end of every episode of the For the Glory KC podcast.

Mike Burns Mutually Parts Ways with SKC

On Thursday, Sporting Kansas City announced that the club has mutually agreed to part ways with Sporting Director Mike Burns.

#SportingKC has mutually parted ways with Sporting Director Mike Burns.

— Daniel Sperry (@danielsperrykc.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T16:04:41.570Z

Burns joined the team in the summer of 2024 after an eight-day stint in the Spring from Gavin Wilkinson. Wilkinson was promptly removed after a backlash around his prior conduct in the NWSL.

A reason for Burns’ departure wasn’t given, but it could be a multitude of things. One, he wasn’t a David Lee hire. Another could be Burns wanting to be the top guy, instead of reporting to someone else. Or perhaps Burns has something lined up already.

Mike Burns was generally regarded is pretty successful in his limited time in the role. He had a hand in selling Alan Pulido, for a transfer fee, to Chivas. That helped KC get out from under a bad contract for an often-injured player. Pulido’s replacement was an even better move, doing the first ever cash transfer within MLS with the LA Galaxy for striker Dejan Joveljic. Burns was also involved in moves to add Manu Garcia, sell Kayden Pierre for a rumored $1 million transfer fee and add players like Jansen Miller in the draft.

Of course, no Sporting Director hits on 100 percent of their signings, but that’s a pretty solid success rate in a short time in KC.

Wyatt Meyer Injury Update

Before the international break, Sporting KC picked up an injury in their 4-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids. Center back (who was perhaps playing left back at the time), Wyatt Meyer went down in a heap near his goal. His leg bent the wrong way and initially it was feared to be a serious knee injury. Head coach Rapha Wicky informed the press on Tuesday that it’s a “significant ankle injury.”

Despite the grim words and an unwillingness to commit to a timeline, Wicky wasn’t projecting Meyer to be out for a while. He said he’d for sure miss this weekend and perhaps the following game. Beyond that, he wouldn’t commit.

The gathered media asked about his potential replacements with Ian James returning from injury and Diego Borges getting his fitness up after a month off from training during his transfer saga. Wicky advised both players will be available, but he was unsure if they had 90 minutes in them.

Personally, I could see Jayden Reid, if healthy, slotting into that left center back spot in a back three. He’s defensively reliable, even if he doesn’t have the size of his CB counterparts. It’s not uncommon for a team playing three in the back to have non-traditional CBs fill the outside roles. The Columbus Crew often did this under former coach Wilfried Nancy and the USMNT use Joe Scally and Alex Freeman in this way on the right side of their back three at times.

Bassong Signs Long-Term Extension

Fan favorite Zorhan Bassong inked an extension with Sporting KC this week. His deal was set to expire after the 2026 season, but two-and-a-half additional guaranteed years were added to the deal, bringing his contract through the 2028-29 season. He also has two additional option years that could take the deal through 2030-31.

Zo joined ahead of the 2024 season and has already appeared in 51 games. He started out as a left back signing for the injured Logan Ndenbe but maybe made his biggest impact when he moved into the midfield. He’s yet to play in 2026 due to injury but told the KC Soccer Journal after the last game against Colorado he should be good to go for this upcoming weekend’s game against Real Salt Lake. In preseason he mostly played at left back, and with only one left back on the roster, perhaps that’s where Lee and Wicky see him.

Bassong was making just $114,966 in guaranteed compensation when the 2025 salaries came out. A bargain for a player getting as many minutes as he was. Perhaps we’ll find out he got a raise when the new salary numbers are released, though any increase may not hit until the new years of the deal kick in.

Capita Capemba Gets his P-1 Visa

On Tuesday, Rapha Wicky had no update on the status of new Angolan winger, Capita Capemba. However, things moved quickly since then. Sporting KC announced today that he has received his P-1 visa and is arriving in Kansas City. It seems unlikely he’d immediately be inserted into the lineup, but you never know. An appearance off the bench can’t be entirely ruled out.

This is a nice bit of news. #SportingKC www.sportingkc.com/news/five-th…

— Mike (@mikedkuhn.bsky.social) 2026-04-02T22:29:18.863Z

And he’s in KC doing photo shoots now too.

Temwa is Closer to a Return

Chris Armas gave an update on back-to-back NWSL MVP, Temwa Chawinga. She continues to be in training and is “getting very close” to a return to the field. The KC Current are back home on Saturday.

KC Current International Duty

The NWSL is on the verge of taking a break for the international window next week. So far, five Kansas City Current players have been called up by their national teams. The US Women’s National Team called in Ally Sentnor, who always seems to score for her country. The USWNT also called up Michelle Cooper, who had missed some time internationally as she recovered from an injury. The US U-20 Women’s National team also called up Katie Scott, who has been forced into duty as a midfielder instead of her natural right back spot. Expect her back in defense for USA. Lorena has also received the call to represent Brazil. Finally, new loanee, forward Kyra Carusa, is off to represent Ireland.

In KC related news, former midfielder Claire Hutton will join the full national team and former forward Alex Pfeiffer, is also with the U20s.

USMNT Schedule:

• vs Japan, SAT, April 11 @ 4:30PM CT (San Jose)
• vs Japan, TUES, April 14 @ 9:00PM CT (Seattle)
• vs. Japan, FRI, April 17 @ 8:00PM CT (Colorado)

US U-20 WNT Schedule: 

• vs. Brazil U20s, SAT, April 11 @ 6:30PM CT (CPKC Stadium – Kansas City)
• vs. Brazil U20s, WED, April 15 @ 2:00PM CT (Riverside Stadium – Kansas City)

Ireland Schedule: 

• vs. Poland, WED, April 15 @ 1:00AM CT (Gdańsk, Poland)
• vs. Poland, SAT, April 18 @ 9:00PM CT (Dublin, Ireland)

Brazil Schedule: 

• vs. South Korea, SAT, April 11 @ 8:30PM CT (Brazil)
• vs. Zambia, TUES, April 14 @ 8:30PM CT (Brazil)
• vs. Canada, SAT, April 18 @ 8:30PM CT (Brazil)

All the players will miss the Teal Rising Cup for KC this week due to their international duty. Speaking of that competition, all the games will be aired free on ION TV if you can’t make it out to the stadium.

KC Comets Playoff Schedule

The Kansas City Comets played the eventual Supporters Shield winning San Diego Sockers extremely close this past weekend but ultimately came up short. That means they get to face the St. Louis Ambush twice this coming week to determine who advances to face the Sockers in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, the Milwaukee Wave face the Empire Strykers with the winner playing the Baltimore Blast for a chance to head to the Championship.

Below is the Comets opening round schedule:

• HOME vs St. Louis, Monday, April 6th @ 7:00PM CT
• AWAY at St. Louis, Wednesday, April 8th @ 7:05PM CT

2026 FIFA World Cup Updates

The field for the 2026 Men’s FIFA World Cup is set after the final qualifying games this past week. Turkiye are the final team in the USMNT’s group, suddenly upping the difficulty of that group a bit. Particularly after the US Men struggled in back-to-back losses to Belgium (5-2) and Portugal (2-0).

But it could be worse. Italy has now failed to qualify for their third consecutive World Cup after a penalty kick shootout loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina. And that’s with an expanded 48-team field!

Below is the full field:

Quick Hits

• UEFA are trying to keep costs down for the 2028 Euros. Tickets to cost less than £30, which is cheaper than parking for most 2026 FIFA World Cup games.
• The Canadian Premier League is going to do a trial for “daylight offside.” (graphic below)

• Jake Davis with a reasonable number of hot dogs consumed. Some of his peers… not so much!

• And we’ll leave you with this fun little moment. Earlier Zorhan Bassong echoed Jake Davis’ line that he’d play anywhere, including goalkeeper. Jake thinks he should be the emergency keeper though.