Time to lock in for the World Cup

On this week’s Shade of Blue, the crew is letting World Cup fever take over. MLS and Sporting KC are on break, Messi and Argentina have landed on Kansas City soil, and the USMNT got a nice warm-up win.

Several members of the KC Soccer Journal took part in a panel at the Olathe Public Library last Friday to talk soccer, expectations for the Americans, and what our city can expect festivities begin. Thank you to everyone that came out to join the discussion!

With La Albiceleste landing to fanfare in the Berkeley Riverfront, it begs the question: Might there be other players landing in KC this summer, but to play for Sporting KC? Our show is still holding out hope, especially after listening to Peter Malouk and David Lee, who are still looking to add four to seven players.

The KC Current have won four of their last five matches. But it doesn’t exactly feel like the tide has changed just yet. They sit in 6th place at the moment and look like they can stay in the top half of the league. However, that’s quite the shift in expectations from the last couple of seasons.

It was a nice win for the USMNT over Senegal last weekend as we got our first look at the official World Cup roster. Christian Pulisic is back on track, Balogun saw the ball go in the back of the net, and – perhaps most importantly – we got our first meme-able moment.

Find the KC Soccer Journal wherever you get your podcasts. Please subscribe, rate, & review! Feel free to yell at Cody @ThatCodyTho, Thad @TheBackpost, Carrie @crobbie20, and Robert @SpKCLife.

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The 2026 Shades of Blue Soccer Show is officially sponsored by CORE Outdoor Equipment! Keep an eye out for giveaways and other fun things we will be doing this year, thanks to our new friends.