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San Jose visits Sporting KC in KCK Wednesday

Following a two-week break for the Concacaf Gold Cup group stage, Sporting Kansas City (8-3-2, 26 points) will continue its pursuit of first place in the Supporters’ Shield table when the San Jose Earthquakes (3-7-3, 12 points) visit Children’s Mercy Park for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Wednesday.

Tickets for the Western Conference clash are available via match sponsor SeatGeek , including family four packs.

Fans in attendance will also have the opportunity to receive a COVID-19 vaccination starting at 6 p.m. on the Mazuma Plaza, administered by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Health Department.

Sporting’s first fixture in 17 days will be shown live on Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest Plus, BallySports.com and the Bally Sports app with three hours of live coverage starting at 7 p.m. The contest will also air locally on Sports Radio 810 WHB (English) and La Grande 1340 AM (Spanish).

Sporting last took the field on the Fourth of July when it posted a 2-0 road win over the LA Galaxy with seven saves from standout goalkeeper Tim Melia and goals from captain Johnny Russell and fellow forward Khiry Shelton.

The team has enjoyed a period of rest since then and can soar atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with a win over San Jose and a New England Revolution loss or draw at Inter Miami CF on Wednesday night.

Seeking its first four-game regular season winning streak since August 2018, Sporting owns a 6-1-1 record since mid-May and sits just three points back of first-place Seattle Sounders FC.

Manager Peter Vermes’ side leads MLS in several attacking metrics, including goals (24), goals per match (1.85), expected goals (26.2), shots per game (16.8) and chances created per game (11.9). Winger Daniel Salloi has led the way with seven goals and three assists as one of 13 Sporting players on the MLS All-Star voting ballot at https://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/2021/vote.

The hosts will enter Wednesday high on confidence, having gone 8-0-2 in their last 10 regular season home matches since last October. Sporting has also scored in a club-record 22 straight regular season home games dating back to Aug. 10, 2019.

The Earthquakes, meanwhile, have endured significant troubles on their travels to Kansas City over the last decade and a half, prevailing just once in their last 16 visits across all competitions.

No team in MLS has more victories (six), points (19) or goals (20) since mid-May than Sporting.

The Earthquakes, however, have failed to win each of their last eight matches during the same time period. After starting the season 3-1-0 under third-year head coach Matias Almeyda, San Jose has gone 0-5-3 and slipped to 11th in the West. Among the team’s bright spots, 17-year-old wunderkind Cade Cowell leads the team in both goals (four) and assists (four). Almeyda’s men have also picked up back-to-back road results, tying Minnesota United FC 2-2 on July 3 and playing the Colorado Rapids to a 1-1 stalemate on Saturday.

Sporting and San Jose are slated to meet for the third time in less than eight months. The most recent tilt saw Kansas City claim a 3-1 road win on May 22 behind goals from Salloi, Alan Pulido and Jaylin Lindsey.

The sides also squared off in the opening round of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs at Children’s Mercy Park, scrapping to a 3-3 thriller before Melia saved all three San Jose penalty kicks to give his team an unforgettable shootout victory. Sporting is 7-1-3 in its last 11 matches against San Jose in all competitions.

Wednesday marks the start of a busy run of games for Sporting, who will play nine times in 32 days between July 21 and Aug. 21. That ledger includes eight league fixtures and a highly anticipated Leagues Cup battle against LIGA MX giant Club Leon on Aug. 10 at Children’s Mercy Park.

The squad’s depth with therefore be put to the test, especially with Mexico’s Pulido and U.S. midfielder Gianluca Busio on international duty at the Gold Cup and Lindsey (hamstring), Gadi Kinda (foot), Remi Walter (knee) and Roberto Puncec (undisclosed) all listed as questionable on the club’s player availability report.

On the San Jose sideline, Tommy Thompson is out with a knee ailment, U.S. midfielder Jackson Yueill will be absent for Gold Cup duty, and Carlos Fierro (thigh), Judson (lower back) and Benji Kikanovic (thigh) are all questionable.

Story from Sporting KC

U.S. Men’s National Team meets Canada today in Concacaf Gold Cup match in KCK

The U.S. Men’s National Team will meet Canada at 4 p.m. today in Concacaf Gold Cup soccer action from Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Gianluca Busio, a 19-year-old Sporting Kansas City midfielder, is on the team for the United States. He was prominent in Thursday’s match, and was credited with an assist. Daryl Dike scored twice for the United States.

Nicholas Gioacchini, from Overland Park, Kansas, who is currently playing professional soccer in France, also is on the U.S. Men’s Team.

The U.S. has won its first two games, both played in Kansas City, Kansas, and will have a berth in the quarterfinals, the same as Canada.

The USMNT beat Haiti, 1-0, on July 11, and also Martinique, 6-1, on Thursday at Children’s Mercy Park.

Canada beat Haiti 4-1 on July 15, and beat Martinique 4-1 on July 11.

The United States will need a win today to be the Group B victor, as Canada has scored one more goal than the United States in its previous two games.

The match will be broadcast on Fox, Univision and TUDN.

For ticket information, see seatgeek.com.

To see a story about the July 15 game between the U.S. and Martinique, see https://wyandotteonline.com/category/sports/sporting-kc-sports/.

Sporting’s Busio impresses in 6-1 USMNT win

Midfielder Gianluca Busio started his first match for the U.S. men’s national team and earned his first assist with a cross to Nicholas Gioacchini late in the 6-1 victory over Martinique. (Photo copyright 2021 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

7,500 soccer fans stayed up late Thursday night at Children’s Mercy Park to watch the United States men’s national soccer team defeat Martinique 6-1 in a Gold Cup group stage match. The win sets up a showdown with rival Canada in the final game of the group stage on Sunday.

The match was the first national team start for Sporting Kansas City fan favorite Gianluca Busio. The 19-year-old midfielder posted his first national team assist, and nearly his first goal.

Busio featured prominently in the game, getting cheers from the crowd with each touch. He took all the corner and set piece kicks for the squad and kept a tight rein on the action in the center of the pitch.

Daryl Dike scored first for the U.S. in the 15th minute, heading in the ball off a pass from Matthew Hoppe.

Eight minutes later, Busio came within a few inches of his first international goal but banged his shot off the crossbar. A Martinique defender vainly attempted to flip away the rebound but scored an own goal to put the U.S. ahead by 2.

Miles Robinson’s header put the U.S. ahead 3-0 in the 49th minute, and Dike earned a brace in the 59th minute by chipping the ball over Martinique’s onrushing goalkeeper.

Martinique got a few dangerous chances on counterattacks midway through the second half, and clawed back a goal in the 64th minute on a penalty kick.

Busio earned his assist on the final goal of the match. He got the ball near the right corner of the penalty area and pushed up the side of the box. His cross found Nicholas Gioacchini 6 yards out from the mouth of the goal for an easy finish and a 6-1 win.

The win assures the U.S. team of advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament, but winning the group and a more advantageous seed will be theirs with a win over Canada on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The game will kick off at 4 p.m.