Category: Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City striker Alan Pulido has been selected to the Mexican Men’s National Team for two upcoming matches in the Netherlands, the Mexican Football Federation announced earlier this week.

Pulido was voted MLS Player of the Week on Monday after bagging two goals in a 2-1 road victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday at BBVA Stadium.

Pulido will join a 26-player squad assembled by head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino for international friendlies against the Netherlands on Oct. 7 in Amsterdam and Algeria on Oct. 13 in The Hague.

Mexico’s showdown with the Netherlands will be shown live at 1:45 p.m. Oct. 7 on ESPN2, the ESPN app, TUDN and UniMas, while the game versus Algeria will air live at 2 p.m. Oct. 13 on Univision and TUDN.

Pulido, who joined Sporting Kansas City last December on a club-record transfer fee from Chivas de Guadalajara, has recorded five goals in 13 career caps for Mexico. He notably represented his country at the 2011 Copa America and 2014 World Cup and last played for El Tri in September 2018.

Following the friendly match against Algeria, Pulido will adhere to mandated health and safety protocols in accordance with international travel before rejoining Sporting Kansas City later this month for the final stretch of the MLS regular season.

Now in his first MLS season, Pulido has played an integral role for a Sporting Kansas City side that occupies third place in the Western Conference. The forward is tied atop the club scoring chart with six goals in all competitions, including a brace in Saturday’s 2-1 road victory over the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Stadium.

He also has a team-leading four assists, three of which came this summer at the historic MLS is Back Tournament in Walt Disney World. In Pulido’s nine regular season starts, Sporting owns a 6-2-1 record with an average of 2.2 goals per game.

Pulido, 29, is part of a star-studded Mexican roster that includes European-based forwards Jesus Corona (FC Porto) and Raul Jimenez (Wolverhampton) as well as MLS standouts Rodolfo Pizarro (Inter Miami CF) and Jonathan dos Santos (LA Galaxy).

A native of Ciudad Victoria, Pulido has featured for Mexico at the U-20, U-23 and senior levels. He led El Tri to the 2011 Concacaf U-20 Championship title, scoring three goals at the tournament, before making five appearances at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia as Mexico finished in third place.

In April 2012, Pulido and the Mexico U-23s hoisted the Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Tournament title at Children’s Mercy Park. The semifinal and final matches both took place in Sporting’s home stadium, with Pulido scoring in a 3-1 semifinal victory over Canada. He finished as the competition’s leading scorer with five goals, helping Mexico book their place at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and guided El Tri to the Toulon Tournament championship later that year in France.
Pulido made his senior international debut on Jan. 29, 2014, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 friendly win against South Korea in San Antonio, Texas. He added another goal in a 2-2 friendly draw with the United States over two months later and was selected to Mexico’s 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Pulido scored his fifth Mexico goal in a friendly win over Iceland in February 2017 and most recently featured in friendlies against Uruguay and the U.S. in September 2018.

• Story from Sporting KC

Forward Alan Pulido scored a pair of goals to lead Sporting Kansas City to a hard-fought 2-1 road victory against the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Stadium on Saturday night.

Homegrown midfielder Gianluca Busio provided assists on both goals as Sporting improved to 7-5-2 (23 pts.) on the season, with the Dynamo dropping to 3-5-7 (16 pts.).

In Sporting’s first game in 10 days following the postponement of last Sunday’s match with the Colorado Rapids, it was the Houston Dynamo that started on the front foot and created the first two chances of the game.

In the seventh minute, Adam Lundkvist’s cross from the left was diverted narrowly over the bar by Mauro Manotas before the Colombian striker again missed the target when well placed in the 16th minute.

Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia was forced into a pair of saves early, including a stop to deny Darwin Quintero what would’ve been his third goal of the season against SKC.

At the other end, Busio – playing in a more advanced position on the night – threatened for the first time as he curled a left-footed effort just wide of the post.

In the 25th minute, Sporting KC earned a free kick approximately 30 yards from Houston’s goal and Johnny Russell almost produced a spectacular strike but his effort skimmed the roof of the net on its way over the bar.

Sporting KC took the lead in the 34th minute after a devastating counterattack. Ilie Sanchez picked off a loose pass in the midfield and fed Busio who in turn played an inch-perfect pass into the path Pulido.

The designated player found himself alone dribbling at Kiki Struna and, after turning the Slovenian inside out, fired a low shot into the corner to give Sporting KC a precious lead heading into halftime.

Houston controlled the opening period of the second half but the introduction of Roger Espinoza turned the tide in the 61st minute, with the Honduran making his first appearance since Aug. 29 after recovering from injury.

Espinoza’s presence gave Sporting KC added impetus in the midfield and the chances soon started flowing for the visitors.

First, Pulido surged at the Houston backline before slipping Khiry Shelton in alone with Marko Maric, but Shelton’s low strike was well repelled by the Houston goalkeeper before Russell’s follow-up was parried away.

Two minutes later, Pulido again showed his creative tendencies as he played Russell in on goal but the Scotsman’s right-footed effort was blocked by Maric.

The second goal was coming and it finally arrived in the 73rd minute. Espinoza slipped a pass into the path of Busio who found Pulido with a brilliant first-time pass and the Mexican striker did the rest, lofting an excellent finish over Maric and into the side-netting to make the score 2-0.

At just 18 years of age, Busio now has three assists on the season and is the youngest player in MLS to have multiple assists in 2020.

With the game getting increasingly testy in the closing stages – nine yellow cards were shown on the night, including seven after the 70th minute – Houston found a route back into the game when Sam Junqua headed home his first professional goal off Quintero’s corner in the 84th minute.

The Dynamo piled numbers forward in the closing stages looking for an equalizer, but aside from substitute Niko Hansen’s effort that flew high and wide, Sporting held firm to clinch all three points and improve to 3-1-1 on the road in the 2020 regular season.

Sporting KC now returns home to prepare for a Wednesday night clash with Eastern Conference foe the Chicago Fire at Children’s Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on FOX Sports Kansas City and Sports Radio 810 WHB.

• Story from Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City (6-5-2, 20 points) and the Houston Dynamo (3-4-7, 16 points) will launch into the pivotal home stretch of the 2020 MLS regular season on Saturday night when they renew their longtime Western Conference rivalry at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The fourth meeting of the year between the clubs will kick off at 7 p.m., with FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports GO providing three hours of live coverage starting at 6:30 p.m. Supporters can also catch the action locally on ESPN 94.5 FM and La Grande 1340 AM, while viewers beyond the FOX Sports Midwest can stream the contest on ESPN Plus.
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Under the direction of 12th-year manager Peter Vermes — who will look to become the fifth MLS head coach to hit 150 regular season wins on Saturday — Sporting enters the weekend on full rest after last Sunday’s road tilt against the Colorado Rapids was postponed to Oct. 21.

The schedule rearrangement means Sporting will play nine regular season matches in a 30-day period for the first time in club history, a challenging stretch that will begin in earnest at BBVA Stadium.

Both sides will view Saturday’s showdown as an opportunity to get back on track at a critical juncture of the campaign.

Sporting has gone 1-4-2 in their previous seven matches but remains in third place, four points behind co-leaders Seattle and Portland in the congested Western Conference table.

The Dynamo, meanwhile, sit a point below the eighth and final playoff spot and will be seeking their first victory since defeating Sporting by a 2-1 scoreline on Sept. 5. Head coach Tab Ramos’ men have collected three draws and two losses since then, including a 1-1 road draw versus Nashville SC in their most recent fixture last Saturday.

The unpredictable and ultra-competitive West currently sees just nine points separating first place Seattle and ninth-place Houston. Following the conclusion of the 23-game regular season, the conference’s top eight teams will advance to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, which will once again feature a single-elimination format with the higher seed playing host through MLS Cup on Dec. 12.

Sporting winger Johnny Russell made an undeniable impact in 2018 and 2019, landing Offensive Player of the Year honors for the club as one of the league’s most dynamic attackers. The Scottish international has carried that form into the fall of 2020, as he has scored each of Sporting’s last four goals dating back to Sept. 13 to take his team-leading tally to six on the season. Russell has become the fourth player in Sporting history to bag four consecutive regular season goals, and his three-game scoring streak is tied for the second-longest in MLS this year.

On the Houston sideline, playmaker Darwin Quintero has built one of the best attacking resumes in MLS. He is one of two players with at least five goals and seven assists, an impressive haul that includes two goals and four assists in his previous two appearances against Sporting on Aug. 25 and Sept. 5 — both of which resulted in Dynamo victories.

However, Houston faced a recent personnel setback when star winger Alberth Elis was transferred to Portuguese club Boavista last month. His absence will likely be filled by fellow winger Niko Hansen and striker Mauro Manotas, who notably has eight goals in his last 11 appearances versus Sporting across all competitions.

Saturday will serve up the fourth and final regular season meeting between Sporting and Houston in 2020. Vermes’ side claimed an emphatic 4-0 triumph way back on March 7 in the Children’s Mercy Park home opener, receiving goals from Alan Pulido, Roger Espinoza, Gadi Kinda and Khiry Shelton in a rampant, wire-to-wire performance.

The Dynamo have since punched back with two wins of their own, including an eye-opening 5-2 decision at Children’s Mercy Park on Aug. 25 and a 2-1 home triumph on Sept. 5.

With a crowded schedule on the horizon and multiple players unavailable — defenders Matt Besler and Luis Martins are out injured, while Kinda will serve a one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation — Vermes will leverage his squad’s depth against a Houston outfit that boasts a strong bill of health.

After battling Houston, Sporting will return to Kansas City for a pair of home matches against Eastern Conference opponents next week at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting will play host to Chicago Fire FC at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday before welcoming expansion side Nashville SC at 6:30 p.m. next Sunday, Oct. 11. Tickets for both games are available at SeatGeek.com.

• Story from Sporting KC