Grab Some Pine Pull up a bench. Bay Area sports, Michigan, and a model or two.
October 8, 2026
Americans in MLS

The MLS wild card is the night after Haiti, and five of the 28 are in the race

Four Eastern Conference clubs sit within one point of each other from seventh to tenth. Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Matt Freese, Justin Ellis and Miles Robinson play for them. Eighth and ninth meet in a one-game wild card on November 18, the day after the United States plays Haiti in Cincinnati.

EG
Eli GuerreroOct 8, 20264 min read
Every call on this site goes on a public ledger and gets graded. The misses stay up.
Matt Freese, in the yellow United States goalkeeper kit, runs with the ball held in both gloves against Belgium, with stewards and spectators behind him.

The Eastern Conference has four clubs within one point. Orlando City is seventh with 34. Red Bull New York, New York City FC and FC Cincinnati are eighth, ninth and tenth with 33 each, and Cincinnati has a game in hand. Each of the first three has seven league matches left. Cincinnati has eight.

Five of the 28 players who went four for four with the United States this fall play for those clubs. Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti play for Red Bull New York, Matt Freese for New York City FC, Justin Ellis for Orlando, and Miles Robinson for Cincinnati.

Where they finish matters past the playoff line. MLS sends its top seven in each conference straight to a best-of-three first round, which starts November 20. Eighth and ninth play a single elimination wild card on Wednesday, November 18, at the higher seed's stadium. The United States plays the second leg of its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Tuesday, November 17, at 7 p.m. Eastern. The first leg is away on November 14.

The five, by the clock#

PlayerClub, placeLeague minutesStartsFall window minutes
Matt FreeseNew York City FC, 9th2,340 of 2,43026 of 2745 of 360
Julian HallRed Bull New York, 8th2,198 of 2,43025 of 27209 of 360
Adri MehmetiRed Bull New York, 8th2,046 of 2,43025 of 2780 of 360
Miles RobinsonFC Cincinnati, 10th1,480 of 2,34019 of 2663 of 360
Justin EllisOrlando City, 7th1,313 of 2,43016 of 27132 of 360

Freese and Hall sit at opposite ends of the same question. Freese has missed 90 league minutes all season and played one half of the window, against Peru. Hall appeared in all four national team matches, started two of them and scored in three. He has also played 90 percent of his club's league minutes.

Mehmeti started 25 of Red Bull New York's 27 league matches and one of the four in the window, against Chile. Robinson started that match too and played 63 minutes. It was his only appearance of the four. He was not dressed against Mexico and was an unused substitute against Peru and Canada. At Cincinnati he has started 19 of 26.

Ellis has the smallest club share of the five, 54 percent, and a fresh injury. Jeff Carlisle of ESPN reported that he had been limping since a hit from Stephen Eustaquio in the 21st minute against Canada on Tuesday. He scored eight minutes later and went off at halftime. A U.S. Soccer spokesperson told ESPN he has a right lower-leg contusion and was being evaluated. Orlando plays Columbus on Saturday, and the club has not said whether he will play.

What the seven matches decide#

From Saturday to Decision Day on November 7, Orlando, Red Bull New York and New York City FC each play seven matches, 630 minutes. Orlando's run includes two midweek away games, at Toronto on October 14 and at Chicago on October 28, and a home match against New York City FC on October 24, with Ellis and Freese on opposite sides if both are fit. Cincinnati plays eight.

MLS plays nothing between Decision Day and the wild card, so a November call-up costs these clubs no league match. It can cost one of them a player for the wild card.

That is where the club's interest and the player's part. For Red Bull New York, the best case is seventh. Hall and Mehmeti could then play for their country on the Tuesday night and be back for a first round that starts no earlier than the Friday. Finish eighth or ninth, and the club plays a match it cannot lose the day after the second leg. The same holds for Freese and New York City FC, and for Ellis if Orlando slips a place.

Cincinnati's version is stranger. If it finishes eighth, it hosts the wild card at TQL Stadium on the Wednesday, the night after the national team plays there.

For the players, the interest runs the other way. Haiti is the first match of this cycle that counts, and a forward with three goals in four caps wants to be on that team sheet. Hall keeps his place there by playing, and Red Bull New York has 630 league minutes left before the window opens.

Sources: MLSsoccer.com, conference standings, and "Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs: Key dates, schedule information" (published March 16, 2026; first round dates added October 7); ESPN, MLS season statistics and club schedules for Orlando City, Red Bull New York, New York City FC and FC Cincinnati; U.S. Soccer, starting elevens, lineup notes and match reports for USMNT vs. Peru (September 26), Chile (September 29), Mexico (October 3) and Canada (October 6), 2026, with the Canada substitution minutes from ESPN's match data; U.S. Soccer, "U.S. Soccer Selects Cincinnati to Host Home Leg of Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal in November," September 15, 2026; ESPN, Jeff Carlisle, "Youthful USMNT rises to the challenge presented by feisty, physical Canada," October 6, 2026.

Filed under USMNT

More on Matt Freese

His page →
Schwake made it four goalkeepers in four wins, and Freese has 45 minutes
USA 1, Canada 0

Schwake made it four goalkeepers in four wins, and Freese has 45 minutes

The United States beat Canada 1-0 at Allianz Field in St. Paul on October 6. Justin Ellis scored in the 29th minute from Alex Freeman's cross, and Brian Schwake made three saves in his first start. That finished the fall window at four wins from four, with 12 goals, two clean sheets and all 28 players capped. Four different goalkeepers started the four matches. Matt Freese, who was in goal when the World Cup ended against Belgium, played 45 of the 360 minutes and was not dressed against Canada. Freeman, Auston Trusty, Malik Tillman and Gio Reyna took the most minutes, and Reyna was the only player to start all four. The Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti is November 14 and 17, and Ellis is being evaluated for a lower-leg contusion.

Eli GuerreroOct 7, 20264 min read
The U.S. beat Mexico 3-0 with Kochen in goal and Freese on the bench
USA 3, Mexico 0

The U.S. beat Mexico 3-0 with Kochen in goal and Freese on the bench

The United States beat Mexico 3-0 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on October 3, with goals from Julian Hall, Cavan Sullivan and Malik Tillman. Jeff Carlisle of ESPN reported that Mexico had 60 percent of the ball in the first half, and all three goals followed Mexico errors. Mauricio Pochettino started eight players who held a cap before this camp and three who did not: Diego Kochen in goal, Hall at striker and Sullivan beside him. Kochen played the first full match any goalkeeper has played in this window, while Matt Freese, who was in goal when the World Cup ended against Belgium, was an unused substitute and has 45 of 270 minutes. Damion Downs, the one forward capped before camp, has 19. Canada is next on October 6 in St. Paul, and the Nations League quarterfinal follows in November.

Eli GuerreroOct 4, 20264 min read

More on Miles Robinson

His page →
Tim Ream retired, and the back line that started in St. Louis needed Richards
Chile

Tim Ream retired, and the back line that started in St. Louis needed Richards

Tim Ream, 38, said before the United States played Chile in St. Louis on September 29 that he was retiring from the national team, telling the TNT broadcast that age was the biggest factor, as reported by Jeff Carlisle of ESPN. He finishes with 86 caps. The United States won 4-2 with what the federation called the youngest starting eleven of Mauricio Pochettino's tenure, and Mathis Albert, at 17 years and 131 days, became the youngest scorer in the program's history. Neil Pierre and Miles Robinson started at center back and Chile led 2-1 after 49 minutes. Chris Richards and Auston Trusty replaced them in the 63rd minute, Richards scored the winner, and Chile did not score again. Across two matches of this window the federation has started four different center backs. Richards has played all 450 league minutes of Crystal Palace's season, and he is the one center back in camp whose place looks settled. The open question for Mexico on October 3 is who plays beside him.

Eli GuerreroSep 30, 20264 min read
Tim Ream was 35 at his first World Cup and 38 when he captained the next one
Tim Ream

Tim Ream was 35 at his first World Cup and 38 when he captained the next one

Tim Ream retired from the United States national team on September 29, 2026, in St. Louis, before a 4-2 win over Chile. He finishes with 86 caps. His second cap came against Chile in January 2011. He fell out of the team after the 2011 Gold Cup, again during Jurgen Klinsmann's tenure, and again after the first qualifier of the 2022 cycle, and was named to the 2022 World Cup roster 12 days before the opener only after injuries to Miles Robinson and Chris Richards. He started all four matches in Qatar at 35. Sixty of his caps came after 2018. Mauricio Pochettino named him captain before the 2026 World Cup, where he started and captained four of five matches and became the oldest field player the United States has used at a World Cup.

Posey ThompsonSep 30, 20266 min read
Banks chose Germany. The U.S. lost a center back who plays every minute.
The switch

Banks chose Germany. The U.S. lost a center back who plays every minute.

Noahkai Banks, the 19-year-old Augsburg center back born in Honolulu and raised in Bavaria, accepted a call-up to Germany's under-21 team on Friday, September 18, and will file the one-time change of association that closes his United States eligibility for good. He played for the U.S. at the 2023 under-17 World Cup and at under-19 and under-20 level, sat in the senior camp in September 2025 without playing, said in February that the first U.S. invite made his choice clear, said on March 1 that he was very torn, declined the March camp, and was left out of the World Cup squad. He has started all four of Augsburg's Bundesliga matches this season and played every minute of the first three. The U.S. roster for the four fall friendlies carries Chris Richards, Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty at center back, and Tim Ream, 38, who started the World Cup round-of-16 defeat, is not on it.

Eli GuerreroSep 19, 20265 min read

On the record

Called Shots →
MissedOct 4, 2026

Matt Freese is the starting goalkeeper for the United States against Canada on 2026-10-06. Scored off the federation's published Starting XI for that match. It resolves yes if Freese is the goalkeeper named in the eleven; it resolves no if any other goalkeeper starts, including where Freese comes on as a substitute or is not dressed.

Filed with the Mexico result piece. Lineups, substitution minutes and the not-dressed list are from U.S. Soccer's match reports and Starting XI notes for Peru, Chile and Mexico; the Mexico pages were opened 2026-10-04. Window minutes were computed in a script that asserts 990 player-minutes per match. Freese's Belgium start is from U.S. Soccer's Belgium match report, opened 2026-10-04. Club minutes are from ESPN's league statistics, fetched 2026-10-04 (Freese 2,340 minutes, 26 starts, 26 appearances; New York City FC had played 26 league matches before camp opened on 2026-09-20). The November date is from U.S. Soccer's 2026-09-15 release.

Latest on the USMNT

The whole beat →
Does Mexico get the eleven Pochettino has not started yet?
Mexico

Does Mexico get the eleven Pochettino has not started yet?

The United States play Mexico at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on October 3, the third of four matches in this window. A federation source told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle the team has to beat Mexico, while Mauricio Pochettino has described the camp in terms of the next World Cup. Through Peru and Chile, Pochettino started eight and then six of the 15 players capped before the window, and Gio Reyna was the only man in both elevens. Twelve of the 15 have started exactly once. Six capped regulars who played in both matches have between 104 and 118 of the 180 regulation minutes, and Chris Richards has 27, so no one is worn down. A strongest eleven can be built from capped players at every position but striker, where four of the five forwards were uncapped when camp opened and the fifth, Damion Downs, has 23 league minutes this season.

Eli GuerreroOct 1, 20264 min read
Thirteen first caps fit in four friendlies. Thirteen auditions do not
The fall camp

Thirteen first caps fit in four friendlies. Thirteen auditions do not

The United States play Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada between September 26 and October 6 with a 28-man roster that the federation's own position list shows holding 13 uncapped players. Under IFAB Law 3, a senior international friendly allows up to eight substitutes, so the bench alone offers 32 appearances across the four matches, and all thirteen could be capped by the end of the Chile match. Starts are the scarce thing: 44 across the window, which splits to 150 minutes per outfield player and one match per goalkeeper if it were shared evenly. The thirteen arrive with very different club minutes. Ten are at half their club's available league minutes or better, and Mathis Albert and Zavier Gozo have 28 league minutes between them. Neil Pierre's 39.7 percent hides that he has played every Philadelphia Union league match since the World Cup break after none before it. Cavan Sullivan, who turns 17 on September 28, started six of the Union's 15 league matches before the break and all 11 since.

Eli GuerreroSep 24, 20265 min read
The minutes explain why Pulisic is out, but not why Weah is
The fall roster

The minutes explain why Pulisic is out, but not why Weah is

The first United States squad since the World Cup leaves out Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun, and Pochettino gave a reason for each of the three at his announcement on September 17. Measured against the September 14 pool snapshot, the club minutes back him up at the bottom of the ledger: eleven of the 25 covered players left out are under half their club's available league minutes, against one of the thirteen called. They do not back him up at the top. Six of those 25 are at 90 percent or more, including Timothy Weah, who has started all four of Marseille's league matches and started at Besiktas in the Europa League on the day the roster was named. The squad's average age is 22 years and nine months, more than four years younger than the World Cup roster, which is the selector the minutes actually reveal.

Eli GuerreroSep 19, 20265 min read