MLS Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands as Knockout Stage Nears

Major League Soccer is back to being one of the most unpredictable leagues in the world.

With almost two weeks of games in the books at ESPN's Wide World Sports of Complex, we have seen 78 goals.

Orlando City, Philadelphia, Columbus, San Jose and Portland have secured passage to the knockout round, which will feature the top two teams from each group, as well as the four best third-place teams.

But the bigger story developing in central Florida is how many top teams have struggled. Atlanta United, New York City FC, LA Galaxy and Seattle have combined for one point.

One victory could change how each of those clubs views its experience. But for now, their prospects look grim, and it may be more likely that a surprise champion emerges.

24. LA Galaxy (0-2-0; 0 points in Group F)

Yikes.

That is the nicest and shortest description we could come up with regarding L.A. Galaxy's time at MLS is Back.

In their first match, the Galaxy's latest big-money signing, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, wasted plenty of chances before scoring a consolation goal against Portland.

With Hernandez out with a calf injury and the defense still not functioning properly, the Galaxy suffered a humiliating 6-2 defeat to rival Los Angeles FC.

The Galaxy can only advance to the knockout round with a win over Houston, a massive overhaul of a minus-five goal differential and results that go their way elsewhere.

Given how poorly they have played in 180 minutes, it is hard to think we will even get to their possible advancement permutations.

          

23.  Colorado Rapids (0-2-0, 0 points in Group D)

At least Colorado showed some fight before suffering its second defeat.

Robin Fraser's team deserves credit for fighting back against Sporting Kansas City while down two men, but it gave away a critical point at the end of the match.

Even if the Rapids beat Minnesota United in their finale, they do not have a clear path to the knockout round, and they could be eliminated if Sporting KC earns a point versus Real Salt Lake.

        

22. New York City FC (0-2-0; 0 points in Group A)

New York City FC is the competition's biggest disappointment.

The reigning Eastern Conference regular-season champion produced a single goal against Philadelphia and Orlando and needs help to be one of the four best third-place teams if it beats Inter Miami on Monday.

Heber has only put two of his five shots on target, and the Pigeons missed Maxi Moralez, who led the league in assists in 2019, during the final third against Orlando.

The good news is Moralez's quad injury may not be as bad as first thought, and Alexandru Mitrita is expected to return to the starting lineup. But even an attacking masterclass may not be enough.

      

21. Vancouver Whitecaps (0-2-0; 0 points in Group B)

For 60 minutes, the pieced-together lineup Marc Dos Santos threw on to the field Wednesday looked like it would have success.

After that, the Whitecaps unraveled by allowing four goals to the San Jose Earthquakes, who buried them in the Group B basement. Their status at the bottom of Group B was further confirmed by a Sunday defeat to Seattle.

The problem moving forward will be consistency in the final third. Lucas Cavallini, Fredy Montero and Tosaint Ricketts did not travel to Orlando, which leaves Yordy Reyna and 20-year-old Theo Bair with the bulk of the scoring responsibilities.

20. Montreal Impact (0-2-0; 0 points in Group C)

Montreal's improvement from the loss to New England to the defeat against Toronto did not show in the standings.

Thierry Henry will continue to make an imprint on the team as the year goes on, but he needs more out of Maxi Urruti up top. After scoring three times in the two games before the shutdown, Urruti put a single shot on goal against New England and Toronto.

The Impact still have a small pathway to the knockout round. They must beat D.C. United to finish third in Group C and then work on goal differential to possibly sneak in as a third-place qualifier.

    

19. Atlanta United (0-2-0; 0 points in Group E)

Atlanta United misses Josef Martinez.

That is the on-the-surface takeaway since the Five Stripes have put seven of their 22 shots on target against the New York Red Bulls and FC Cincinnati.

If you go into more detail, the Five Stripes miss Darlington Nagbe and Julian Gressel, who departed for Columbus and D.C., respectively, in the offseason.

Speaking of Nagbe, Atlanta gets to see him Tuesday in what could be its final game at Wide World of Sports.

               

18. Inter Miami CF (0-2-0; 0 points in Group A)

Inter Miami may not have a point yet in Orlando, but it has put itself in a decent position to contend in the Eastern Conference if the regular season resumes after the tournament. 

Diego Alonso has some strong attacking pieces in Rodolfo Pizarro, Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza, and there are plenty of experienced MLS players throughout the squad, including Wil Trapp, Victor Ulloa and Luis Robles. 

The results are not there yet for the expansion side, but it has shown the most promise of the teams with zero points. 

            

17. Houston Dynamo (0-1-1; 1 point in Group F)

Houston's best soccer was played in the opening stanza of the 3-3 draw with LAFC.

Since then, the Dynamo have given up a two-goal lead, looked dreadful against Portland and lost Alberth Elis for the group-stage finale due to a red card.

At their best, the Dynamo can possess one of the best attacks in the league with Elis, Darwin Quintero and Mauro Manotas up top, but the consistency is not there yet.

            

16. D.C. United (0-0-2; 2 points in Group C)

If it were not for super-sub Federico Higuain, D.C. United would be languishing at the bottom of Group C alongside Montreal.

Higuain kickstarted the come-from-behind draw against Toronto FC and provided the lone goal versus New England.

That is where the list of positives stops for Ben Olsen's side. The Black and Red defense has allowed 35 shots, and luckily for it, Toronto and New England were wasteful with those chances.

For all its shortcomings, D.C. is still in better position than plenty of others to make the round of 16 with a win over Montreal.

15. FC Cincinnati (1-1-0; 3 points in Group E) 

No one expected FC Cincinnati to have more victories than NYCFC, Atlanta and the Sounders after two games.

Thursday's unexpected win over Atlanta United did not come easy as the second-year side sat back for long stretches instead of attacking the Five Stripes with a man advantage.

But Jaap Stam's club still found a way to dig out three points through a stunning strike from Frankie Amaya.

There is plenty of work left to be done with the Red Bulls next up on the schedule, and if FC Cincy fails to win, it could be hurt by its minus-three goal differential.

          

14. Sporting Kansas City (1-1-0; 3 points in Group D)

Khiry Shelton's re-introduction to MLS flew under the radar after Sporting KC signed Alan Pulido in the offseason.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft spent a year away from MLS at Paderborn in Germany and has come back a more lethal forward than he was in his first MLS stint with NYCFC and Sporting KC.

Shelton has scored two of the four goals netted by Peter Vermes' side, which sits third in Group D.

To become a real threat in the knockout round, Sporting KC has to clean up the defense that has allowed four goals, two each to Minnesota and Colorado.

The best test of that could come in a possible defensive stalemate with RSL in a match that guarantees automatic passage to the round of 16 for the winner.

          

13. New York Red Bulls (1-1-0; 3 points in Group E)

The New York Red Bulls couldn't have put in two more opposite performances to start Group E play.

Chris Armas' team benefited from a strong tactical game plan and an early Florian Valot goal to beat Atlanta United in its opener.

The Red Bulls followed up that quality win with zero shots on goal versus the Columbus Crew.

At least losing to Columbus right now can't be viewed as a total catastrophe since it looks like the best side in Orlando. We will find out much more about the Red Bulls depending on how they take care of business against FC Cincinnati, a team they should defeat to move on to the round of 16.

          

12. Chicago Fire (1-0-1; 3 points in Group B)

We have seen two versions of the Fire through 180 minutes at MLS is Back.

The Fire displayed plenty of fight while grinding out a 2-1 victory over Seattle in their opener, but were brought to a halt by San Jose Sunday night.

If Raphael Wicky’s side can find a middle ground by Thursday, it should power past Vancouver. The Fire also have the advantage of already playing once at 9 a.m.

A win over the Whitecaps would give the Fire automatic passage to the round of 16 and relegate the Sounders to potentially move on as a third-place side.

           

11. Seattle Sounders (1-1-1; 4 points in Group B)

The Seattle Sounders we have come to know and love finally showed up Sunday night.

Jordan Morris bossed the Vancouver defense with a goal and through his combination play with Raul Ruidiaz and Nicolas Lodeiro.

For now, the Sounders sit in second place, but due to Chicago's readjustment into Group B and its late start, they have to wait until Thursday to find out if they will advance automatically or be forced to move on as a third-place side.

If the Sounders drop to third, there is a possibility they land in an MLS Cup rematch with Toronto FC, should the Reds win Group C.

10. Minnesota United (1-0-1; 4 points in Group D)

Minnesota's first two defensive performances have alleviated some concerns about missing Ike Opara for the tournament.

The Loons have conceded a single goal in two matches and appear to be in the best shape to take first in Group D.

Minnesota needs a win against pointless Colorado and either a Sporting KC win over RSL or a draw in that match to top the group. Unfortunately, the reward for taking the Group D crown is an 11 p.m. ET kickoff July 26.

             

9. Real Salt Lake (1-0-1; 4 points in Group D)

Real Salt Lake has not done anything flashy since Freddy Juarez took over for Mike Petke as head coach last summer.

All the Claret and Cobalt have done is grind out results on a consistent basis, as they have with two clean sheets in Orlando.

RSL has a solid back line, led by Justen Glad and Aaron Herrera, and an experienced MLS goalkeeper in Zac MacMath.

This side will not outscore many teams in a shootout, but it will make life difficult for any opponent because of the organization in its spine.

             

8. New England Revolution (1-0-1; 4 points in Group C)

New England has played well enough to finish in the top two of Group C, but it feels like it has more in the tank.

Gustavo Bou and Adam Buksa both helped their confidence with goals in the games against Montreal and D.C., while Carles Gil has been a chance-creating machine.

Defensively, Bruce Arena's side has held opponents to five shots on goal, but one of those cost it three points against D.C.

If the Revs increase their goal tally and continue to limit attacks in the final third, they could make a long run in the tournament.

            

7. Toronto FC (1-0-1; 4 points in Group C)

Who needs Jozy Altidore when you have Ayo Akinola?

The 20-year-old forward is tied with LAFC's Diego Rossi for the tournament scoring lead with five goals, which has led to the conversation about where his international allegiances lie between the United States, Canada and Nigeria.

If it were not for a second-half collapse after both starting center backs were taken out against D.C., Toronto would already be through to the round of 16.

The Reds have won two of their last three meetings with New England and have the advantage of already playing at 9 a.m. ET. That could work in their favor as they look to top Group C.

                     

6. Orlando City (2-0-0; 6 points in Group A)

It took a fourth managerial hire since 2014 to get it right, but it appears Orlando City finally has a head coach who can lead it to the MLS playoffs.

Oscar Pareja has rejuvenated the Lions, who own wins over Inter Miami and NYCFC.

Chris Mueller has made a case for USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter, who has been present in Florida, to call him up when international play resumes, and Nani has been the midfield playmaker the Lions signed him to be.

If Orlando gets past Philadelphia on Monday, it will shift from tournament surprise to one of the favorites to finish on top.

San Jose became the first group winner with its triumph over Chicago on Sunday night.

The Quakes have gotten better with each game in Orlando, and their group finale was a coaching masterpiece from Matias Almeyda.

The Group B winner frustrated the Fire's attack with its man-marking system and found its attacking legs in the second half through goals from Cristian Espinoza and Chris Wondolowski.

The defensive performance was an upgrade from leaking three goals against Vancouver and should give the Quakes plenty of confidence going into the knockout phase.

Philadelphia has found a way to grind out two victories and move within 90 minutes of topping Group A.

Nineteen-year-old American Brenden Aaronson has impressed with his midfield play, and the defense, led by USMNT candidate Mark McKenzie, has been firm for the majority of 180 minutes.

The Union have not played their best game yet, but during the moments in which they are clicking, they are capable of creating goals like Tuesday's game-winner in which Jamiro Monteiro, Kacper Przybylko and Aaronson orchestrated a perfect counter-attack that featured a pair of well-timed dummies from Monteiro and a perfect assist by Aaronson to Przybylko.

Despite topping Group F through two matches, the Portland Timbers are not the story of the group, and they are not our highest-ranked team from the group, either.

While LAFC gets time in the spotlight, the Timbers have beaten the Galaxy and Dynamo with little trouble and have received consistent forward play from Jeremy Ebobisse.

The Timbers carry plenty of postseason experience through Steve Clark, Diego Chara, Diego Valeri and others, and they have set themselves up well for a deep run in the knockout round.

Caleb Porter retooled parts of the Crew lineup with the offseason acquisitions of Darlington Nagbe and Lucas Zelarayan, got more out of Pedro Santos and continued to receive goals from Gyasi Zardes in Columbus’ openers.

The Crew were a favorite to finish high in the East because Porter had a full offseason to further make his mark on the club.

An argument can be made that the Crew are the team to beat in the East, and with group-stage games counting toward the regular-season standings, they are the top squad on points.

If there were any concerns LAFC would miss Carlos Vela, they have been washed away by Diego Rossi, Bradley Wright-Phillips and others.

LAFC thrashed the Galaxy on Saturday thanks to four goals from Rossi, while Wright-Phillips and Brian Rodriguez have chipped in as well through two games.

The concession of five goals and shaky goalkeeper play may hurt LAFC in a knockout-round game, but it has proved throughout its existence it can outscore any team, no matter how tough the opposing defense is.