Starting XI is a biweekly series on SportingKC.com that highlights 11 of the biggest storylines and news updates from Sporting Kansas City, MLS and soccer around the globe. Click here to visit the Starting XI archive.
1. Prepping for Preseason
Sporting KC has unveiled the club’s full match schedule for the 2018 preseason, presented by Children’s Mercy. Manager Peter Vermes’ men will play seven friendlies in the state of Arizona prior to their regular season opener against New York City FC on March 4 at Children’s Mercy Park.
2. Feel the Draft
The first two rounds of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft will take place this Friday in Philadelphia. Sporting KC currently has two selections in the first round at No. 13 and No. 18 overall and zero picks in the second round. TheSuperDraft will be streamed live on MLSsoccer.com, the MLS YouTube channel and the MLS Facebook page, with live updates through MLS and Sporting KC social media channels.
3. Get in the Game
Major League Soccer announced on Friday the creation of eMLS, a new video-gaming league for competitive play within EA SPORTS™ FIFA 18. eMLS will pit the best FIFA 18 players from the U.S. and Canada, representing MLS clubs, against each other to determine who will represent the League in the EA SPORTS FIFA 18 Global Series Playoffs on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2018.
Each club will have its own process of selecting a player from its region to represent the team in eMLS competitive play. Sporting KC will announce in the near future the procedural details on how the club will select its player for the competition.
4. #MLSSoshies
With the new year comes the third annual #MLSSoshies, which will award the “Most Social Player” in Major League Soccer based on social media merits from the 2017 season. Sporting KC’s own Ike Opara is up for nomination, and rightfully so: his Twitter game is fire and his Instagram posts always evoke smiles. The #MLSSoshie voting poll closes tonight at 11 p.m. CT, so click here to cast your vote for Opara.
5. Away Days
Last Wednesday, SportingKC.com highlighted a marquee player from all 16 opponents scheduled to visit Kansas City during the 2018 MLS campaign. On Sunday, we shifted the focus to Sporting KC’s 17 away games, which will send the club to 17 different cities across the U.S. and Canada. And as you’ll quickly find out, there’s at least one great reason to plan a road trip around every road match throughout the regular season. So open your calendars, save dates and gather friends for a year full of Roaddrons with Sporting KC’s most passionate supporters.
6. SPR Starts
The Swope Park Rangers will play their first home game of the 2018 USL campaign on March 24 versus Seattle Sounders FC 2, the league confirmed on Friday. The USL also announced that the Rangers will open the season on the road, facing Reno 1868 FC at Greater Nevada Field on March 17.
7. Hadji Like That?
The Swope Park Rangers announced today that the club has signed striker Hadji Barry, who spent the previous two seasons splitting time between MLS and the USL with Orlando City SC and Orlando City B. The 25-year-old was Orlando City B’s leading scorer in 2017, scoring 10 goals in just 18 USL appearances.
8. Indoor Kings
Six Sporting Kansas City Academy teams were crowned champions at the U.S. Youth Futsal Central Regional Championships this weekend at the Mid-America West Sports Complex in Shawnee, Kansas. The Sporting KC U-12s, U-13s, U-14s, U-15s, U-17s and U-19s claimed titles on Sunday to qualify for the U.S. Youth Futsal National Championships, which will take place from Feb. 16-19 at New Century Fieldhouse and Roeland Park Sports Dome in Johnson County.
9. Rep the Crest
Sporting KC Academy midfielder Osvaldo Cisneros has joined the United States U-15 Boys’ National Team for a domestic training camp that kicks off the 2018-19 player cycle for the age group. Cisneros, a 13-year-old native of Omaha, Nebraska, is participating in his first-ever U.S. youth national team camp, which concludes this Saturday.
The U-15 camp comes shortly after U.S. Soccer’s inaugural Men’s Youth National Team Summit Camp, which saw 153 elite players from the U-16 through U-20 youth national teams train from Jan. 2-11 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Four Sporting KC Academy products competed at last week’s event, including U-16 forward Tyler Freeman, U-17 forward and Sporting KC Homegrown Player Gianluca Busio, U-18 defender Cameron Duke and U-19 defender and Sporting KC Homegrown Player Jaylin Lindsey.
10. Preki Joins Seattle
Sporting Legend and longtime Kansas City midfielder Preki has joined the Seattle Sounders FC technical staff as an assistant coach. The 2000 MLS Cup champion and two-time MLS MVP served as the head coach of Saint Louis FC during the 2017 USL campaign.
11. Reds Sink City
A busy weekend of European soccer saw one particular match grab headlines as Liverpool handed Manchester City its first defeat of the English Premier League season with a thrilling 4-3 victory at Anfield. Manchester City had cruised to 20 wins and two draws across their first 22 league fixtures, but an upstart Liverpool side exploded for three goals in nine second-half minutes to allay fears of a hangover following the departure of talismanic playmaker Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona.
Games to Watch (Jan. 15-18)
| DAY / TIME (CT) | GAME | COMPETITION | CHANNEL |
| Today, 2pm | Manchester United vs. Stoke City | English Premier League | NBCSN |
| Tuesday, 2pm | Monaco vs. Nice | French Ligue 1 | beIN SPORTS |
| Wednesday, 12pm | Atletico Madrid vs. Sevilla | Spanish Copa del Rey | beIN SPORTS |
| Wednesday, 1:45pm | Chelsea vs. Norwich City | English FA Cup | FS1 |
| Wednesday, 2pm | Espanyol vs. Barcelona | Spanish Copa del Rey | beIN SPORTS |
| Thursday, 2:30pm | Leganes vs. Real Madrid | Spanish Copa del Rey | beIN SPORTS |
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