Enemy Scouting Report - Sporting Kansas City
(image via Sporting Kansas City)
The new season is here, finally! December 2nd was the last Major League Soccer match for the Dynamo, but it has felt like an eternity if you ask me. And there is no better way to get the 2024 season started than taking on a fierce rival like Sporting Kansas City.
Preseason is preseason and we really must take it with a grain of salt. However, if we compare the two squads, Sporting Kansas City is healthy while the Dynamo currently have plenty of players out in the infirmary. The sting of being eliminated in the Western Conference Semifinal is still there for Sporting Kansas City. Especially after what they believe was a wrong call on a potential handball inside of the box by Erik Sviatchenko that was not awarded. Holding on to grudges is not good for your health people! Anyways, the biggest thing here is that some of the faces for Kansas City that Houston fans remember during the epic playoffs matches from nearly a decade ago are gone. Sporting KC declined contract options for both Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza at the end of last year. Zusi spent 15 years with the club, while Espinoza spent 14 years with the institution. Interestingly enough, former Houston Dynamo homegrown, Memo Rodriguez will now wear Zusi’s jersey’s number 8.
Expect a chippy match between foes as Peter Vermes will look to spoil the Houston home opener!
St. Louis CITY SC Preseason Record: 1W-1D-1L
Preseason results in the last 30 days:
January 26 – Sporting KC 3-3 Charlotte
January 30 – Nashville 2-1 Sporting KC
February 17 - Atlanta 1-3 Sporting KC
Past Match Staring XI - from 2023 (from mlssoccer.com)
2024 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: John Pulskamp, Tim Melia, Ryan Schewe
Defenders: Andreu Fontas, Robert Voloder, Daniel Rosero, Tim Leibold, Jake Davis, Logan Ndembe, Robert Castellanos, Zorhan Bassong, Kayden Pierre, Chris Rindov
Midfielders: Nemanja Radoja, Memo Rodriguez, Felipe Hernandez, Erik Thommy, Danny Flores, Remi Walter
Forwards: Johnny Russell, Alan Pulido, Daniel Salloi, Khiry Shelton, Alenis Vargas, William Agada, Ozzie Cisneros, Stephen Afrifa, Marinos Tzionis
Can Houston win their 2024 Major League Soccer home opener?
