Raphael Wicky Urges Sporting KC to Build Confidence Ahead of Crucial Seattle Sounders Clash

Sporting Kansas City manager Raphael Wicky is hoping his side's recent upturn in form will provide the momentum and confidence needed as they prepare to face the Seattle Sounders in MLS action on Thursday.

Sporting KC head into the clash having won two of their last three league outings, highlighted by an impressive 2-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo. That result secured their first clean sheet of the 2026 campaign. Despite the improvement, Sporting remain at the foot of the Western Conference on 21 points—14 behind ninth-placed Seattle, who currently occupy the final playoff position with eight matches remaining.

While Wicky felt his team could have added more goals against Houston, he was delighted with their resilience and competitive edge.

"We had a chance to make it 3-0, and I think then it would be even harder for Houston to stay in the game," Wicky said. "We didn't, and 2-0 is always a tough result. I'm very pleased with what I saw, and I hope this gives the team confidence. I think over the last weeks, or even since the World Cup break, besides maybe two games, we've shown that we're competitive with most teams, so I'm happy with that."

Sounders Building Revival Under Schmetzer

Seattle Sounders enter the contest riding their own wave of revival. After enduring a frustrating 13-game winless stretch in MLS, Brian Schmetzer's side have responded with consecutive victories over Real Salt Lake and a 3-1 triumph against Minnesota United to climb back into the playoff picture.

Despite the recent surge, Schmetzer has urged his players to remain focused on disciplined execution across the pitch.

"Our structure, where we have a little bit of rotation between positions, is okay," Schmetzer said. "But the player who rotates into a different position has to understand the rules and responsibilities of where he's playing. You need to still be exciting, entertain the fans, do all that sort of stuff. I'm not trying to stifle any sort of creative moments. But we have to win games and make sure that we make a 2-0 lead, a 3-0 lead, and then we can kind of spitball and do what they want and have a little more joy."

Key Matchups and Key Stats

Playmaker Albert Rusnak will be central to Seattle's hopes after setting up two goals against Minnesota, taking his season tally to 12 assists. Over the past three seasons, Rusnak has registered 38 assists in MLS, trailing only Lionel Messi (49) and Evander (46).

For Sporting Kansas City, forward Andre Luiz is in prime form after registering a goal and an assist in the win at Houston. He became the first Sporting KC player to score and assist in a regular-season away match since Dejan Joveljic did so against the LA Galaxy in March.

Seattle boast a strong recent record against Sporting KC, remaining unbeaten in their last four encounters (W3 D1), including a 1-1 draw in Kansas City in May. Meanwhile, Sporting KC will be targeting consecutive away victories in MLS for the first time since August 2021.