'It's now or never' – Janssen urges Portland to keep pressure on playoff spots
Timbers face must-win stretch as playoff race tightens
The Portland Timbers head into their meeting with Sporting Kansas City just outside the Western Conference playoff places and looking to end a damaging slump.
Portland sit 10th in the West on 32 points, four points behind LA Galaxy in the race for the final wildcard spot with seven games to play. The run-in comes after a difficult international break, with the Timbers winless in four straight matches and losing each of the last three, including a 3-1 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes last time out.
Forward Vincent Janssen says the team must respond now.
"It's now or never for the next couple of games," he said. "That's the situation we've put ourselves in, and that's the situation we're trying to get ourselves out of, too. I've heard these guys say whenever you get into these playoffs, everything is possible. So, I think that's our goal. Get in there, and we'll figure it out from there. But I think we do have the quality and the ability to get there."
Sporting KC look for momentum
Sporting KC prop up the West with 21 points, but two wins in their last four games have given them some hope. The 15-point gap to the Galaxy looks too big for a playoff push after a last-gasp 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders last time out.
Head coach Raphael Wicky remains positive about the direction of the team.
"It's a game which hurts because I think we've deserved way more than losing the game in the last minute," he said when asked about the Seattle result. "But the team have responded really well to that because they feel they performed well. The way they have played for the last two months has been interesting and is going in a very good direction, and it gives them more confidence."
Players to watch
Sporting Kansas City – Andre Luiz
Andre Luiz has scored a goal in four straight league games, the first player to do so for Sporting KC since Dejan Joveljic in May-June 2025. The last longer streak by a Sporting player was Johnny Russell's eight straight games in September-October 2021.
Portland Timbers – James Pantemis
James Pantemis made five saves in Portland's loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, his 10th MLS game in 2026 with five or more saves. He joins Aljaz Ivacic (2022) as the second goalkeeper in the club's MLS era to record 10+ games with five or more saves in a single regular season.
Match context
Portland have won four straight matches against Sporting KC, most recently a 6-0 victory in May. The Timbers have three other four-game regular-season MLS winning streaks against a single opponent – Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, Seattle – but have never recorded five straight wins against one team.
Portland need one more victory for their 14th straight regular season with double-digit wins. They are looking to join Seattle as the only MLS clubs with at least 10 regular-season victories in all 14 seasons played since 2013.
Sporting KC have scored three goals in each of their last two home matches, their first time with three or more goals in consecutive home matches since August-September 2024. They have had three straight home regular-season matches with three or more goals once in team history, in July 2016.
OPTA win probability: Sporting Kansas City 32.4% – Draw 25.5% – Portland Timbers 42.1%