MLS: Power Ranking after the World Cup

Last Updated on julho 22, 2026 7:55 pm by Erwin Noguera

The World Cup is over. Spain are world champions. And MLS is back. Matchday 16 kicked off on July 16 with a full slate of games, and the league returned looking very different from the one that went on pause in May. New faces, new managers, and one massive rivalry result that flipped the conversation in Los Angeles. Here is where every team stands heading into the second half of 2026.

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Nashville SC: Still the Best Team in the MLS

Nashville did not need the break. They picked up exactly where they left off. Despite being outplayed by Atlanta United for stretches of their first game back, Shakur Mohammed headed home a late winner to seal a 1-0 result and extend one of the most remarkable runs in MLS history. Nashville have one loss all season. They sit atop the Supporters’ Shield standings with 33 points and are on pace for a league-record 81 by the time the regular season ends. Nothing about the World Cup pause seems to have disrupted them. They are the standard everyone else is chasing.

Vancouver Whitecaps: The Western Conference Machine

Vancouver leads the West and has the underlying numbers to back it up. One of the best underlying statistical profiles in MLS history, a game against Chicago postponed during the break, and a schedule that now sends them straight into FC Cincinnati, a team that has allowed 37 goals in 15 games. If the Whitecaps play the way their numbers suggest they can, there is no ceiling on how far this group can go. Thomas Müller and company are the real deal.

Inter Miami: World Cup Stars Return, and Then Some

Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul are back. They came close to a second straight World Cup with Argentina, very close, in fact, but the Herons will welcome them home with arms wide open. Both players will need time to recover, but Miami are not short of depth while they wait. The club is also reportedly set to add Casemiro, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United midfielder, as another high-profile signing. Miami sit second in the East with 31 points. Once Messi is back at full fitness, they are a genuine threat for every trophy on the table.

San Jose Earthquakes: Werner Returns, Watch Out

San Jose spent the second half of May missing both Timo Werner and Niko Tsakiris. They still held the West lead for a stretch and entered the break with 29 points. Werner is now set to return from his injury. Tsakiris remains out long-term, which creates real challenges for their playmaking, but the return of one of MLS’s most dangerous forwards changes the dynamic considerably. The Quakes have the quality to go deep in the Supporters’ Shield race. The second half of the season starts Wednesday.

Chicago Fire: The Lewandowski Era Has Arrived

Robert Lewandowski’s debut was delayed by a few days, but it is coming. Wednesday in Miami, against a team fighting for the East lead, is as dramatic an entrance as anyone could write. Lewandowski is Chicago’s biggest signing in club history by a wide margin. The risk is real: Hugo Cuypers, who was leading the MLS Golden Boot race before the break, is reportedly heading to CF Monterrey to make room for the Polish striker. Chicago finished the first half of the season third in the East with 26 points. This move tells you they believe they can win it all.

LAFC and El Tráfico: One Winner, One Question

LAFC spent the final weeks before the break losing three straight matches. The World Cup break clearly did them good. They came back and hammered the Galaxy 3-0 in El Tráfico, with Son Heung-Min scoring his first MLS goal of the season to announce his arrival in the rivalry. LAFC were in total control from start to finish. They are sixth in the current power rankings and climbing fast.

The Galaxy, meanwhile, were flat in a way that felt worrying rather than accidental. Two shots on target in a derby loss. Gabriel Pec, one of their most dynamic attackers, has been sold to Cruzeiro for a fee that could reach $13.5 million. A replacement is reportedly on the way, but right now the Galaxy look like a team that needs to rebuild its attacking identity fast.

Real Salt Lake: The Zavier Gozo Question

Real Salt Lake have been one of the season’s best stories. Seventh in the current rankings, genuine contenders in the West, and anchored by a 19-year-old homegrown talent who looks ready for Europe. Zavier Gozo has made no secret of his desire to play abroad, and top clubs are reportedly interested. RSL acquired winger Saba Lobjanidze from Atlanta United during the break, which suggests they are building for the present regardless of what happens with Gozo. But his future will define how far this team can go. Keep him, and they are a Supporters’ Shield contender. Lose him, and a reset becomes necessary.

FC Dallas and New England: Quietly Dangerous

FC Dallas made a smart move during the break, paying up to $1 million in GAM to acquire goalkeeper Daniel from San Jose. He has been one of the best shot-stoppers in MLS this year, and he gives Dallas a serious upgrade between the posts ahead of striker Petar Musa’s return from World Cup duty. They sit eighth overall and are a well-organized side that could surprise some people in the second half.

New England Revolution have been doing this all season with almost zero fanfare. Twenty-five points in 14 games. Fourth in the East. Matt Turner is putting up numbers that belong in a different conversation entirely. The Revs are not the flashiest team in the league, but under Marko Mitrović’s management they have built something consistent and difficult to beat. Do not sleep on them.

Portland Timbers: The Cassidy Moment

Phil Neville was fired before the break. Interim coach Jack Cassidy stepped in and promptly oversaw a 5-1 demolition of Seattle in the Cascadia Cup, Portland’s largest win over the Sounders in MLS history. New permanent head coach Martí Cifuentes, former manager of Newcastle United, has now officially taken over. Whether the 5-1 result reflects genuine progress or just a Seattle side equally unsettled by the restart remains to be seen. But the Timbers enter the second half with new energy, a legendary result in their back pocket, and a head coach who has managed at the highest level in Europe.

Charlotte FC and Columbus Crew: Rebuilding in Plain Sight

Charlotte signed Allan Saint-Maximin as a permanent Designated Player to replace Wilfried Zaha, whose loan expired. The French winger is under contract through 2028-29 and brings exactly the explosive, unpredictable quality Charlotte needs to break out of the middle of the Eastern table. It is a strong move. Now they need to put it together on the pitch.

Columbus Crew have undergone the biggest roster overhaul of anyone during the break. Diego Rossi out. Brais Méndez joins from Real Sociedad. Eric Bailly added at center back. Laurent Courtois, confirmed as head coach on an interim basis, now has fresh pieces to work with. The Crew was starting to find form before the break. This new-look version will take a few weeks to click, but the quality in that squad is real.

Orlando City: Griezmann Is Here, Defense Is Not

Antoine Griezmann has landed in Orlando and is expected to debut Wednesday in San Jose. He makes Orlando significantly better going forward. The return of striker Daryl Dike from West Brom adds another body up front. The issue, and it is a big one, is that Orlando allowed 44 goals in their first 15 games. No team in MLS conceded more. Griezmann and Dike can score goals, but neither of them fixes what is happening defensively. Orlando need to outscore their problems, and with Griezmann in the lineup, they might actually be capable of doing it.

The MLS Bottom Half: Time Is Running Out

Austin FC are in a coaching limbo that is unique in the league. They have already announced Jim Curtin as their future manager, but Curtin does not officially take over until 2027. That means Austin is running out the rest of a difficult season with an interim setup, 14th in the West, and no real plan for the present. The Verde and Black will be hard-pressed to salvage anything meaningful this year.

Sporting KC spent the break reportedly chasing Mo Salah, the kind of audacious swing that gets headlines but rarely closes. They lost to St. Louis to open the second half. They need a DP attacker, and they need results fast.

Atlanta United remain the lowest-scoring team in the league. New center backs Júnior Alonso and Paulo Díaz arrived during the break, which addresses one part of the problem. The other part, scoring goals, is still very much unsolved.

Philadelphia Union are dead last. Kai Wagner has returned on a DP deal, and Quinn Sullivan is coming back from his ACL injury, but the Union are 30th in a 30-team league with the kind of gap to close that rarely gets closed. Twelve months ago they won the Supporters’ Shield. Right now they are fighting just to be relevant again.

MLS Second Half Preview

The league is back, the transfer window is active, and the World Cup has changed the picture everywhere. Nashville look unbeatable. Vancouver and Miami are right behind them. Chicago just brought in one of the best strikers of the last decade. LAFC just won El Tráfico convincingly. Real Salt Lake and San Jose are quietly building something real in the West.

Nineteen games remain. Every team still has a chance to shape their season. But the gap between the top and the bottom of this league has rarely looked this wide, and the teams at the top are not slowing down.