A number of crazy games took place this past weekend in Major League Soccer, including Inter Miami’s incredible comeback effort vs. the Philadelphia Union.
It’s the last action we’ll see from MLS for the next little while as the league is going on hiatus until mid-July while the 2026 FIFA World Cup – co-hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico – takes centre stage.
The first 15 weeks of the MLS campaign separated the wheat from the chaff and offered some insight into who the top contenders are for the MLS Cup and who’ll struggle just to clinch a playoff berth. Interestingly enough, the league’s three Canadian teams find themselves at opposite ends of the MLS spectrum going into the break.
The Vancouver Whitecaps (10-2-2) are coming off a 4-2 road win over San Diego FC this past weekend, a result that secured their hold on top spot in the Western Conference and second place in the overall league table.
Led by Tristan Blackmon, last season’s MLS defender of the year, the Whitecaps boast the league’s best second defensive record (12 goals against). They also have a high-powered attack led by U.S. international Brian White, who has 10 goals and two assists on the year – he’s only the third American player in league history to score at least 10 goals in four consecutive seasons.
World Cup legend Thomas Müller has impressed in his first full season in Vancouver, bagging four goals and four assists, while Sebastian Berhalter has solidified his reputation as one of the league’s best midfielders with a career-high six goals while adding seven assists.
Vancouver has missed key players throughout the season due to injuries, but the team has maintained its high standards under manager Jesper Sørensen, thanks in large part to its depth and overall quality. That the Whitecaps have achieved all of this while their future in Vancouver remains uncertain and a hot topic of discussion is a credit to the team’s resolve and professionalism. There doesn’t appear to be any slowing down the Whitecaps who are looking to advance to the MLS Cup for a second straight year.
“For me, I’m not looking that much at the table. I look at how we play. If we want to be a top team, we have to play like a top team,” Sørensen said.
There's a lot for Toronto FC to reflect upon during the MLS break following a 2-1 road loss to the Chicago Fire on Saturday, a result that extended the club's winless run to nine games across all competitions
TFC (3-6-5) finished the month of May with just a single point out of a possible 12 and sits 13th in the Eastern Conference – four spots out of the playoffs. Overall, Toronto is winless in nine games across all competitions, with its last victory coming on April 4. They have also gone 12 straight games in all competitions without a clean sheet (and only have one all year), while conceding a whopping 29 goals through their first 14 MLS contests – they only gave up 44 goals in 34 matches all of last season.
Toronto has consistently dealt with injuries since the start of the 2026 MLS campaign. But the injury crisis hit its nadir earlier this month in a road game vs. Charlotte FC when no less than 13 members of the squad were ruled out due to injury.
TFC have to use the next seven weeks to reset and get injured players back healthy for the second half of the campaign. GM Jason Hernandez also has to take a very hard look at his roster and figure out what moves he must make during the summer transfer window in order to strengthen his squad in hopes that it can make a concerted push for a playoff spot.
"I don't know if there's a team out there that needs the break more than us, to be honest. And that's strictly from a physical standpoint. We have a lot of people injured and it's not an excuse because I think we have a roster of 28 players for a reason, so you're always going to need everyone to step up," defender Walker Zimmerman said.
It’s been a rough ride for CF Montreal so far this season as the club from La Belle Province lost six of its first seven games, which led to the firing of Italian manager Marco Donadel.
Montreal (4-8-2) has shown improvement under interim coach Philippe Eullaffroy and have climbed to 11th in the East during his brief tenure. But they’re still leaking goals at an alarming rate (31 against, fifth worst in MLS) while only scoring a modest 22 times.
You can’t help but wonder where Montreal would be without German striker Prince Owusu, who has scored nine goals this season, accounting for 41 per cent of the team’s offensive production. Three of Owusu’s goals came in Saturday’s come-from-behind 4-4 draw away to D.C. United.
If Montreal is going to continue its upward swing in the second half of the campaign, it has to tighten up defensively and others have to step up and take some of the goal-scoring burden off Owusu’s shoulders.
Elsewhere in MLS…
● Inter Miami are in fine form, headed into the break and look a good bet to repeat as MLS Cup champions. Miami (9–2-4) sits fourth in the overall MLS table thanks in large part to Lionel Messi (12 goals and eight assists) and are reportedly close to signing Manchester United midfielder Casemiro. The addition of the Brazilian international would only further boost a Miami roster that is the most expensive in MLS and is replete with top talent.
● Nashville SC (10-1-3) sits atop the MLS standings and are the hottest team in the league at the moment, courtesy of an eight-game unbeaten streak (six wins) dating back to their last loss on April 4. The Coyotes have conceded just 11 goals (tied with Seattle for the league’s best defensive record) while German Hany Mukhtar has powered a potent attack with his six goals and five assists.
● At the opposite end of the MLS table is the Philadelphia Union (1-10-4), who lost its first six games of the season and have gone winless in its previous eight outings since earning its lone victory on April 11. It’s an amazing fall from grace from a team that was the best team in MLS during the 2025 regular season and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in the playoffs.
● The Chicago Fire’s Hugo Cuypers has to be considered the top candidate for the league’s MVP award at this point. The Belgian striker leads the Golden Boot race as the top scorer in MLS with 13 goals and became just the third player in league history to score in 10 consecutive regular-season matches (Josef Martinez and Carlos Vela are the others).
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.