After an extended hiatus during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Major League Soccer is back!
So, in case you need a quick refresher, here are the clubs you should look out for as the 2026 MLS season gets back underway.
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Minnesota vs. Vancouver on July 25 at 8:30pm ET. Watch live on Apple TV
The conference leaders
Coming off a franchise-best regular season and a trip to 2025 MLS Cup, Vancouver Whitecaps have picked up right where they left off.
The Whitecaps went into the World Cup break with 32 points from their first 14 matches, on top of a league-leading +22 goal difference.
And if the likes of Sebastian Berhalter and Thomas Müller continue their early-season form, the Canadian club are more than capable of replicating last season’s success.
Meanwhile, over in the Eastern Conference, Nashville SC have looked similarly impervious.
B. J. Callaghan’s side entered the break leading the Supporters’ Shield race, one point above Vancouver. At the same time, the club went unbeaten at home, recording six wins and a draw.
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With Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge both in top form, could this be Nashville’s year?
Early-season surprises
📸 Jared Lennon – 2026 Getty Images
At the start of the year, virtually no one expected San Jose Earthquakes to be one of the league’s best teams through the first half of the season.
However, with the addition of German star Timo Werner, San Jose have been thoroughly impressive.
The Quakes jumped out to their best start in franchise history with eight wins from their opening nine matches, becoming the first MLS side to do so in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It is no wonder the club signed head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena to a contract extension during the World Cup hiatus.
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Elsewhere, Chicago Fire are also off to an excellent but largely unexpected start.
In Gregg Berhalter’s second season at the helm, the former USMNT head coach has helped Chicago secure 26 points from their first 14 matches, prior to the midseason break.
While Golden Boot leader Hugo Cuypers has been providing the goals (13), it is now Robert Lewandowski‘s turn to take up the goalscoring mantle, after the Polish icon joined from Barcelona.
So, will Lewandowski turn a very good team into a great one?
The playoff race
Much like Chicago, Orlando City enter the second half of the season with far greater ambitions thanks to the signing of French superstar Antoine Griezmann from Atlético Madrid.
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The 2018 World Cup-winner said farewell to Atleti back in May, leaving as the club’s all-time top goalscorer.
But, after losing six of their first eight matches and parting ways with head coach Óscar Pareja, Griezmann’s new club entered the hiatus four points outside of the playoff places.
Naturally, Orlando will be hoping the Frenchman can ignite their attack alongside fellow designated players Marco Pašalić and Martín Ojeda.
Back in the West, San Diego FC are still settling into their sophomore season.
The 2025 expansion club had an extraordinary first MLS season, finishing top of the Western Conference and reaching the Conference Finals.
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This time around, however, it has not quite been smooth sailing. San Diego went into the World Cup break just outside the playoff positions with 17 points from 15 games.
Still, there is plenty of time for reigning MLS Newcomer of the Year Anders Dreyer and head coach Mikey Varas to secure their second-straight postseason berth.
Teams to watch
In his first top-flight coaching job, Michael Bradley has turned Red Bull New York into one of the league’s most exciting teams.
The former USMNT captain was named RBNY head coach ahead of the 2026 season, having previously coached the club’s MLS NEXT Pro side.
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Since then, he has led the league’s youngest roster, with an average age of 23.5, to fifth in the East (as of the hiatus).
In that time, Bradley became the first coach in MLS history to name a starting XI with three players aged 17 or younger. Among them is now-18-year-old MLS All-Star Julian Hall, who already has nine goals and four assists this season.
On the other hand, it is impossible to look away from what Lionel Messi and company are doing in Miami.
Before guiding Argentina to the World Cup final, the 39-year-old had already racked up 20 goal contributions in the league this season.
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But, in spite of Messi’s brilliance, Miami have won just two of their first six MLS matches at the recently-opened Nu Stadium.
Fortunately for the South Florida side, they have been near-unstoppable on the road, collecting 22 points from their nine away games before the break, equalling the league record.
