As Major League Soccer continues its MLS is Back tournament, the league is still planning on resuming its regular season.
As Major League Soccer continues its MLS is Back tournament, the league is still planning on resuming its regular season following the conclusion of the event.
According to The Athletic's Jeff Rueter and Sam Stejskal, the league is developing a plan to resume its regular season on August 22. Teams would play six games until September 13 before beginning another phase in the plan on September 16. The second slate of games would run from September 16-November 8.
The Canadian teams are reportedly only set to play in Canada during the league's first stage. According to The Athletic, it isn't yet determined if the Canadian teams would be cleared to travel to the United States by the start of the league's second phase. Other teams are expected to compete in their home markets, though clubs like New York FC, who play in Yankee Stadium, may need to explore other options.
According to The Athletic, a postseason consisting of 18 teams would begin on November 20 and conclude December 12 when it crowns an MLS Cup winner.
For the time being, MLS preparing to enter the knockout bracket of its ongoing tournament following the conclusion of Thursday night's games.
The clubs advancing were:
GROUP WINNERS - Orlando City, San Jose Earthquakes, Toronto FC, Sporting Kansas City, Columbus Crew and Portland Timbers
GROUP RUNNERS-UP - Philadelphia Union, Seattle Sounders, New England Revolution, Minnesota United, FC Cincinnati, LAFC
THIRD-PLACE FINISHERS - NYCFC, Vancouver Whitecaps, Montreal Impact, Real Salt Lake
Inter Miami, Chicago Fire, D.C. United, Colorado Rapids, New York Red Bulls, Atlanta United, Houston Dynamo and LA Galaxy are not advancing to the knockout stage. They join FC Dallas and Nashville SC, who had to withdraw prior to the competition due to an abundance of positive coronavirus tests, on the sidelines for now.