San Jose Earthquakes 2026 Season Preview

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Major League Soccer

·16 février 2026

San Jose Earthquakes 2026 Season Preview

By MLSsoccer staff

2026 Schedule

First game/Home opener: Feb. 21 - 10:30 pm ET vs. Sporting Kansas City
Full schedule
Watch on Apple TV

Team Snapshot

San Jose enter their second season under five-time MLS Cup champion Bruce Arena, who took over as sporting director and head coach in November 2024.

Vidéos OneFootball

Year one ended with a flutter despite scoring 60 goals (seventh in MLS), and now they're looking to replace the attacking contributions of Cristian Espinoza, Josef Martínez and Chicho Arango.

The Earthquakes will lean heavily on German forward Timo Werner, who arrived in January as arguably the biggest addition in club history. They have additional room for key additions.

Key Signings

Timo Werner: The German international, who arrives from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, has won seven trophies and scored 153 goals in an illustrious career that also includes stops at English Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea FC.

Full roster

Key Departures

Cristian Espinoza: The Argentine midfielder signed with Nashville SC in free agency. He spent seven seasons with the Quakes.
Josef Martínez: The MLS legend was San Jose’s top scorer last season with 14 goals. He's signed in LIGA MX with Club Tijuana.
Cristian Arango: San Jose’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year is on loan at Colombian side Atlético Nacional.
Rodrigues: A pillar of San Jose’s defense over the past three-plus seasons, the Brazilian center back made 102 appearances (all competitions).