5 big questions for the second half of the 2026 MLS season | OneFootball

By J. Sam Jones

Regroup. We’re at the end of vacation and feeling homesick.

It’s time to get back to the warmth and comfort of a routine. A routine that largely involves going, “I… wait… what just happened?” as we watch the world’s most chaos-driven soccer league.  

The MLS season is back in motion. And there are a few big questions to keep in mind as we get rolling again.

Thanks World, We'll Take it From Here - MLS is Back!

1. Will Robert Lewandowski turn Chicago into a contender?

We’ve been away for a while. It might be easy to forget that the Chicago Fire ended the first half of the season with 26 points after 14 matches. They’re third in the East. 

That might have gotten buried in your mind as, before last season, they'd reached the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs just once since 2009. Focus back up. Chicago are a solid team that plays attractive soccer. 

They’re also a team that’s willing to spend big. That’s been the case for a while, but they’ve never spent as big as this. With all due respect to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Xherdan Shaqiri, Robert Lewandowski is the biggest name in club history. Lewandowski’s move to Chicago has been rumored for a while now. You hear a lot of rumors, though. It never seemed clear how much weight to put in the noise. 

Well, clarity came quickly this summer. The news cycle went from the Fire showing Lewandowski around Chicago in what was presumably the multi-millionaire’s version of a Ferris Bueller day out to Lewandowski preparing to make his MLS debut. 

The legendary Polish striker is 37 now, but he’s also one of the best players of his generation. There’s an argument he’s the best forward of the bunch. Will he elevate Chicago from fringe contender to frontrunner despite his age? 

Don’t forget, the Fire already have one of the most efficient strikers in the league. Hugo Cuypers is the Golden Boot presented by Audi leader with 13 goals in 11 starts. Head coach Gregg Berhalter can either decide to pair Cuypers with Lewandowski or deal Cuypers somewhere else (maybe another MLS team) for a premium price. 

Berhalter’s decision and Lewandowski’s productivity will shape the Eastern Conference and maybe the Supporters’ Shield race over the back half of the season. It’s MLS. It could always go south in a way no one expects.

But then again, Lewandowski is coming off scoring 14 goals in 17 starts for Barcelona last season. It’s very, very hard to see this going poorly.

2. Can San Jose pick up where they left off?

The San Jose Earthquakes were The Surprise of the first half. Even when Timo Werner didn’t play, they were overwhelming teams despite a lack of true star power. 

True is the important word there. Guys like striker Preston Judd deserve your attention, too. He scored 11 goals in 15 matches, guiding the Quakes to 32 points in 15 games and earning a contract extension through 2029. 

As good as the Quakes were, though, injuries become a real problem for a team lacking significant depth. Breakout 21-year-old attacking midfielder Niko Tsakiris (2g/7a) underwent groin surgery in May and won’t return until at least August. Werner, who was excellent when available, only made four starts due to injury issues and made his last appearance on April 28. 

The World Cup break came as a blessing and a curse. It gave the Quakes time to get healthier, but it also slowed things down. It gave their opponents more time to take stock of what led to San Jose’s early success. If the element of surprise (to put it simply), or just plain momentum, helped the Quakes at all to start the year, it’s gone now.

They’re good enough for that not to matter. Their depth has already been stress-tested, though, and there are real concerns. San Jose are a surefire postseason team. Can they keep pace in the Supporters’ Shield race?

3. Can new coaches (and players) rescue struggling teams?

That should technically read interim coaches. Seven (!!) MLS teams fired their head coach in the first half of the season. Which… we say “half” because of the break, but teams only played 14 or 15 matches of a 34-match season. Clubs were itching to make a change, in large part because the World Cup offered what’s basically a second preseason for coaches to inject their ideas into a team that needed a boost.

Thing is, the new coaches are all either true interims or interim coaches basically getting a tryout. Inter Miami, Orlando City, CF Montréal, Columbus Crew, Austin FC, Philadelphia Union and Portland Timbers are all hoping for a new manager bounce in the second half. 

Some of those teams are more primed to take a leap than others. Orlando added former French national team and Atlético Madrid star Antoine Griezmann. Columbus have made a handful of moves this summer, notably bringing in DP attacker Brais Méndez and sending out Diego Rossi.

Inter Miami are Inter Miami, and Portland weren’t going to be included in this group, but then they thumped the Seattle Sounders, 5-1, at Lumen Field last night and maybe interim manager Jack Cassidy is a genius?

4. What do post-World Cup Inter Miami look like?

Sometimes it’s fun to pretend to peddle hot takes around the internet and, maybe, just maybe, see if there’s a kernel of truth hiding deep in The Narrative. So…

Will Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul be focused enough after the World Cup to guide Inter Miami to a second straight title??? 

Look, there’s going to be a bit of a hangover. Coming back to club matches after playing in a World Cup final, regardless of outcome, is going to feel like a major change of pace for everyone involved. Messi, at 39 and perhaps playing in his last World Cup, isn’t going to jump right back into dominating the league. 

But, c’mon, short of him riding off into the sunset entirely after lifting a second-straight World Cup trophy – plausible but not that likely considering his recent contract extension through 2028 – he’s going to take some time to rest and then be right back to being the most effective player in the league. He’s scored 12 times and delivered eight assists in 14 matches this year. 

Still, the Herons are going to have their hands full in their chase for a second title. Vancouver and Nashville proved themselves as worthy challengers in the first half of the season. Chicago and San Jose may have something to say in the end.

There’s a lot of time for teams to make major moves during the summer window. This won’t be a cakewalk, even for potential two-time World Cup winners.

5. How will the earliest summer window ever change the season?

With this year’s change to the transfer calendar and the season as a whole, teams have more time than ever to add pieces that can meaningfully contribute down the stretch.

The window is open and teams still have 20 games to play. It won’t close until September 2. There’s time for teams to look drastically different from the start of the season.

That should cause a little concern for the teams who looked comfortable at the top through the first half and give a little cause for hope for the teams who struggled.