Wicky excited about Sporting KC’s growing confidence

Raphael Wicky is optimistic that Sporting Kansas City’s recent victories will boost their confidence as they prepare for an upcoming match against the Seattle Sounders in MLS.

Sporting has secured two wins in their last three league matches, with one loss, including a 2-0 triumph over the Houston Dynamo, who are performing well this season.

This victory marked their first clean sheet of the 2026 season. However, they still find themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference with 21 points, 14 points behind the ninth-place Sounders, who are currently in the last playoff position with eight matches remaining.

While Wicky wished for more scoring opportunities against Houston, he was pleased with the team’s resilience and aims to maintain that momentum.

“We had a chance to go up 3-0, and that would have made it even harder for Houston to stay competitive,” Wicky remarked after the match.

“Since 2-0 is a precarious scoreline, I’m very happy with the overall performance, and I hope this boosts our team’s confidence.”

“In recent weeks, especially following the World Cup break, we’ve generally shown that we can compete with most teams, which is encouraging.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
    <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Squeaky clean <a href="https://t.co/vhWP4ucKmI">pic.twitter.com/vhWP4ucKmI</a></p>
    <p>— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) September 27, 2026</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Recently, the Seattle Sounders struggled, going 13 matches without a win in MLS, but they have since pulled off back-to-back victories.</p>
<p>After defeating Real Salt Lake, they followed up with a 3-1 win over Minnesota United, marking their first time in playoff contention in months. Coach Brian Schmetzer acknowledges that there is still work to do for the Sounders to maintain their turnaround.</p>
<p>"Our system of play, which involves some rotation among positions, is functioning well," he stated, as reported by Sounder at Heart.</p>
<p>"However, players taking on different roles need to grasp their responsibilities and the rules of their new positions."</p>
<p>"While we aim to entertain our fans, we also need to focus on winning matches and converting leads into more significant advantages."</p>

<strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong>
<p><strong>Seattle Sounders – Albert Rusnak</strong></p>
<p>Albert Rusnak contributed significantly in the match against Minnesota United, assisting on two of their three goals, bringing his season total to 12 assists.</p>
<p>In the last three seasons, he has accumulated 38 assists, ranking third in MLS behind only Lionel Messi (49) and Evander (46).</p>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
    <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Top vision from Albert to see it through ‍ <a href="https://t.co/RcxyTqWk1g">pic.twitter.com/RcxyTqWk1g</a></p>
    <p>— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) September 29, 2026</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Sporting Kansas City – Andre Luiz</strong></p>
<p>Andre Luiz played a pivotal role in Sporting KC's win against the Dynamo, contributing to both goals with a goal and an assist.</p>
<p>This makes him the first player to achieve a goal and an assist in a regular-season away game for Sporting since current Sounders player Dejan Joveljic against the LA Galaxy on March 14.</p>

<strong>MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN</strong>
<p>The Sounders have not lost to Sporting KC in their last four encounters (W3 D1), including a 1-1 draw in Kansas City on May 2.</p>
<p>Seattle has found some form with consecutive wins against Real Salt Lake and Minnesota following a lengthy winless streak, and they are now unbeaten in seven games, the fourth-longest active streak in MLS.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Sporting KC celebrated their third away win of the season with the recent success over Houston.</p>
<p>It has been over five years since Sporting claimed two consecutive away victories in league play, a streak that included a win in Seattle.</p>

<strong>OPTA WIN PROBABILITY</strong>
<p>Seattle Sounders – 62.7%</p>
<p>Draw – 19.8%</p>
<p>Sporting Kansas City – 17.5%</p>