Red Bulls Travel to Sporting Kansas City Before the World Cup Break

By Daniel Feuerstein | Harrison, NJ | May 22nd, 2026

For every club in Major League Soccer, Saturday, May 23rd, is the last matchday for all 30 clubs as the World Cup Break will begin. For Red Bull New York, who are currently on a three-match unbeaten streak, they want to end their first half of this season on a major positive note. Their next match is on the road as they head over to Children’s Mercy Park to face the last-place side in the Western Conference, Sporting Kansas City. Regardless of where in the standings SKC are, their home is still a tough place to get a win.

Since the Peter Vermes era ended, Sporting KC hasn’t been itself. While they do have Raphael Wicky as their head coach, this roster is not what past SKC sides have been for the last decade or more. The reality is that the fans need patience to see this club get back to where they should be, but right now, they will need to take the lumps of this season before they return to where they need to be. For the Red Bulls, what they need to do is not assume this will be an easy match. They must go out on the pitch and, when the opening whistle blows, attack this side and put away as many chances as they can. While this is an inter-conference matchup, SKC will look for anything to put themselves in a positive feeling as they just had two consecutive wins before playing the Red Bulls.

“The starting point is that they come off two wins in a row. They had a difficult start to the season, but it’s a team that has won two in a row, and I am sure they are feeling really good, really confident, and really excited about the moment that they’re in. Kansas City’s always a hard place to go to; it’s a great stadium, intimate, fans are right on top of you, and so we’re really excited for the game. As a player, it’s a great atmosphere to play in. The field is normally in really good shape, and so we’re excited, but again, we have complete respect for Kansas City, for the way that they’ve responded after a really difficult start.

I think that says a lot about Raphael Wicky. I think it says a lot about the players in terms of specifics. We’ve spent a good time this week looking at them. We’ll continue over the next two days to make sure we give players a real understanding of what they’re all about. Obviously, (Dejan) Joveljic is a guy who, in the league over the last few years, is a real as close to a guarantee for goals as you can get, and so he’s a guy that, regardless of how they play, regardless of who is up there with him or around him, he’s going to be a threat, so he’s somebody that will have to make the game really difficult.” said Michael Bradley

Justin Che finally returned to the starting 11 in the Hudson River Derby and did very well, playing over 60 minutes, and made an amazing defensive move by saving a go-ahead goal from Malachi Jones when Ethan Horvath was in no-man’s land, Che made a sliding save by keeping the ball out and clearing it all the way to the near side touchline and just keeping it away from the end line and saving a corner. He knows how much he was missed and how much he missed being on the pitch.

“I loved it, man. I missed it. You know, football’s my life. I dream of it. I think about it 24/7, so being apart from the team for those two months was pretty tough for me. But day in, day out, I, along with the medical staff, worked hard to get me fit to be able to be back on the field and play well. So I was very excited, I was happy just being back out there and doing what I love,” said Justin Che.

Che is getting ready to take on their next opponent in Sporting KC, and he knows that while that club is struggling, they have to go out there with a professional and serious attitude. He and the players must continue to show why they are improving and why they must go out there and put them on notice so they can continue to earn points, especially the full three points, and make the jump in the table of the Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls must continue this unbeaten streak and head off on a positive note.

“Yeah, I say it time and time again. You can never rule out a team. A team that has nothing to lose is the most dangerous, I think. Especially in this league, any team can beat any team. So it’s the last game before the break, but it’s something where I, and you know, the group is focused on hopefully getting the three points, and to finish off on a strong note for the second half of the season,” said Che.

Since the season started, the Red Bulls have shown they aren’t afraid to use youth and the next generation of the club to roam the pitch at Sports Illustrated Stadium. After winning the MLS Next Pro Championship, we are seeing Adri Mehmeti, Julian Hall, and Matthew Dos Santos showing what they have done and doing an amazing job. While Hall has amazed the league with nine goals, the majority of the talk from the fans has been about the play of Mehmeti. He’s been in the middle of the pitch as the box-to-box midfielder, helping on the attack, while coming back to play defense. Mehmeti is now earning votes for the All-Star Game after the World Cup break. He’s been amazing in his first 14 matches in his first MLS season.

“We’re proud of Adri. He’s had a really good first part of the season. He isn’t fazed by anything. He’s a young player with personality and fearlessness, and those things played a big part in the decision, as we got to the end of preseason to basically say go for it, play, you’re ready, and you can do this, and obviously, he hasn’t skipped a beat. For a young player, he has taken huge responsibility for our team in the way that we play. He’s used every game, every opportunity to learn and get better.

There have been a few days where, especially early on, it’s completely normal, he’s a young player getting thrown into it, and we’re asking a lot of him, and so there were a few days where, as we were physically raising the bar for him, we looked on the field and knew that he was a little bit tired, but given the game, or given the score or given options, we decided on a few nights to just say keep going, you can do it, this is all part of it. And again, he has continued to get better and better every game, which is great to see for a young player,” said Bradley

This will be a huge game on a pride level, and to enter the World Cup break on a positive note before restarting the season in late July. They will deserve a big break and head off to relax, or maybe sit back and watch their respective countries perform during the World Cup, or enjoy the World Cup as a neutral. But this is a very important match, and perform at their best and empty the tank.

Red Bull New York at Sporting Kansas City is at 8:30 PM Eastern – 7:30 PM Central. BROADCASTERS: ENGLISH: Mark Followill and Lori Lindsay SPANISH: Nacho Garcia

OFFICIALS:

REF: Nabil Bensalah
AR1: Eric Weisbrod
AR2: Mike Nickerson
4TH: Malik Badawi
VAR: Lukasz Szpala
AVAR: Robert Schaap

Red Bull New York travels to the Midwest and faces Sporting Kansas City to finish off the first half of the season before the World Cup break begins.

Bad Dawg Sports will be there for every minute—sharp, direct, and on the ground as the Red Bulls continue with their youth movement as they take on anyone from Major League Soccer. Subscribe today for just $2 per year.