On Sunday afternoon, Sporting Kansas City will walk into a rival stadium in the penultimate battle for its playoff life. The club occupies the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with two games left in the race.
Its former captain has been left at the starting blocks.
In an ongoing storyline in the 2016 season, Matt Besler has been benched for the past two matches, a decision made by coach Peter Vermes.
The move has apparently caught the attention of United States men’s national team coach Jürgen Klinsmann, though it hasn’t prevented him from continuing to call Besler in for national-team fixtures.