MLS 2026 Preseason Power Rankings: Who's coming for Inter Miami's throne?

By The Athletic Staff

Los Angeles — When Lionel Messi and Inter Miami open the 2026 MLS regular season on Saturday night at the LA Coliseum, they will do so as the hunted. The defending MLS Cup champions addressed every box on their winter checklist—goalkeeper, center back, forward—and return a squad that found its ideal attacking balance only after Luis Suárez was benched during last year’s title run. If Javier Mascherano keeps the new-look front three of Messi, Tadeo Allende and Mateo Silvetti intact, Miami’s throne looks secure.

But the West has assembled a legitimate counter-offensive. LAFC’s pairing of Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga produced fireworks in the Korean’s half-season cameo; a full campaign together, provided Bouanga stays put amid persistent transfer chatter, gives the black-and-gold the league’s most explosive duo. Vancouver, FC Cincinnati and San Diego each retained the spine of 2025 contenders, while Nashville’s free-agent coup of Cristian Espinoza creates a frightening triumvirate alongside Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge.

The chaos will come from the middle tiers. Chicago Fire, in Year 2 under Gregg Berhalter, sold Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez to Chivas but imported veteran Finnish attacker Robin Lod and South African center back Mbekezeli Mbokazi. Talk of a summer move for Robert Lewandowski—however speculative—signals ambition not seen in Bridgeview since the Section 8 heyday.

Orlando City pivoted to South America, stacking three Brazilian U-22 signings—Tiago, Luis Otavia and Iago Teodoro—around a core that still includes Facundo Torres. Tata Martino’s return to Atlanta, meanwhile, will be judged quickly: new Argentine teenagers Tomás Jacob and Elías Baéz must energize a fan base that has grown weary of false dawns.

Real Salt Lake, the West’s great disruptor a year ago, doubled down on Diego Luna’s supporting cast. French forward Morgan Guilavogui arrives as a designated player from Lens, while Uruguayan midfielder Juan Manuel Sanabria and teenage winger Zavier Gozo deepen a roster that already stunned higher seeds in the 2025 postseason.

At the bottom, rebuilding projects are easy to spot. Sporting KC handed seven-year control to president David Lee, but roster fixes will wait until infrastructure overhauls are complete. St. Louis said goodbye to João Klauss and installed first-time MLS head coach Yoann Damet; Columbus must replace Darlington Nagbe’s metronome presence and prove that Henrik Rydström can maintain Wilfried Nancy’s tactical standard.

The Galaxy, still without Riqui Puig as he rehabs a second straight ACL tear, hope Jakob Glesnes and Justin Haak can stabilize a defense that leaked its way to 30 points a season ago. Toronto FC finally escaped the Lorenzo Insigne–Federico Bernardeschi cap vise, ushering in Djordje Mihailovic and Walker Zimmerman, yet the lingering pursuit of Norwich’s Josh Sargent leaves their No. 9 spot in limbo.

Portland’s hiring of Michael Bradley—zero MLS head-coaching experience—continues the Red Bulls’ philosophical experiment, while Seattle sold Obed Vargas to Atlético Madrid and will open without Pedro de la Vega as he recovers from knee surgery. Expect 17-year-old Osaze De Rosario to audition for a breakthrough role in the Pacific Northwest.

Philadelphia’s offseason exodus—Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Tai Baribo—earned skepticism despite the club-record arrival of forward Ezekiel Alladoh. The Union still captured the 2025 Supporters’ Shield, but early chemistry will determine whether they rejoin the elite or slide into the muddled East.

All told, the league’s hierarchy feels familiar at the summit: Miami, LAFC, Cincinnati, Vancouver and San Diego. Yet the compressed salary-budget environment and aggressive U-22 mechanisms have compressed the middle class, creating a 12-team blob where a hot month could vault an overlooked side into the contender tier.

By November, the path to MLS Cup will wind through southern Florida. Whether anyone can dislodge Messi’s empire remains the season’s central plotline, and the first data point arrives Saturday under the Coliseum lights.

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