The 2026 MLS season may only be two weeks old, but some of the top brass have shown their pedigree to hit the ground running.
Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC, San Diego FC and the San Jose Earthquakes have all won their opening two matches without conceding a goal—a wonderful start to the campaign that has laid down for a marker for the weeks ahead.
Matchday 2 delivered a significant course correction for the likes of Inter Miami and Chicago Fire, after some forgettable opening week results, but six teams remain without a point after tasting defeat again.
With everything in the books, here’s Sports Illustrated’s latest power rankings.
10. San Jose Earthquakes 🆕
Servus, Timo!
It’s Timo time, as Timo Werner made his MLS and San Jose Earthquakes debut on Saturday, posting an assist in a 29-minute showing in a 2–0 win over Atlanta United.
The San Jose Earthquakes have only had flashes of fun in recent seasons, but to see a player as energetic as him making elusive off-ball runs brings plenty of excitement to PayPal Park. It’s also wild that he picked up an assist—his first goal contribution in over a year at any level—before he even knew his teammates’ names, as he admitted.
Who’d have thought Bruce Arena would be leading one of four perfect teams after two weeks in the year 2026? The big question now is whether they can do it against a team that didn’t finish in the bottom quarter of MLS in 2025.
9. New York City FC 🆕
90+9'? No problem 🚨
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 1, 2026
Tayvon Gray wins it late for New York City! pic.twitter.com/myMf0bQ9AG
Broadway is known for its drama and New York City FC’s Tayvon Gray delivered plenty when he scored a late, late winner to down the Philadelphia Union.
The 23-year-old waited until the 99th minute to steal the show—more than making up for the continued absence of star striker Alonso Martínez—and his winner builds on a solid enough start for NYCFC, who shared the spoils with LA Galaxy on matchday one.
They will have confidence of picking up another three points next week, too, when they take on winless Orlando City, who surrendered a 2–0 lead this matchday to go down 4–2 losers.
8. Seattle Sounders 📉 (Previous: 6)
Chalk it up to tradition at this point—the Seattle Sounders just can’t win in away against Real Salt Lake.
For the 15th year in a row, RSL won at home against Seattle, this time with goals from 18-year-old Aiden Hezarkhani and 21-year-old Ariath Piol. For Seattle, as much as the loss is almost pre-determined, it’s a disaster, especially given RSL were missing five players likely to be among the starters when healthy, including Victor Olatunji and Diego Luna.
Given Seattle’s identity as a club built on its championships, losing to a team of borderline MLS talent isn’t great. Good on Cristian Roldan for finding a goal to loft his hopes of making the USMNT for the 2026 World Cup, but outside of that, it’s a poor night for Seattle as they slide down the rankings.
7. Red Bull New York 🤝 (Previous: 7)
Michael Bradley has already made Red Bull New York an incredibly fun team to watch, a nice change from some of the RBNY teams of the past.
While few knew what to expect from the veteran USMNT and MLS star in his first top-flight managerial role, Bradley has led RBNY to a 2–1 win over Orlando City and now a 1–0 win over the New England Revolution.
It’s a total youth movement as well, with 17-year-old Julian Hall atop the MLS Golden Boot race after linking up with 16-year-old midfielder Adri Mehmeti—he’s up to three assists already.
Is the youth reliable? How will they fare against better competition? Luckily, the upcoming matches against CF Montréal and Toronto FC should be fairly straightforward victories — but, just how long can they keep this success going?
6. FC Cincinnati 📉 (Previous: 5)
No Evander, no...oh, uh, actually... yes problems.
FC Cincinnati had plenty of trouble without their talismanic Designated Player midfielder this weekend as he nursed a hamstring injury suffered on opening day, watching his side fall 1–0 to Minnesota United.
While other talents across the roster, including Ender Echenique, Pavel Bucha, and Kévin Denkey, should be able to step up in chance creation, none were able to fill the void this weekend.
It’s unclear how long Evander may be out, but if the Gary Lions are without their favorite Brazilian for the long term, things could get ugly fast.
5. Inter Miami 🆙 (Previous: 8)
That was awesome.
Inter Miami orchestrated a four-goal comeback in the second half to beat Florida rivals Orlando City 4–2 after a dismal, mistake-ridden first half put them 2–0 behind and staring down the barrel of another defeat.
Instead, Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi likes to do, taking over the game with a thrilling goal from a shot that swerved through several defenders, before setting up Telasco Segovia for another marker. For good measure, he scored a free-kick too, bringing him to 51 goals in 55 MLS appearances.
Don’t quite get your championship parade plans started just yet, though. The first half was worrying, and it took a herculean effort to find their way back into the game. Still, the Herons will hope to link together wins against D.C. United next weekend.
Before that? They’ll head to the White House.
4. Nashville SC 📉 (Previous: 3)
The red card in the final few minutes to Matthew Corcoran wasn’t great, but this was a worrying performance all around for Nashville SC in a 1–1 draw with FC Dallas.
When the club bolstered its roster with Cristian Espinoza and 21-year-old Costa Rican winger Warren Madrigal this winter, they were hoping to be unbeatable. After all, they already had stars in Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge—even if the latter was ill this weekend.
That abundance of talent couldn’t muster more than seven shots against Dallas, and of those chances, only one tested Michael Collodi.
This team wants better, and frankly, it can’t be dropping points like this, given the talent it has. Playing a low-block Minnesota United next weekend is going to be tough.
3. Vancouver Whitecaps 🆙 (Previous: 4)
Strong, organised defenses win championships, but having a strong offense isn’t a bad idea either. Fortunately for Vancouver Whitecaps, they’ve seemingly got both, trouncing Canadian rivals Toronto FC 3–0 in one of the most dominant performances for either side in the history of the derby.
The dance moves of two-goal Thomas Müller will live long in the memory at BC Place, but Sebastian Berhalter will be hoping USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino was keeping a close eye on his performance and, in particular, the quality of his set piece deliveries that led to two assits.
The performance was so good that Toronto FC’s players apologized to supporters after the game—not a good look when the season is still in its infancy.
Vancouver has already advanced in the Concacaf Champions Cup too and will play Seattle Sounders in the round of 16 in that competition, after heading to face another Cascadia rival, the Portland Timbers, in the first road game of the season on matchday three.
2. San Diego FC 🤝 (Previous: 2)
Anders Dreyer was back among the goals as San Diego FC cruised to a 2–0 win over St Louis CITY SC, bringing them to six points with seven goals scored and none conceded.
It’s a bit surreal to think Dreyer is the only Designated Player on this team, as they put on a clinic most weeks with exceptionally high levels of performance.
Another DP arrival in the future will leave San Diego’s opponents sweating, but first they must find a resolution to the ongoing Hirving "Chucky" Lozano debacle—he’s been cut of the club’s plans but the two parties haven’t been able to find a suitable next step for the Mexican.
1. LAFC 🤝 (Previous: 1)
Inter Miami may have stolen the headlines with the best offseason, but Stephen Eustàquio has been magical for LAFC so far this year. After a 2–0 win over the Houston Dynamo this week, the Black and Gold have five goals and none conceded in their two wins.
Eustàquio’s strike from distance was a thing of beauty. So far, he's an early contender for the MLS Newcomer of the Year Award, with not only his goals but also the way he has reinvigorated others around him, notably Mark Delgado.
Winning without a goal contribution from Denis Bouanga or Son Heung-min is also a massive step, and a stark difference to what Miami has achieved, given the reliance on Lionel Messi.
LAFC return to the site of Son Heung-min’s MLS debut next week to take on FC Dallas, before facing St. Louis CITY. They’ve got a real chance to make this an extended winning run to start the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLS Power Rankings: Muller’s Vancouver Shine, Messi and Miami Spark Into Life.
