For the first time since 2023, all eligible MLS teams — 27 U.S. teams — will enter the 2027 U.S. Open Cup. The 96-team competition will begin in April with the first round and conclude with the final scheduled for Dec. 15. The tournament’s final five rounds will all take place after Labor Day to accommodate MLS’s change in season.
Paul Kennedy
Paul Kennedy edited Soccer America for 41 years (1985-2026). He began writing for SA in 1974. He started writing for France Football in 1978 and has served on in Ballon d'Or jury since 2007.
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MLS DEADLINE DAY: Damion Downs moves to St. Louis
St. Louis City, one of MLS’s 2026 surprises, has acquired 22-year-old USMNT forward Damion Downs on loan from Southampton through the 2027 Sprint season. THE USMNT vet will attempt to resurrect his career after going scoreless in his last 23 league games. City SC also acquired 26-year-old Brazilian striker Rafael Navarro from the Colorado Rapids via a Cash for Player trade for a team record $12 million fee, plus an additional $250,000 in conditional compensation.
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AMERICANS ABROAD: Albert gets first Dortmund start, Wiley scores golazo
Mathis Albert, 17, earned rave reviews after starting in Borussia Dortmund’s 5-0 win in the first round of the German Cup. The game was played in special circumstances. A crowd of 45,917 fans at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion watched BVB crush Hamburg Eimsbütteler Ballspiel Club.
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DEADLINE DAY: Luca Bombino and Jack McGlynn sign with Stoke City
The Americans came from MLS teams in combined deals of $11.5 million on Deadline Day. The Potters gave Bombino from San Diego FC his first Championship appearance Tuesday night when they beat Norwich City 1-0 for their first three points of the season after three losses.
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DEADLINE DAY: Folarin Balogun’s $55 million deal ends in shambles
Things with Folarin Balogun often get complicated. The USMNT star’s on-again, off-again move from Monaco to Everton did not go through Tuesday night. And it created problems with deals involving Manchester United, Chelsea and Cruz Azul, far away in Mexico
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Folarin Balogun is set to join Everton
Balogun’s deal with Monaco could reach as much as £40 million ($54 million). He’ll be in Liverpool for a medical on Tuesday, Deadline Day across most of Europe. There was a lot of attention on Balogun following a World Cup when he was touched (none of his doing) in one of the biggest World Cup scandals ever. All that should not take way from the success he had last season with Monaco.
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Rokas Pukstas becomes Middlesbrough’s fourth U.S. player
Middlesbrough signed the 22-year-old midfielder from Croatian club Hadjuk Split for a fee reported to be about 5 million euros ($5.8 million). He joins fellow U.S. midfielders Aidan Morris and Sebastian Berhalter and winger Max Arfsten at the Riverside, the latter two also summer signings.
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NWSL: Orlando Pride parts ways with Seb Hines
Less than two years after its first NWSL championship, the Orlando Pride has parted ways with head coach Seb Hines. Assistant Yolanda Thomas steps into the interim head coach role. The move comes with the Pride in 12th place, having lost four of its last five matches. Hines, Amanda Cromwell’s successor. led one of the greatest turnarounds in NWSL history.
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U.S. Soccer to absorb U.S. Youth Soccer by 2028
U.S. Youth Soccer’s state associations have approved a move to integrate the country’s largest youth soccer organization into U.S. Soccer. JT Batson, U.S. Soccer’s CEO and Secretary General, described the move as “a defining moment for the future of soccer in America.” A two-year integration process will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 1.
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NWSL: Trinity Byars rides Wave to comeback win
San Diego came back from two goals down to win 3-2 over Louisville. It got two goals from Trinity Byars. Elsewhere, Canadian Cloé Lacasse tied the NWSL single-season assist record with her 10th assist in the 2-1 win over Orlando.