The New Year has arrived. We might as well envision a world that’s interesting.
Here are a few bold predictions for 2026 that might come true, but likely won't.
We said bold, right?
But how bold is it? Messi and Inter Miami will have plenty of distractions outside of MLS this year. That might dilute his numbers just enough for good old-fashioned voter fatigue to take hold. People (subconsciously) stopped voting for LeBron James just because it got boring. Couldn’t the same happen to Messi as he looks to three-peat as Landon Donovan MLS MVP?
All it might take to get voters looking elsewhere is a monster season from Son Heung-Min or an elite year from a different No. 10… oh, hey, welcome back, Riqui Puig.
Regardless of whether he’s putting up “dethrone Messi” numbers, Puig will have as much influence as any single player on his team’s success. That’s a heavy burden, especially after an ACL tear that took away his entire 2025 season. But after a year-plus of recovery, Puig will be back as a load-bearing piece for the Galaxy.
It’s unfair to expect him to be fully acclimated from game one. However, Puig seems well situated to bounce back quickly for the 2024 MLS Cup champions. He might be a half step or two slower, but pace has never been his game and his brain didn’t require any surgery.
He’ll be back out there finding space, taking a million touches and having an extreme influence on the LA attack. Throw in some added urgency while he tries to make up for a lost year, and you have a recipe for a locked-in Comeback Player of the Year winner… and maybe more.
Across town, LAFC are preparing for Marc Dos Santos’ first season in charge after their Steve Cherundolo era ended.
We haven’t seen Dos Santos in charge of an MLS side since he departed Vancouver in August 2021, but we’ll politely point out this LAFC side is a littttttleeee more talented than any of the teams he had in three years with the ‘Caps. He’ll probably be just fine.
This is a bold prediction, though, for a couple of reasons: First, Dos Santos’ game model and players weren’t exactly predisposed to keeping the ball in Vancouver. In 2019, they finished third to last in average possession; in 2020, they were dead last at a hilarious 41% average; and in 2021, they were third to last again.
On top of that, this LAFC side famously tended to shy away from ball control in big moments under Cherundolo. However, there are a few reasons to believe things will be much closer to the 2019 edition this year. LAFC (maybe begrudgingly) quietly shifted towards using the ball more often last year and ended the year sitting seventh in MLS in average possession.
With a full season of Son next to Denis Bouanga, would it be all that surprising to see teams sitting back and LAFC having more of the ball than they know what to do with?
Of course, if LAFC lead the conference in possession, that means someone has to get knocked off their perch. San Diego are still going to base their entire game model on using the ball, of course, but will they be able to control games as effectively in year two?
The relationship with Chucky Lozano got… a bit weird down the final stretch of the 2025 season, and the Mexican star's future with the club remains to be seen.
Elsewhere, they really need a No. 9 and ball-progressing midfielder Luca de la Torre is now playing for Charlotte. Maybe a club comes calling for center back Manu Duah with a can't-turn-it-down offer?
Nothing feels completely locked in. And, there’s the obvious: It’s really, really hard to replicate and/or better a year of catching lightning in a bottle. Sixty-three points are a ton of points.
This is only a bold prediction because expansion teams are typically expected to figure things out in year two. San Diego just got ahead of schedule.
Speaking of possession-happy teams experiencing some turbulence, the Crew are in a transitional period. Wilfried Nancy is gone to Celtic, Dániel Gazdag underwhelmed as a DP, and Darlington Nagbe retired. Things are steadying somewhat now that Henrik Rydström has arrived to replace Nancy, but there are still a ton of questions heading into 2026.
Still, they finished seventh in the Eastern Conference last season. This is a solid roster. Even if they don’t match the 54-point total they reached in 2025, is it that far-fetched to think one of the best-run clubs in MLS figures out enough answers to get this team back to seventh or higher?
File this one under: “I dunno. It’s MLS, man.”
It’s an offseason tradition unlike any other: Talking yourself into Atlanta United becoming a contender again.
Well, this year, most folks will probably take a break from that tradition. They’ve been burned too often, and Atlanta simply don't have that much room (yet) to transform their roster in the way they need to.
But, Tata Martino is back. The bad vibes that took hold during the Ronny Deila era are gone. And there’s clearly some talent on this team. Maybe all it takes for Atlanta to get back toward the top is for no one to expect them there?
Does anyone in either conference have more room to play in the sandbox than Toronto FC and Sporting Kansas City? Both sides have almost entirely cleaned house after a few seasons in the wilderness.
Toronto already capitalized on their newfound space during the last window by bringing in DP playmaker Djordje Mihailovic and midfielder José Cifuentes. They still have two DP spots to utilize and just let nine players walk at the end of the season.
There’s even more cap room in Kansas City, where they only barely have enough players to play a match right now. New president of soccer operations and general manager David Lee is basically working on building an expansion team at this point.
The bold prediction here: Both teams get these rebuilds right.
At some point, Eric Ramsay’s players are going to be desperate to try and keep the ball. At least a little.
They can still do all the long throw-ins they want, but they probably know they need to be able to use the ball more effectively and more often if they want to be a true contender. Besides, more possession equals more set pieces.
Is this even that bold?
They’ve just got to sort out the defense just a tiny, tiny bit. That’s all it will take.
Yeah, they’ve got to figure out what life is like without homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez (9g/6a in 2025), but they’ve continually been linked to big-name attacking DPs. At some point, they’re going to add one and become an even more terrifying attacking force.
Chicago were already second in the league in goals scored last season with 68. As long as they don’t give up 60 goals again, they should be among the league’s very best teams. That seems relatively plausible in Gregg Berhalter’s second year, and they've got an impressive offseason unfolding.
It’s easier said than done, though.
Inter Miami will be on the warpath for this. It’s the big one, and Messi is locked in.
Besides them, LAFC, Vancouver, Seattle and FC Cincinnati should all be legitimate contenders with relatively manageable paths. Maybe San Diego somehow power through facing Pumas and Toluca in their first two matchups and ride that momentum to a title?
Look, it just feels like it’s going to happen this year, ok?
We’ve got to keep these fair. It feels cosmically correct that an MLS win in Concacaf Champions Cup would, for some reason, lead to a LIGA MX side winning Leagues Cup.
It would be the first time an MLS team didn’t win under the large-scale format after Miami, Columbus and Seattle rattled off an MLS three-peat from 2023-25. But good things have to come to an end sometime.
Plus, have you seen Toluca?
Matt Freese seems like a lock at goalkeeper. Same with Tim Ream at center back (maybe even Miles Robinson).
Then, you've got Alex Freeman and Max Arfsten as candidates at fullback. In the attacking midfield, Diego Luna has a puncher's chance. I wouldn't count out Cristian Roldan or Sebastian Berhalter, either.
All I'm saying is this one seems increasingly likely when you break it down. USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino clearly trusts these guys, and he's said "we need the right players" at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Italics for emphasis.
Certain corners of the internet are going to be so upset.
It already happened when Thiago Almada (then of Atlanta United) hung out with Argentina, Messi and Rodrigo De Paul for a few weeks at Qatar 2022. Argentina might as well go ahead and run it back for North America 2026. Or maybe a surprise winner is waiting in the wings.
Either way, go ahead and lock this one in. In fact, go ahead and lock all of these in. How could any of them be wrong?
