Ready? You serious right now? Sporting KC can’t wait to return to action Sunday night

After 127 days on the sidelines, Sporting Kansas City will finally return to the pitch Sunday evening in the MLS is Back Tournament.

Having been drawn in Group D, Sporting KC restarts its 2020 season against Minnesota United under the bright lights of ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando. It will be Kansas City’s first game since a dominant 4-0 home win over the Houston Dynamo on March 7.

“I think we’re just anxious now to play a game,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said.

Sporting touched in Orlando Sunday. Since then, the tournament has been riddled with issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nashville and FC Dallas have pulled out due to an excess of positive COVID-19 cases, and Sporting confirmed Friday that one of its players has tested positive since arrival.

The tournament kicked off Wednesday with Orlando City defeating Inter Miami 2-1 in the first Florida derby since the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny met in 2001.

Between that time and Kansas City’s game Sunday night, seven games will have been played, offering insight into what to expect from teams as they return to action.

Here’s something notable: All five goals scored within the first three games of the tournament came in the second half.

“I actually think the fitness level of most of the teams has been pretty good for about somewhere between 60-75 minutes,” Vermes said. “Probably the two Florida teams were fitter than anyone else up to this point, just because of the weather and everything else.

“And I would say that teams are probably a little sharper than I would have expected, and that’s probably good for the viewership.”

The first couple of games also showed the effect of the newly instituted water break for the duration of the tournament. Halfway through each half, a water break allows players to rehydrate.

In many instances, a drastic shift of momentum has immediately followed those breaks in the action. Orlando completely swung the momentum against Miami in the first game of the tournament and tied the match shortly after one such break.

Vermes likened the break to a timeout in a basketball game, allowing teams to regroup and alter their strategies.

“I actually think it can be really valuable, but I think the one thing is once you come out of it, you’ve got to be turned on right away because you can drop your concentration for just a moment,” Vermes said.

“You’ve got to think about it, the guys are revved up for 25 to 30 minutes and now all of a sudden there’s a stoppage and they can relax,” he continued. “And now they go back out, and if they’re not turned on right away, these teams are good enough to capitalize on one play. So you’ve got to get turned back on really, really quickly.”

Sporting KC captain Matt Besler sees the water break similarly.

“Just like any timeout in sports or stoppage of play, it could hurt you or it could help you. If you’re playing really well, you probably don’t want those water breaks to come,” Besler said. “If you’re not playing very well, you probably do want it to come, and you can use that break to adjust and regroup.”

Water breaks aside, both Vermes and Besler expect a tough opening fixture against Minnesota. The Loons had a stellar 2019, reaching the U.S. Open Cup final and making their first playoffs. Like Kansas City, they also started the season with two wins in as many matches.

“They have a solid team,” Vermes said. “I’ve said this before: From front to back, especially up the spine, they have a solid team, especially defensively.They have a lot of improvisation going forward and I still think it will be a very, very difficult game.”

If there’s a silver lining for Sporting KC, 2019 MLS Defender of the Year Ike Opara is not in Orlando. The former Sporting KC star was left behind in Minnesota due to injury.

“Personally, going up against him in 2018 every day at training, they’re definitely going to be missing him, but that hasn’t been our focus,” Sporting winger Khiry Shelton said.

Shelton, who tallied a goal and an assist before the break and was described by Besler as one of the club’s best players early this season, said Opara’s absence Sunday won’t solve everything for Sporting KC.

“Our focus is to worry about ourselves and to prepare ourselves for Sunday,” Shelton said. “We have to be ready, and I think we are, and we’ve got to focus on ourselves. We can’t focus on Minnesota.”

Sporting KC in group play, all on ESPN:

Sunday: vs. Minnesota United FC, 7 p.m. CT

July 17: vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. CT

July 22: vs. Real Salt Lake, 8 a.m. CT

Knockout-round schedule

Round of 16: Four straight days of doubleheaders (July 25-July 28)

Quarterfinals: Doubleheaders on July 30 and Aug. 1

Semifinals: Aug. 5-6

Final: Aug. 11 (7 p.m. Central Time)

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Ready? You serious right now? Sporting KC can’t wait to return to action Sunday night."