The Seattle Sounders play their third and final game in Pool B on Sunday, July 19, facing the Vancouver Whitecaps (7:30 p.m. PT; FS1, TUDN, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM) in Orlando, Florida.
With just one point in two games, Seattle’s fate is no longer in his own hands. But as head coach Brian Schmetzer likes to say, the team should focus on controlling what you can control. For Rave Green, that means securing the maximum points for his Cascadia Clash that he must win against the Whitecaps on Sunday.
Due to the realignment of the pre-tournament schedule, the Sounders and San Jose Earthquakes will have completed their group games on Sunday night, while the final Group B match between Vancouver and Chicago will not arrive until Thursday, July 23.
San Jose’s last win over the Whitecaps on Wednesday provided some insight on the way to the knockout rounds for Sounders FC. With several games still on the record, the permutations of how Rave Green could still advance are a bit tricky.
Essentially, Seattle will have to win against the Whitecaps and, if certain results are obtained, finish second in the group, giving them an automatic spot for the next stage of the tournament. The most likely scenario is a victory against Vancouver to see Rave Green’s progress as one of the top four third-place teams in the tournament.
Scenario 1: The Sounders secure Sunday with a multi-goal victory against Vancouver AND an Earthquakes loss to Fire. Seattle would be level on points with San Jose, securing second through a superior goal difference. The Chicago and Vancouver game, therefore, would not influence the classification, since Chicago would have already won the group and the Whitecaps could not finish with more than three points. However, depending on Sunday’s game scores, the Sounders could finish third behind the Earthquakes based on the ‘Goals For’ or ‘Goals Against’ tiebreaks.
- CHI (6 points – with one match remaining)
- SEA (4 points – advance in GD)
- SJ (4 points)
- GO (0 points – with one rematch remaining)
Scenario 2: A Sounders victory over their Cascadia rival along with the Fire losing their remaining games would also see Seattle (4 points) take seed # 2, with San Jose leading the group (7 points) and Chicago (3 points) and Vancouver (3). points) competing for the third seed.
- SJ (7 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- CHI (3 points)
- VAN (3 points)
The remaining scenarios, all of which require the Sounders to rack up three points against Vancouver, would see Seattle finish third in Pool B. If the Sounders take third place, they would have to rely on results throughout the rest of MLS. Tournament to break through.
Scenario 3: Chicago manages to draw each of its remaining two games, leaving the Sounders in third place.
- CHI (5 points)
- SJ (5 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- GO (1 point)
Scenario 4: Chicago ties San Jose on Sunday, but scores a win against Vancouver on the final day, putting the Sounders in third place in the group.
- CHI (7 points)
- SJ (5 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- GO (0 points)
Scenario 5: Fire and Earthquakes settle for a tie, but the Whitecaps score a win against Chicago. In the lowest, Seattle would finish in third place, with the possibility of jumping to the second depending on the tiebreaks.
- SJ (5 points)
- CHI (4 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- VAN (3 points)
Scenario 6: Chicago cannot win either of its remaining two games, falling to the Earthquakes and drawing with the Whitecaps. Seattle would return to finish in third place, with the possibility of beating Chicago on goal difference.
- SJ (7 points)
- CHI (4 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- VAN (3 points)
Scenario 7: The Fire split the results in its final two games, losing to the Earthquakes and defeating the Whitecaps. Seattle would finish third, relying on results in other groups to make their way to move forward.
- SJ (7 points)
- CHI (6 points)
- SEA (4 points)
- GO (0 points)
