Portland Timbers-Austin FC Preview (8/29/26)

No one wants to play 7 games in 22 days. Especially in the midst of a coaching change. But Marti Cifuentes finally got his full week of training, and he’s ready to lead the Portland Timbers into a matchup they’re expected to win: a home date against Austin FC.

The Broccoli Report

In 2025, the Timbers finished their season series against the Broccolis before the month of April was over. So let’s play some brief catch-up.

Austin’s 2025 season was pretty successful given their standards. They rode a pillow-soft schedule in the 2nd half of the season to a 6th-place finish in the West despite not being good at goalscoring and an overreliance on goalkeeper Brad Stuver to keep games close. But the Broccolis wanted to compete for trophies, and they nearly got their hands on the first piece of silverware in club history.

Their 2025 Open Cup journey began with a 3-2 win against El Paso. However, the Broccolis were down 2-0 at halftime and needed goals from new DPs Brandon Vazquez and Myrto Uzuni to scrape a win at home against a USL side. Then they raced out to a 3-0 lead in the next round against Houston, and a late goal wasn’t enough to spark a middling Dynamo into a comeback. That result brought them into the quarterfinals, and a trip to San Jose. If the Portland Timbers managed to beat the Earthquakes in the previous round, Austin would’ve had to come to Portland instead. This game was notable for two reasons: Austin would score two equalizers to force a penalty shootout. They’d win the shootout and advance to the semifinals. But it came at a serious cost. Vazquez tore his ACL and Austin’s ceiling was seriously affected. However, his replacement up top (youth player CJ Fodrey) scored a priceless 120th-minute game-winner in the semifinal against Minnesota.

Two weeks later, they hosted Nashville in the final. Hany Mukhtar opened the scoring in the 17th minute, and Uzuni had a chance to equalize from the penalty spot four minutes later. However, the Albanian’s spot-kick was saved by Brian Schwake; Nashville’s backup goalkeeper (who has been elevated to the starting role in 2026 and is 2nd in MLS with 9 clean sheets). Uzuni would redeem himself by equalizing in first-half stoppage time. However, Sam Surridge knocked home a penalty kick on the hour mark and forced Austin to attack. They would be unable to find a second equalizer and Nashville lifted the Open Cup at Q2 Stadium.

Austin would go on to lose two of their final three league games before entering the playoffs. Their first-round matchup was LAFC. The Broccolis had defeated Disguised Chivas 17 days before Game 1. I cannot think of a worse advertisement for MLS than putting two teams that don’t want the ball against each other in the first round of the playoffs. A 79th-minute winner from Nathan Ordaz clinched victory for Disguised Chivas in Game 1. Then the series turned to Austin for Game 2. Heung-Min Son and Denis Bouanga struck twice in the span of four minutes to give LAFC a 2-0 lead by the 25th minute. Uzuni decided to miss another penalty in the 39th, which allowed Bouanga’s second goal of the game to increase LAFC’s lead to 3-0 right before first-half stoppage time. Austin earned another PK in stoppage-time, but Dani Pereira was able to convert after Uzuni was clearly unfit to take a spot-kick despite being an 8-figure DP forward. LAFC protected their two-goal lead throughout the second half. Then Jeremy Ebobisse ensured that Disguised Chivas made a trip to Austin 4-1 reason in second-half stoppage time. 2025 saw the Broccolis get as close as they’ve ever been to a trophy. But they couldn’t win the Open Cup at home and got kicked out of the playoffs without a single win.

The defining story of Austin’s 2025 was their DPs. Winger Osman Bukari arrived in the summer of 2024, but his first full season in Texas ended with 5g/4a in 39 games. Only 3g/3a occurred in league play. Uzuni, aside from the penalty misses, was the biggest disappointment after arriving in the winter for $12M. The Albanian had 9g/3a in 34 games. Vazquez was OK before getting hurt, but 9g/1a in 22 games is a bit misleading considering 4g/1a came in 3 Open Cup games. Bukari was expected to be the main creator, while Uzuni and Vazquez were pure finishers. They really needed a top-tier creator in the winter.

In order to add such a player, one of the DPs needed to go. Bukari was sold to Widzew Lodz in Poland for a slight monetary loss. Julio Cascante, Stefan Cleveland, Jader Obrian, and Diego Rubio also departed in the winter. Jon Bell, Jayden Nelson, and Joseph Rosales arrived from other MLS clubs. But they still needed to find a high-level DP who could create for Uzuni and Vazquez. To my delight, they did not find that player. Their choice to replace Bukari was sending Brazilian club Palmeiras approximately $9.3M for former Orlando winger Facundo Torres.

Torres is a very good player, don’t get me wrong. But he’s another finisher. So who would create for Austin? U22 midfielder Owen Wolff seemed like the choice, but he began 2026 with an injury. So Nico Estevez, entering his second season with the Broccolis, had to make do.

Austin FC (5-6-10, 21 points, 14W/28S) spent the Apertura in the same level of futility as the Timbers. They only won 1 of their first 9 MLS games, and all hopes of a repeat Open Cup run were dashed by Louisville City in the Round of 32. The Broccolis entered the World Cup break with a 3-5-7 record, matching the Timbers on points but with one more game played. It was dire. Estevez was fired on May 18th, with Davy Arnaud elevated to the interim role.

The Broccolis didn’t spend the World Cup in a state of stasis. Jim Curtin was hired as the next head coach of Austin FC, but he did not want to take charge until the offseason. So Arnaud became the interim for the remainder of 2026. In terms of roster moves, Przemyslaw Placheta and Jorge Alastuey joined the first team. But it’s been a summer of departures. Nelson was sold to Bolton after a half-season, Dani Pereira was traded to Montreal, Nicolas Dubersarsky was loaned back to Argentina, and Open Cup hero Fodrey joined Scottish side Falkirk on loan as well. But the biggest departure occurred over the past week. Wolff was sold to SKC in a complicated cashfer with more conditional money than base fee.

The Broccolis have only played 6 MLS games in the Clausura. They’re 2-1-3 in that span. Both victories came against the Seattle Sounders (hilarious), two of those losses came against their Texan rivals, and the lone draw occurred last weekend against Philadelphia. However, the Broccolis managed to advance to the knockout stages of Leagues Cup after victories against Tijuana and Puebla set up a big win against Club America on penalty kicks. But that advancement turned out to be a curse rather than a blessing.

TANGENT: A Completely Useless Tournament

For the first time since Leagues Cup was expanded in 2023, no MLS team will claim victory. As a matter of face, no MLS team will even reach the final. Chicago, Columbus, RSL, and Austin lost their quarterfinal matches to Monterrey, Club America, Leon, and Toluca (respectively). But Austin’s path in particular was unbelievably stupid.

Toluca finished 3rd in the Liga MX table, but they were able to get a semblance of home-field advantage by denying Austin the chance to play at home in the quarterfinals. Instead, the Broccolis had to travel to HARRISON, NEW JERSEY for a fiercely competitive knockout stage tournament game! EIGHT THOUSAND people were in attendance to watch Toluca beat Austin 2-0.

I hope the calendar switch results in the death of Leagues Cup. It’s a stupid tournament taking place at a stupid time and the primary goal (selling tickets to Liga MX fans in the USA) can’t even be fully accomplished with the nonsensical scheduling decisions. I wish Leagues Cup could actually turn into a legitimate tournament, but the league refuses to treat it like one. It can go die in a hole, for all I care.

The Broccoli Report, Continued

Austin’s top scorer is Uzuni, who has 6 goals in 18 MLS games. Torres had to turn into a provider, and he leads the team with 5 assists. They enter tomorrow’s game relatively exhausted from a midweek game against an outstanding opponent that they had to play in goddamn New Jersey. And, on top of that, they aren’t very good.

ATX Injury Report & Projected Starting XI

Congratulations to Austin FC for having a completely clear injury report.

Arnaud has instituted a back three system, and Austin has enough center backs for the system to work. I’m projecting the same starters from the Toluca game in the backline, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Mateja Djordjevic or Jon Bell start tomorrow’s game. The midfield line should remain somewhat similar, with the only projected change being Alastuey in place of Besard Sabovic (who could be a good MLS midfielder if he wasn’t in Austin). Vazquez didn’t start in New Jersey, so he should be good from the jump tomorrow. All three of Austin’s DPs should start in this game. But they’re still not a very good team, and they’re carrying extra fatigue from traveling.

The Timbers Report

After a brutal Apertura schedule, the Portland Timbers (8-4-9, 28 points, 9W/15S) are ready for the actual beginning of the Marti Cifuentes era. And it begins with a full week of training! As Cifuentes begins to introduce the defining principles of his system, he’s about to have a perfect opportunity to test them out.

The Runway

These are the next 7 games for your Portland Timbers. Results are expected in all of them, with 3 points expected in all of the home games. Although the usual deathtrap of Dallas is on the horizon, the Timbers will enter that game after playing 3 consecutive matches at home. Austin is bad, Minnesota is sliding, St. Louis is on a Wednesday, Atlanta is constantly in flux, San Jose is taking a serious nosedive, and SKC is SKC.

I really wish there was more I could say. But if the Timbers stumble during this stretch, their playoff chances will take a serious hit. It’s the easiest part of the schedule. Points have to be picked up. 

PTFC Injury Report & Projected Starting XI

Chara was a late scratch against LAFC, and he will miss his second consecutive game. Hunter Sulte will replace Muse on the bench. Janssen’s suspension is slightly more costly due to the outgoing transfer of Kevin Kelsy. Kamal Miller is on Game 4 of Yellow Card Watch. He needs to avoid a booking in each of the next two games to qualify for the Good Behavior Initiative.

With games (momentarily) back to a weekend-to-weekend basis, there shouldn’t be any major rotation tomorrow. Guerra gets the start up top because he is the only striker who is eligible to play. However, Da Costa’s performance as a false 9 against Puebla could earn the Portuguese midfielder a start up top. I don’t think that’s very likely though. I think Bassett will score a goal tomorrow. Other than that, it should be business as usual for Portland.

Tactical Preview

Possession

Even before Austin had to travel to NEW JERSEY for a Leagues Cup knockout game, they were going to enter tomorrow’s match with a serious fear of possessing the soccer ball. This should give the Timbers a chance to work on their possession patterns. It wouldn’t surprise me if Portland ended tomorrow’s game with 75% possession or more. 

So how can they break down Austin’s notoriously low block? The key lies in off-ball runs. Underlaps and overlaps will open space, while the box-crashers will have to get goalside of the defenders. Taking shots from distance will balance out Portland’s desire to create chances on the doorstep of the goal. Shoot, shoot again, shoot even more, and don’t stop shooting.

Pressing

The extra week of rest can also provide a stronger base for the Timbers to press from. Where will they try to turn the ball over, and how quickly can they turn those turnovers into offense? A lot will be learned about Cifuentes’ desires in this game. Austin is a perfect opponent to practice on.

Matchday Info

Broadcast Bulletin

English: Blake Price & Paul Dolan

Spanish: Carlos Mauricio Ramirez

Home Radio Broadcast from 105.1 The Fan: available on Apple TV

Broadcast platform: Apple TV

Kickoff time: 7:30 PM PST

Referee Report

Guido Gonzales Jr’s 2026 stats: 7 games, 25 fouls/game, 0.29 penalties/game, 4.14 yellows/game, 0.57 reds/game

Last Timbers game officiated: October 22, 2025 vs. RSL 3-1 W

I do not like Guido Gonzales Jr and I’m not afraid to admit it.

I don’t think he’s able to get a handle on games. He usually gets the ticky-tack foul calls wrong. The defining moment of his officiating tenure was his inability to properly follow the FIFA protocols in last year’s Club America-Portland game, coincidentally played in Austin. I do not have high hopes for the standard of officiating in tomorrow’s game. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Gonzales Jr has only refereed 7 MLS games this year.

Series History

Historical record: 6-2-3, +3 goal differential

Home record: 3-1-1, +4 goal differential

Current streak: 2 unbeaten

Current road streak: 1 win

Table Time

One game is much more important in regards to Portland’s position than any other. Tomorrow’s edition of the Rocky Mountain Cup takes place between 28-point Colorado and 28-point RSL. The Timbers are also on 28 points. Minnesota, the other 28-point team in the West, hosts Orlando. The Loons come to Providence Park next weekend.

The Galaxy and San Diego play each other, while the Sounders host Chicago. Is a 10-game winless streak possible? Can the Fire do what needs to be done and spoil Dejan Joveljic’s Seattle debut? We can only hope so.

Final Whistle

The main story from this week was the departure of Kevin Kelsy to Scottish club Rangers for a fee of $13M plus add-ons and a sell-on clause. I wrote about it on Wednesday, so check it out if you haven’t already.

However, tomorrow’s game is not the biggest event of the upcoming week. With the transfer window closing on Wednesday, and several holes in the roster needing a form of resolution, the majority of the focus remains on how the Timbers will use the incoming windfall of cash. Portland can still succeed without Kelsy. But they need to show whether or not they are intent on going for it in 2026.

The Western Conference continues to resemble a gigantic mudfight. None of these teams are too much better than each other, with the Vancouver Whitecaps providing the only exception (and SKC doing the same on the opposite end of the spectrum). The slightest of roster moves can push the Timbers closer to the contender tier. And those moves need to occur over the next four days.

It’s weird for the game on the weekend to be the undercard event, but I think it speaks to the new expectations surrounding the Timbers. This game is widely expected to be a win, and any result other than a win would be brutally disappointing. The players have spent the beginning of the Clausura getting (mostly) run into the ground but stacking points at the same time. They got their chance to rest, and now they can take advantage of a team that is even more exhausted than the Timbers were after the final whistle blew in Los Angeles last weekend. It also helps that their opponents aren’t very good. Tomorrow’s victory should be accomplished with the efficiency of checking a box. The climb continues.