Wicky delighted with Sporting KC's spirit after fightback

Raphael Wicky is confident that Sporting Kansas City's comeback against Portland Timbers will prime them for a strong end to the season.

Sporting KC were down 3-1 in the 64th minute against the Timbers.

However, quickfire efforts from Justin Reynolds and Andre Luiz saw MLS' bottom club surge back to claim a point.

A tough trip to table-topping Nashville SC is next up for Sporting KC, but coach Wicky feels the Portland result has breathed fresh life into his team.

"I think early in the season, before the World Cup break, probably at 3-1 down we have seen games where then the guys started chasing, losing their shape, losing their heads, and then you [concede] the fourth one," he said.

"Maybe it's learning. Maybe it's being more confident because, to be fair, the last two and a half months, the performances of the team have been way better and have been, at times, really good.

"We just cannot turn it into results. Also, when you feel like you have a good performance and you're competitive, it gives you confidence.

"Of course, in the end, it's always the win that gives you the most confidence. But if you see that you're actually playing well and creating a lot and scoring in every game and able to move the ball, I think that gives you confidence.

"I hope that this is giving this team confidence and we can keep growing together."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Nashville SC - Hany Mukhtar

Mukhtar has scored in three straight matches for Nashville, totalling four goals in those games.

This is the seventh time in Mukhtar's career that he has scored in at least three straight regular-season matches, including a four-match run in September 2022 and a five-match run in June-July 2022.

Sporting Kansas City - Andre Luiz

Luiz has scored seven goals in his last five MLS matches, scoring at least once in each game.

The only player with a longer run in Sporting's MLS history is Johnny Russell, who scored in eight consecutive matches in September-October 2021.

MATCH PREDICTION: NASHVILLE WIN

The draw with Portland marked the 10th match this season in which Sporting has avoided defeat and the fifth in which they had to come from behind to do so.

Nashville continued on pace for the MLS points record with a 4-1 win over Austin FC on Saturday, taking them to 63 points through 28 matches.

That is one more point than any other team has totalled through 28 matches of a season in MLS history (beating Inter Miami in 2024, New England Revolution in 2021, Los Angeles FC in 2019).

These two teams have split the first four meetings, with each side winning twice, although this will be their first meeting since 2023, while the only previous encounter in Nashville was a 2-1 Sporting win in June 2022.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Nashville SC - 71%

Draw - 16.5%

Sporting KC - 12.5%