History is at stake for LAFC and Sporting KC: Preview of the #USOC2024 final

“The further we get away from who we are as a team – because it's a final – the less chance we have of winning,” said LAFC's Zen master and defensive midfield captain Ilie, who still remembers the Open Cup trophy he won as a member of Sporting Kansas City in 2017. It was a “very special moment” and a “perfect start” to his “American soccer journey” that began eight months earlier.

“Sporting Kansas City has a chance to win their season here,” said captain Ilie about his former club's slow progress to the Open Cup final, as their hopes of making the MLS playoffs are all but gone. “They will give it their all. We have to do the same. And when the final comes, we obviously have to give 120 percent and stay true to ourselves.”

Everything is at stake for Sporting Kansas City

While LAFC enters the final with legitimate dreams of winning a second MLS Cup, Sporting Kansas City, having struggled through a miserable year in the league, really has no tomorrow to speak of. But as coach Peter Vermes – the longest-serving manager in MLS – recently said, “We've had times when we've had incredible moments of genius.”

However, the coach also admits that these moments were overshadowed by phases in which brilliance wasn't the first word that came to mind. “We have to be 100 percent focused,” added Vermes, a former USMNT legend.

Sporting Kansas City can rely on its flawless record in Open Cup finals, winning four of four games – including one away in 2015. It's also worth noting that they've lost just one of three MLS Cup finals.