WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: AUSTIN FC VS MINNESOTA
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a match preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent. In case you missed it I broke down the Austin FC roster by Goalkeepers, Defenders, Midfielders, and Attackers.
Austin FC winger Jayden Nelson: Photo courtesy of Aaronflics (Aaron Caldwell)
Opponent: Minnesota United
Kick Off time: 7:39 PM US Central Time
Location: Q2 Stadium
History vs Austin FC:
All-time, Austin FC and Minnesota are 5-1-5 against each other. Last season, Austin lost 3-0 to Minnesota at home and drew 1-1 there. They also defeated Minnesota 2-1 in the USOC Semi-Final.
Players to Watch:
James Rodriguez
The Colombian superstar signed with Minnesota as a free agent until June 2026 with a club option for the rest of the season. He most recently played for Club León in Liga MX after a career around Europe playing for clubs like Real Madrid, AS Monaco, and Bayern Munich. Unfortunately, he didn’t travel with the Loons on Wednesday and is unlikely to make his debut tonight.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane
Hlongwane was used as a wingback under former Coach Eric Ramsey’s 3-5-2 system, but under new coach Cameron Knowles, he should be used in a more attacking role that utilizes his speed and finishing ability on the counterattack, which Austin fans should remember from matches in 2024.
Drake Callender
The former Miami and Charlotte goalkeeper lost his starting job due to injury and never got it back from Óscar Ustari. He was on the shortlist for Goalkeeper of the Year in 2022 and is still only 28, which is relatively young for goalkeepers. He has big shoes to fill due to Dayne St. Clair leaving for Inter Miami.
Keys to the Match:
What even is this?
Austin FC’s pre-season has once again given us very little to go on for what this team will be or look like. Owen Wolff has been out due to a sports hernia, Mikkel Desler is not 100%, and no clear return date, and Brandon Vazquez is recovering from his ACL tear. They brought in Facundo Torres as a new DP and Jayden Nelson to provide more attacking verve, but besides matches that don’t count and coach Nico Estevez himself said were about trying new things…we haven’t seen this team play together, and I legitimately don’t know what to expect.
Unserious Clubs
In this week’s Suffering From Joy Podcast, we talked about what MLS teams are “serious” and “unserious” when it comes to contending or even fielding a competent team. Minnesota is unserious, and that is one of the reasons Eric Ramsey left for West Bromwich Albion, a club in the middle of a relegation battle in the Championship. While sitting third in the West last season, they sold their leading scorer, and this offseason, let top goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair leave as a free agent, Robin Lod left, and Joseph Rosales came to Austin. Those are three big contributors for them that they either didn’t replace or downgraded. Their big signing is a 34-year-old coming from the 17th-ranked side in Liga MX, and he has 5 goal contributions in ~1000 minutes.
Prediction:
Austin FC: 1
Opponent: 1
WRITTEN BY SCOTT SPECHT FOR WAATV
