‘It’s now or never’ – Janssen urges Portland to keep pressure on playoff spots

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Portland Timbers forward Vincent Janssen noted that they are running out of time to clinch an MLS playoff berth and urged his team to continue the push against Sporting Kansas City.

The Timbers are 10th in the Western Conference, but on 32 points, which is only four behind the LA Galaxy in the race for the final wildcard spot with seven games to play.

However, they went into the international break after a slump in form, going winless in four straight matches, and losing each of the last three, including a 3-1 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes last time out.

Janssen still believes Portland have what it takes to make it through to the postseason, with the Timbers wanting to make up for the difficult position they have put themselves in after recent results.

“It’s now or never for the next couple of games,” he said. “That’s the situation we’ve put ourselves in, and that’s the situation we’re trying to get ourselves out of, too.

“I’ve heard these guys say whenever you get into these playoffs, everything is possible. So, I think that’s our goal.

“Get in there, and we’ll figure it out from there. But I think we do have the quality and the ability to get there.”

As for Sporting KC, they prop up the West with 21 points, but two wins in their last four games have given them some hope.

It looks too late for them to make a playoff push, given the 15-point gap to the Galaxy and a last-gasp 2-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders last time out, but head coach Raphael Wicky remains positive.

“It’s a game which hurts because I think we’ve deserved way more than losing the game in the last minute,” he said when asked about the Seattle result.

“But the team have responded really well to that because they feel they performed well.

“The way they have played for the last two months has been interesting and is going in a very good direction, and it gives them more confidence.”

Coming down the final stretch Let’s make ’em count https://t.co/AzZPVftAFw

— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) October 8, 2026

Sporting Kansas City – Andre Luiz

Andre Luiz has scored a goal in four straight league games, the first player to do so for Sporting KC since Dejan Joveljic in May-June 2025.

The last longer streak by a Sporting player was Johnny Russell’s eight straight games in September-October 2021.

Portland Timbers – James Pantemis

James Pantemis made five saves in Portland’s loss to the San Jose Earthquakes, his 10th MLS game in 2026 with five or more saves.

He joins Aljaz Ivacic (2022) as the second goalkeeper in the club’s MLS era to record 10+ games with five or more saves in a single regular season.

MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN

Portland have won four straight matches against Sporting KC, most recently a 6-0 victory in May.

The Timbers have three other four-game regular-season MLS winning streaks against a single opponent (Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, Seattle) but have never recorded five straight wins against one team.

Portland need one more victory for their 14th straight regular season with double-digit wins. They are looking to join Seattle as the only MLS clubs with at least 10 regular-season victories in all 14 seasons played since 2013.

As for Sporting KC, they have scored three goals in each of their last two home matches, their first time with three or more goals in consecutive home matches since August-September 2024. They have had three straight home regular-season matches with three or more goals once in team history (July 2016).

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