{"id":212928,"date":"2026-03-10T10:19:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/212928\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T10:19:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T10:19:30","slug":"2026-mls-matchday-3-power-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/212928\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 MLS Matchday 3 Power Rankings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>And then there were four.<\/p>\n<p>With Matchday 3 in MLS complete, only four sides remain perfect, all of them out in the Western Conference.     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/lafc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lafc_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Los Angeles FC<\/a>,     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/san-diego-fc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/san_diego_wave_logo.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>San Diego FC<\/a> and the     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/vancouver-whitecaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/vancouver_whitecaps_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a> could be expected. The same can&#8217;t be said for the     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/san-jose-earthquakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/san_jose_earthquakes_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>.    <\/p>\n<p>Yes, the Quakes brought in Timo Werner this winter. But they also parted with Cristian Espinoza, Cristian Arango and Josef Martinez. Yet here they are through three matches, with nine points and no goals conceded.<\/p>\n<p>So how do we believe San Jose truly stacks up against those other Western Conference clubs with a stronger track record? Read our 2026 Matchday 3 MLS Power Rankings to find out.<\/p>\n<p>            1 <\/p>\n<p>                            Vancouver Whitecaps<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 4 (+3)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps, 2025)\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mixcollage-08-may-2025-08-02-pm-8190.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/mixcollage-08-may-2025-08-02-pm-8190.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 4-1 win at Portland Timbers<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Sunday, March 15 vs. Minnesota United (4:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Brian White bagged a brace, Sebastian Berhalter scored one goal and assisted two more, and the     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/vancouver-whitecaps\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/vancouver_whitecaps_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Vancouver Whitecaps<\/a> completed their second dominant victory in as many weeks to move into the top spot.    <\/p>\n<p>            2 <\/p>\n<p>                            Los Angeles FC<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 1 (-1)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"David Martinez and Son Heung-min\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/davidmartinezsonheungminlafc.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/davidmartinezsonheungminlafc.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 1-0 win vs. FC Dallas<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 vs. St. Louis City (10:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>David Martinez scored a match-winner Saturday in what is shaping up as a breakout season for the 20-year-old. But     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/lafc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lafc_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Los Angeles FC<\/a> hasn&#8217;t quite recaptured the ruthlessness of their season-opening win over Miami in their two more-recent victories.    <\/p>\n<p>            3 <\/p>\n<p>                            San Diego FC<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 2 (-1)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Anders Dreyer\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/andersdreyer.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/andersdreyer.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 at FC Dallas (8:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Another goal from Anders Dreyer gave     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/san-diego-fc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/san_diego_wave_logo.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>San Diego FC<\/a> an away victory most would&#8217;ve expected. And while it maybe wasn&#8217;t decisive, it was an impressive result considering the temptation to look ahead to a Concacaf Champions Cup clash with Toluca that begins this week.    <\/p>\n<p>            4 <\/p>\n<p>                            Inter Miami<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 3 (-1)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Mateo Silvetti\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silvetti.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/silvetti.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 2-1 win at DC United<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 at Charlotte FC (7:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Lionel Messi and Rodrigo de Paul scored, but it was Mateo Silvetti who provided the decisive quality moment for     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/inter-miami\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/inter_miami_logo.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Inter Miami CF<\/a> -\u2014 an exceptional ball to set up Messi&#8217;s winner \u2014 in a surprisingly close contest in Baltimore.    <\/p>\n<p>            5 <\/p>\n<p>                            Nashville SC<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 5 (unchanged)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sam Surridge\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/samsurridgenashville.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/samsurridgenashville.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 3-1 win vs. Minnesota United<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 at Columbus Crew (6:15 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Cristian Espinoza scored his first goal for     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/nashville-sc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nashville_sc_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Nashville SC<\/a>, while Sam Surridge recorded his second brace of the season to emerge as the early front-runner in the MLS Golden Boot chase. Now comes yet another Concacaf clash with Messi and Miami over the next two weeks.    <\/p>\n<p>            6 <\/p>\n<p>                            New York City FC<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 8 (+2)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Keaton Parks celebrates for NYCFC\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/keatonparksnycfc.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/keatonparksnycfc.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 5-0 win vs. Orlando City<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 vs. Colorado Rapids (7:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Maxime Crepeau&#8217;s early red card certainly handed     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/new-york-city-fc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nycfc_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>New York City FC<\/a> an advantage. But you have to give Pascal Jansen&#8217;s side credit for ruthlessly taking advantage of it in the most-lopsided match of the weekend.    <\/p>\n<p>            7 <\/p>\n<p>                            San Jose Earthquakes<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 15 (+8)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Timo Werner\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/timowernerquakes.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/timowernerquakes.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 1-0 win at Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Sunday, March 15 vs. Seattle Sounders (7 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>You can&#8217;t put the     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/san-jose-earthquakes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/san_jose_earthquakes_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> in with the MLS elite just yet. But if Timo Werner continues to be an exceptional provider of the final pass, as he has been in his first two MLS appearances, Bruce Arena&#8217;s group will be in the thick of the West race all season.    <\/p>\n<p>            8 <\/p>\n<p>                            Seattle Sounders<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 9 (+1)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Andrew Thomas\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/andrewthomasseattlesounders.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/andrewthomasseattlesounders.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 1-0 win at St. Louis City<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Sunday, March 15 at San Jose Earthquakes (7 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Thomas has kept clean sheets in two of his first three starts this season for the     <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/seattle_sounders_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Seattle Sounders after nudging ahead of club legend Stefan Frei to earn the No. 1 job, at least for now.    <\/p>\n<p>            9 <\/p>\n<p>                            Chicago Fire<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 6 (-3)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Chicago Fire goal\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/chicago-fire-goal.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/chicago-fire-goal.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 0-0 draw at Columbus Crew<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Saturday, March 14 vs. DC United (8:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p>The     <a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/chicago-fire-fc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/chicago_fire_logo.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Chicago Fire FC<\/a> were on the defensive for much of the evening in Central Ohio, but managed to pick up their first away point of the season and their first in Columbus since the 2022 regular season.    <\/p>\n<p>            10 <\/p>\n<p>                            Minnesota United<\/p>\n<p>            Previously: 7 (-3)<\/p>\n<p>        <img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Nectarios Triantis\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nectariostriantis.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/nectariostriantis.jpg\"\/><br \/>\n        Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>                                        Last time out: 3-1 loss at Nashville SC<\/p>\n<p>                                        Up next: Sunday, March 15 at Vancouver Whitecaps (4:30 pm ET)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.givemesport.com\/tag\/minnesota-united\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/minnesota_united_logo-1.png\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>Minnesota United<\/a> have scored exactly one goal in each of their three league matches. Nectarios Triantis&#8217; thunderbolt in Nashville was probably the best of the bunch, though it goes down only as the least consequential in terms of results.    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And then there were four. With Matchday 3 in MLS complete, only four sides remain perfect, all of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,90,89],"class_list":{"0":"post-212928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-san-jose","9":"tag-san-jose-headlines","10":"tag-san-jose-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}