Sporting Kansas City v Charlotte FC: Zavagnin cannot ask for more commitment

Sporting Kansas City's interim head coach Kerry Zavagnin remains proud of his team’s commitment levels as they look to bounce back from a heavy defeat on Wednesday.

Sporting have lost their last two matches, most recently a 4-2 defeat at home to FC Dallas.

Zavagnin’s side have won just one of their last seven games overall, with three draws and three losses, leaving them 13th in the Western Conference.

The interim coach believes his side can do more to control matches, but he is adamant his players always give their all.

“The mentality of the group, since day one, has been outstanding,” said Zavagnin.

“It's the one piece that I'm not sure we can really improve upon because the intensity and the commitment that they give to each and every day, and each and every game, I can't ask for more.

"We've been down before in multiple games and we found a way to come back. We were down 4-1 and I thought, maybe (we could come back) with this group because they will never give up.

"We put every attacking piece we had on the field, because I thought just maybe we might be able to do it.

“When you have a group like that that will play to the final whistle regardless of what the conditions are, that's something that every coach should be proud of.

“I talked to the guys on a regular basis about, ‘let's control the things that we can control and understand the things that we can't control'. And by knowing that difference, we can focus on ourselves.”

Defender Khiry Shelton added: “I think we just have to get together. We had our meeting already.

"We did go straight to that, that there are some things out of our control and those things can be very frustrating but we have to let those things go and focus on what we did right and what we did wrong.” 

Charlotte are currently ninth in the Eastern Conference after a 98th-minute loss to Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union last time out.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Sporting Kansas City – Dejan Joveljic

The attacking prowess of Joveljic has been irreplaceable for Sporting KC this season.

He is the team's top scorer with 10 goals, which is tied for the fourth-highest in the league in 2025.

The Serbian forward has either scored or assisted in each of his last five games in all competitions.

Charlotte FC – Pep Biel

Biel has been Charlotte’s main attacking threat this season, scoring five times and registering seven assists.

He scored the opening goal in their last away game against Toronto FC, which they won 2-0.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

At Children's Mercy Park this season, Sporting KC have two wins, two draws, and four losses in eight MLS contests.

Charlotte will seek to address a poor run of results away from home this season with one draw, seven losses, and just two wins on the road ahead of Wednesday's game.

Charlotte and Kansas City will square off for the first time since the North Carolina side entered the league in 2022.

Charlotte have two wins against first-time MLS opponents this season (San Diego, San Jose Earthquakes), winning both games by multiple goals.

Wilfried Zaha scored his fifth goal of the season against Philadelphia, becoming the fourth Charlotte player to tally at least five goals this season. No other team in MLS has more than three players with five or more goals in 2025.

In their last six league matches, Sporting KC have won one, drawn three and lost two. Charlotte, meanwhile, have won two and lost four in their last six.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Sporting Kansas City – 34.7%

Draw – 25.9%

Charlotte FC – 39.4%