MLS is temporarily on pause as attention in North America and all around the globe turns to the World Cup. Now that we’re at the midseason break, the time is perfect to look at the winners and losers from the first half of the season. Today it’s a breakdown of the top 5 biggest losers from the Eastern Conference. Remember, these can be teams as a whole, specific aspects of a team, players, coaches, or anything in between. In other words, there’s no rules. Let’s get into it!
1. Philadelphia Union
Pretty much every aspect of the club has been an absolute trainwreck in 2026. It’s shown in their performances, as the Union currently sit dead last in MLS and have only won once.
Let’s start with the front office. Sporting Director Ernst Tanner has been suspended without pay after a leaguewide investigation found him guilty of several instances of misconduct. Honestly, it’s nasty stuff, so I’m not going to get into it further than that. The Union haven’t actually said who’s taking Tanner’s place while he’s suspended. But whoever it is, they’re doing a very bad job.
In the offseason, four key contributors were allowed to leave. The league’s best left back Kai Wagner got his long-awaited move to Europe via Birmingham City, Mikael Uhre left on a free transfer to Danish giants Midtjylland, Jakob Glesnes was traded to LA Galaxy, and leading scorer Tai Baribo was sent to direct rivals DC United. All of this came after the Union won the Supporters’ Shield last season and looked like they had a real chance to finally lift MLS Cup. Why did this happen? Because owner Jay Sugarman has no ambition and doesn’t actually care if the club wins. All he cares about is saving money.
Off the pitch it’s been a nightmare, but the product on the pitch isn’t any better. Record signing Ezekiel Alladoh still hasn’t scored in 13 MLS games, while fellow striker Bruno Damiani just scored his first goal against Inter Miami in their last game before the break. U22 initiative signing Philippe Ndinga was supposed to be the replacement for Kai Wagner at left back but now can’t get into the team over Ben Bender, who is an attacking midfielder by trade and not a particularly good one at that. Speaking of not particularly good attacking midfielders, Indiana Vassilev is the 2nd worst field player in MLS based on Goals Added (or subtracted in his case).
At the end of the day, the bad results fall squarely on the manager Bradley Carnell. When he took over St. Louis City as an expansion club, he finished top of the West in his 1st season. In his 2nd season, he got sacked as they languished to 12th. The same exact thing is happening in Philly but to a more dramatic extent. His lineup decisions don’t make sense, his substitutions make even less sense, and his stubbornness has been a real detriment. Sixteen year old Cavan Sullivan has been the team’s only attacking bright spot this season, yet he only recently started playing consistent minutes. Carnell has continued to rely on the same mediocre players and expects the results to change. That’s the definition of insanity.
2. Toronto FC’s Injury Crisis
You have to feel bad for Toronto FC. They currently have 12 players on the injury report, triple the league average and double the next highest teams. Every area of the pitch has been hit besides the goalkeepers. Striker Josh Sargent, who Toronto just signed for $22 million, missed a month. DP midfielder Djordje Mihailović has been out for 2 months. Canadian international fullback Richie Laryea. Loaned in center back BenjamÃn Kuscevic. All action midfielder José Cifuentes. Wingers Theo Corbeanu and Matheus Pereira. The list goes on.
It’s getting to the point where questions need to be asked about Toronto’s physio staff, their facilities, and the organization as a whole. The ownership group MLSE also owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, and Argonauts. Before last season, they made the decision to eliminate the Director of Sports Science and Performance position for the Maple Leafs. As a result, the Leafs had major injury problems this past season and finished dead last in their division. In other words, the owners have a history of disregarding medical staff.
3. Orlando City’s Shaky Defense
There were a few clubs I considered putting on this list because of their defense. FC Cincinnati have conceded 37 goals and had lots of rotation between their center backs. Despite Inter Miami’s high-flying attack, they’ve been suspect at the back. However, the only right pick here was Orlando City. They’ve conceded a league-worst 44 goals in 15 matches and have the 2nd worst goal difference in MLS because of it.
Canadian goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau has really struggled in his first year with Orlando. He joined from Portland Timbers in the offseason and has -2.65 Goals Added, 7th worst in MLS. He’ll be worrying if his bad form may have cost him the chance to start for Canada in the World Cup, but to be fair his competition Dayne St. Clair has actually been worse. Crépeau’s backline hasn’t given him much help. Robin Jansson is 34 and it’s easy to tell by his play. David Brekalo has regressed massively after a decent year in 2025. New signing Iago is playing in his first season as a true first teamer and his lack of experience has shown. There’s not much going right for Orlando City when it comes to defending but the silver lining is that the attack is doing alright and they of course will be adding Antoine Griezmann to the squad after the World Cup.
4. Emmanuel Latte Lath
Ivorian striker Emmanuel Latte Lath is the 5th most expensive signing in MLS history. His debut season with Atlanta last year didn’t go to plan. He only scored 7 league goals, underperforming his xG by 3.93 and leading his team to 14th in the East. This season isn’t going any better. Latte Lath has a whopping 2 goals in 13 MLS appearances and his club are still in 14th.
To make matters worse, they’ve started experimenting with a new style of play that doesn’t even involve a striker. Playmaker Aleksey Miranchuk has been playing as a false 9 but that hasn’t really been successful for Atlanta either. It’s a tough situation to be in for manager Tata Martino. Latte Lath has obviously felt the pressure of his price tag and keeps disappointing. The talent is there as we saw during his time at Middlesbrough, but right now it’s hard to imagine him ever finding success with Atlanta United.
5. Columbus Crew’s Identity
Things have been off with Columbus Crew in 2026. It all started when Wilfried Nancy decided to take the job as Celtic boss during the offseason, then proceeded to be the shortest-tenured manager in club history as he got sacked after just 33 days. Maybe Nancy’s failure in Scotland was a bad omen for his former club. Swedish coach Henrik Rydström was his replacement in Columbus and things got off to a really bad start.
The main problem with Rydström was his tactics. Under Nancy, the Crew excelled in a 3-4-2-1 formation with the wingbacks being a huge part of their success. Rydström switched things up, going with a 4-4-2 and playing several key contributors out of position as a result. Max Arfsten went from playing left wing back to deputizing at right mid. Diego Rossi and Taha Habroune have played a lot of minutes at striker, especially after the injury to Wessam Abou Ali. Rossi has done alright, but it’s clear that he needs a true number 9 up top with him and Habroune is much better suited as a central midfielder.
The final straw was a 1-1 draw with Philadelphia Union that saw Rydström sacked and Laurent Courtois promoted to interim manager. Hopefully for Columbus, they can get back to their identity under the new coach.
