The Portland Timbers will look to secure a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs and perhaps even move up to a guaranteed position out of the play-in game when they visit Austin FC on Saturday night on Decision Day 2026.
The Timbers (12-14-7, 43 points) currently are in eighth place in the Western Conference and hold the first berth in the wild-card game. But Portland is just a point behind the Los Angeles Galaxy for seventh place, and avoiding the play-in game with a win coupled with a loss by the Galaxy would allow the Timbers to leapfrog to that status.
But a defeat to the Verde could be disastrous for Portland with Colorado, Seattle, Real Salt Lake and Minnesota just behind it in the chase for at least a berth in the wild-card game.
“Everyone has a pretty good feeling right now,” Timbers striker Vincent Janssen said. “I think our objective was to get into the playoffs, and we’re in a pretty good spot right now. We have one more push to go, and we’re going to keep doing the same thing.”
Portland has won three straight matches, most recently 3-1 at home over Houston on Sunday in a game in which Janssen scored a goal and assisted on tallies by David Da Costa and Kristoffer Velde.
“We need to keep working really hard because the challenge against Austin will be completely different,” Timbers coach Marti Cifuentes said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen, but we need to be ready for whatever is going to happen after Austin.”
The Verde (8-15-10, 34 points) will try to act as a spoiler as they wrap up a disappointing campaign that saw them miss the postseason for the third time in the past four years. Austin endured a mid-year coaching change and remained in the distant hunt for a postseason berth until an Oct. 28 loss at home to Real Salt Lake.
Austin had dropped two straight matches and five of their past six, including three consecutive setbacks on their home pitch. The Verde concluded their road campaign with a 4-1 loss to the LA Galaxy on Oct. 31 as Ervin Torres scored in the defeat.
“Now that we’re not in contention anymore, for me, it’s just about getting these guys minutes and experience,” Austin FC interim coach Davy Arnaud said. “It’s going to pay dividends down the road.”
The Verde beat Portland 2-1 on Aug. 29 in the Pacific Northwest in the teams’ only meeting this season.
–Field Level Media
