The WNBA and the players union agreed on Oct. 30 to extend the current collective bargaining agreement for 30 days. The new deadline of Nov. 30 is less than a week away and, as far as the reporting has shown, they are no closer to a agreement.

It remains to be seen if the two sides will reach another extension to allow more time for an agreement to be reached without a work stoppage. The WNBA could lock the player out or the player could go on strike.

The WNBA put forth a new salary structure last week. The league’s latest offer includes a maximum salary of more than $1.1 million, available to more than one player per team, in addition to league minimum of more than $220,000 and an average salary of more than $460,000. Those salaries would increase over the length of the CBA at higher rate than previous years.

The WNBPA came back with its answer, saying it does not believe the league’s proposed CBA includes appropriate player salary growth in conjunction with the league’s business over time. This concept, with a salary cap based on basketball-related income and no fixed salaries, like the NBA operates, was among the players’ demands when they opted out of the current CBA in October 2024.

Here’s the latest on the ongoing negotiations:

What do the players want that the league is not offering?

In it’s simplest terms, players want revenue sharing. Instead of having fixed salaries, players want what they earn to be directly tied to a percentage of basketball-related income. Most men’s sports leagues split revenue with players 50-50. But WNBA players, it’s been reported, receive less than 10% of league revenue.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on ‘Today’ on Oct. 21 and took issue with a question about revenue sharing. Craig Melvin asked if WNBA players should get a larger piece of the revenue pie. “They get nine percent of total revenue compared to roughly 50 percent of the revenue of NBA players. Should they be getting a larger share of revenue in the WNBA?”

“Yes,’ Silver said ‘I think ‘share’ isn’t the right way to look at it because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA. You should look at it in absolute numbers in terms of what they’re making. They are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining. And they deserve it.”

When the WNBPA opted out of the current CBA in Oct. 2024, WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike said players wanted to change the foundation of compensation for women’s sports. 

‘We are ready to lead transformational change — change that goes beyond women’s sports and sets a precedent for something greater,’ Ogwumike said. ‘Opting out isn’t just about bigger paychecks — it’s about claiming our rightful share of the business we’ve built, improving working conditions, and securing a future where the success we create benefits today’s players and the generations to come.’

What about the increased salaries in the WNBA’s latest offer?

Under the WNBA’s latest proposal, the league’s minimum salary would rise from $66,079 in 2025 to more than $220,000, with an average league salary of more than $460,000. But, Front Office Sports reported the $1.1 million maximum salary figure includes additional money related to potential revenue sharing targets. The real base supermax contract number would be $800,000 or $850,000. ESPN reported that ‘the players’ union does not believe the league’s proposal includes a system where the salary cap and player salaries sufficiently grow with the business.’

Is the WNBA’s popularity really up?

The numbers tell a positive story. Even with many popular players, including the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, sitting out with injuries, the WNBA set a record with 3.15 million fans attending games in 2025. That was up 34% year-over-year, according to the Sports Business Journal. An average of 11,148 fans attended each game, an all-time high for the league. The WNBA also expanded its regular season and playoffs to generate more revenue. ESPN said the WNBA’s regular season and postseason were the league’s most-watched across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, as games averaged 1.2 million viewers. The figure represents 5% growth year-over-year. ESPN also reported it had the most-watched WNBA postseason ever.

The WNBA also has a national media rights package worth $2.2 billion over 11 years going into effect in 2026. The WNBA could sell additional game inventory to increase that number. The TV deals, combined with investment, ratings, ticket and merchandise sales, seem to be a turning point for the league, which turns 30 next season.

Who owns the WNBA?

The NBA’s direct ownership of the WNBA is 42%, WNBA team owners hold another 42% and an external investment group owns the remaining 16%. 

The group of private investors, which included Nike, Condoleezza Rice, Laurene Powell Jobs, NBA owners and several prominent athletes, infused $75 million of capital investment into the league for growth in 2022.

The NBA owns an estimated 60% to 75% of the WNBA when you combine NBA team owners who also own WNBA franchises and NBA owners who took part in the capital investment.

Do other leagues like Unrivaled or Project B give players leverage?

Players have competed in other leagues during the offseason since the WNBA began. Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 league started by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier last winter, gives players the option to stay in the United States. Project B, which will hold seven two-week tournaments across three continents, will begin overseas after the WNBA’s 2026 season. Both Unrivaled and Project B offer players an equity stake.

Unrivaled’s eight-week season is played in Miami beginning in January. Unrivaled, which paid players more $200,000 for the first season, also offers amenities that might not be seen in all stops in the WNBA.

‘The resources stuck out to me right away, specifically with childcare. And I had never experienced being able to go to the games and drop my kids off. I knew they were going to be safe,’ Skylar Diggins, who plays for the Lunar Owls, told USA TODAY Sports recently.

Project B announced it will tip off in November 2026 and run through April 2027. Four WNBA players including Ogwumike, Alyssa Thomas, Jonquel Jones and Jewell Loyd have signed on for four of the league’s 66 roster sports.  Front Office Sports reported player deals in the women’s league will reach seven figures and start at $2 million annually.

Both leagues have said they are not positioning themselves as competition to the WNBA, but if the compensation is better, there is nothing keeping players from playing in either league and skipping the W altogether. After all, Diana Taurasi didn’t play the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club team, UMMC Ekaterinburg. They paid her more than her WNBA salary to rest and be healthy for their season.

When does the current WNBA CBA run out?

The CBA, which was signed in January 2020, shortly after Cathy Engelbert took over as WNBA commissioner in 2019, was set to expire in 2027 after eight seasons. The WNBPA, however, exercised its right to opt out of the agreement last October amid unprecedented league growth. The CBA had been set to expire on Oct. 31, 2025 but the two sides extended the deadline by 30 days. It will now be up on Sunday, Nov. 30. Another extension is possible, although after the WNBA draft lottery on Sunday, the league now has to think about the expansion draft, free agency and WNBA draft. Time is of the essence if the league wants to start on time next spring.

Has there ever been a WNBA lockout?

No. But a lockout or strike could result in the 2026 season being delayed or canceled if a new CBA is not signed into effect by May. The WNBA has avoided a work stoppage in its 29-year history, although the 2003 WNBA draft and preseason were postponed before a new CBA was reached.

Netflix is set to hire Elle Duncan, ESPN’s on-air talent, to be its first full-time sports personality, marking a significant step in its expansion into live sports, according to a report by The Athletic.

The streaming giant has expanded its live sports coverage in recent years, featuring events such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Christmas Day NFL games, and major boxing matches like Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson. As the year comes to a close, Netflix plans to further enhance its boxing coverage, including the match between Paul and Anthony Joshua, as well as events from WWE, NFL and MLB.

Duncan joined ESPN in 2016 as an anchor for SportsCenter and has been a staple of the 6 p.m. show for the past five years. Reports indicate that Netflix pursued Malika Andrews, but she signed a multiyear extension with ESPN in September. In her new role with Netflix, Duncan will anchor the streaming service’s live sports and studio content lineup, taking on a leading position in coverage.

Though the contract has not been signed yet, the report also indicated that Duncan’s new role with Netflix raises concerns about her future at ESPN, but the company and Duncan’s agent have not commented on the situation.

Still just 30 years old, Cody Bellinger has been a National League MVP, a World Series champion and has played admirably for three of the most storied franchises in Major League Baseball: The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees.

And still, he hasn’t found a permanent home.

That should change this winter, finally, after Bellinger his healthiest and most productive season since winning the 2019 NL MVP for the Dodgers. He played 152 games for the Yankees, amassed 5.1 WAR and hit the most homers – 29 – since his 47-dinger effort in the hopped-up ball 2019 season.

So, now what?

USA TODAY Sports examines the best landing spots for Bellinger, ranked No. 6 among this winter’s free agents:

Los Angeles Dodgers

Run it back?

That was the theme of a commercial featuring Bellinger and Christian Yelich in 2019, when their battle for NL MVP was in full bloom and the two superstars seemed indestructible. A few months after Bellinger claimed the trophy, a pandemic landed, the Dodgers won a championship in an abbreviated season – and Belli engaged in a very fateful forearm bash after a crucial playoff home run.

He was never the same in L.A., where he was non-tendered after the 2022 season as he struggled to rebuild both his upper and lower halves after shoulder surgery and a fibula fracture.

So began his journey of short-term, opt-out heavy deals that saw him spend two seasons with the Cubs and one with the Yankees, where his all-around game fully reemerged this season.

And now, the timing may be right for a Chavez Ravine reunion.

From the Dodgers’ perspective, there’s just one glaring hole within a lineup that produced back-to-back champions: Left field. They wagered $17 million that Michael Conforto could rehab his career under their tutelage, but Conforto’s .199/.305/.333 output knocked him off the postseason roster.

That’s why the club figures to be in play for marquee free agent Kyle Tucker. Sure, it seems like the Dodgers pay Gucci prices for even the most mundane everyday pieces, but that may not be necessary here.

Bellinger, who will surely want a nine-figure deal that seemed inevitable a half-decade ago, will come for a fraction of the cost. And he’s probably a better fit: Bellinger can play all three outfield positions as well as first base, a crucial bit of optionality as Teoscar Hernández and Freddie Freeman hit free agency after 2027 and 30-plus stars like Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani may need to shift roles.

Fewer outfielders are better defensively: Bellinger’s seven outs above average in 2025 put him even with the defensively elite Harrison Bader and just one behind Gold Glove winner Fernando Tatis Jr. If so inclined, the Dodgers could enjoy Bellinger’s enhanced production compared to what Conforto provided, and eat the offensive shortcomings of Andy Pages while keeping his 11 outs above average in center, creating a truly dominant defensive outfield.

Yep, L.A. Belli v.2.0 would be a pretty nice fit.

New York Yankees

This winter will be an interesting tell about just how the Yankees evaluate their 94-win club. They tied for the division and lost it on a tiebreaker, then succumbed to Toronto in the ALDS. A really good year that came awfully close, all things considered, to a World Series return?

Or a club that maxed out what it had and is due for a 2026 regression?

With that, the Yankees could go big for Tucker – he’ll come at about half the total dollars they threw at Juan Soto the previous winter – and give Aaron Judge a lefty slugger who will bang alongside him in the lineup through his peak years.

Or would they be better off reuniting with Bellinger?

Simply, the man did all the Yankees asked in 2025, playing 85 games in left field, 41 in center and 52 in right, along with seven at first base. That final number could grow with the departure of Paul Goldschmidt and a potential reevaluation of Ben Rice’s role.

Add up the defensive acumen and the 125 adjusted OPS and Bellinger finished second to AL MVP Judge in WAR. Yankee Stadium’s short porch on the offensive side and long alleys on the defensive end both suit Bellinger well.

New York Mets

The Mets found a taker for Brandon Nimmo’s eight-year, $162 million contract. It’d be a little silly to replace him with, well, a left-handed hitting likely left fielder who’d be looking for almost the exact same deal.

Yet moving from Nimmo to Bellinger would represent more than a simple improvement on the margins.

Bellinger is two years younger than Nimmo, far superior defensively (Nimmo at -1 outs above average) and much more versatile. Bellinger could also help replace Pete Alonso at first base, and in toggling from left to center to first, limit the offensive liabilities of players like Tyrone Taylor and Mark Vientos.

The Mets didn’t just snap their fingers and make the remaining $102.5 million remaining on Nimmo’s contract disappear; they also had to assume the remaining $72 million on Marcus Semien’s deal. But Semien immediately improves the club’s infield defense and could be a key ‘cultural add’ to change up the mix in Queens a bit.

Bellinger could check both of those boxes, as well, as the Mets aim to get more athletic and move past the grim 38-55 finish to an unsatisfying 2025.

Seattle Mariners

Oh, this would probably never happen. We include the Mariners in these thought exercises virtually every year and then all they do is re-sign Jorge Polanco or an odd Solano here or there.

Alas, there’s a compelling case here for the Mariners to both go for the kill in 2026 while also securing their future.

Sure, they’re very happy with Victor Robles in right field, and few players are so elite defensively. Yet signing Bellinger would ease Robles into what’s probably a more appropriate role as a part-time outfielder.

Additionally, it will get ahead of the loss of leadoff man and left fielder Randy Arozarena, who’s eligible for free agency after this season.

Sure, the Mariners finally got proactively aggressive this summer, when they traded for Josh Naylor and then locked him up to a four-year, $92 million deal earlier this month. That takes care of first base for the foreseeable future.

Yet imagine a lineup where Bellinger folds in and around switch-hitting Cal Raleigh and righty-swinging superstar Julio Rodriguez, while nudging Naylor a bit deeper in the lineup, where he probably belongs.

And imagine their peerless pitching staff further benefiting from a defensively elite outfield, with Bellinger flanking Rodriguez and his 11 outs above average, with Robles, should they desire, on the other side?

It feels a bit excessive. Yet this is a club that fell just one win shy of the World Series. Why not pile on with the AL West still very much for the taking for the foreseeable future?

Pittsburgh Pirates

It’s probably impossible to shame the Pirates into action. Let’s try, anyway.

Look, the Pirates need good baseball players. Many, many good baseball players. And it just so happens they are closing in on figuring out the pitching piece of it, thanks to the once-in-a-lifetime gift that is Paul Skenes along with emerging young talent like Bubba Chandler.

There’s only one way to turn Skenes’ Pittsburgh era into something less than a death march into free agency, and that’s to surround him with a lineup that seems at least half-serious about competing. Bellinger would plant that flag significantly.

How badly could they use him? Well, let’s burrow through his primary positions and see how they produced in 2025:

Left field – A .624 OPS, ranked 30th (last) in the majors.

Center field – A .664 OPS (22nd).

Right field – Led by veteran Bryan Reynolds, a .693 OPS (18th).

First base – A .734 OPS (16th).

Hey, nothing against Jack Suwinski, Oneil Cruz, Reynolds and Spencer Horwitz. Yet injecting Bellinger would provide a significant boost to the lineup and, probably, all those guys’ bottom lines, regardless of where Belli got his at-bats.

More important, it’d provide credibility for a franchise whose top free agent expenditure remains a $39 million investment in pitcher Francisco Liriano one decade ago.

That’s assuming, you know, that the Pirates care about credibility and attracting better players down the road. If not, cue the Skenes death march – and the laugh track.

The U.S. men’s national team closed 2025 on a high, generating some real optimism that it could make some noise at a home World Cup next summer.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side had been muddling through the year as the calendar turned toward fall, but the Argentine seems to have unlocked something in his team that has it finally looking like a potential world-beater.

The USMNT ended the year on a five-game unbeaten run against World Cup-bound teams, winning four of those matches. The coup de grâce was a stunning 5-1 thrashing of a strong Uruguay team on Tuesday.

Suddenly, anything seems possible for the USMNT as the calendar turns toward 2026.

One of the keys to the USMNT’s turnaround was Pochettino’s decision to move the team into a three-man back line. That tweak also changes how Pochettino will view the 26 players he’ll select for the World Cup roster.

With that in mind, here are the 26 players we see Pochettino taking to the World Cup next summer.

Goalkeepers: Matt Freese, Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte

In the mix: Ethan Horvath, Chris Brady, Diego Kochen, Roman Celentano, Jonathan Klinsmann, Zack Steffen

As 2025 comes to an end, it’s clear that Pochettino has cast his lot with Freese. The New York City FC goalkeeper had no caps entering June of this year, but has now started the past 12 games for the USMNT. Barring anything unforeseen, Freese is the team’s World Cup starter.

Freese’s rise has come at the expense of Turner, who has lost his starting role and may even be worried about his World Cup place after being omitted from two of three fall rosters. But the New England Revolution shot-stopper has quality and World Cup experience, and should get the call as a backup.

That leaves a scramble for the third goalkeeper job, with a number of names in the mix. Schulte may have the edge for now as he has been named to most of Pochettino’s rosters this year.

Defenders: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Miles Robinson

In the mix: Kristoffer Lund, Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Caleb Wiley, Nathan Harriel, Walker Zimmerman, Noahkai Banks, Auston Trusty, Marlon Fossey, John Tolkin

Richards is a lock and will anchor the USMNT back line if healthy, while Ream appears to be nearly a lock despite recently turning 38. If Pochettino plays a three-man back line, that pair looks likely to start with the third spot up for grabs. Will the coach go with a fullback option like Freeman or Scally, or a more natural center back like McKenzie or Robinson?

Either way, Freeman looks like a lock after his tremendous showing against Uruguay. McKenzie and Robinson have also slightly separated from the pack at center back, especially with Carter-Vickers suffering a torn Achilles in October.

Banks is a tremendous prospect and the 18-year-old can’t be ruled out if he can impress in a run of starts at Augsburg.

Robinson is likely to start at left wingback if healthy but his problematic knee is an increasing concern. Arfsten has showed the ability to deputize effectively in the Fulham man’s absence.

Dest looks like an ideal fit for the right wingback role, which suits his attacking instincts perfectly.

Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Cristian Roldan, Tanner Tessmann

In the mix: Yunus Musah, Gianluca Busio, Aidan Morris, James Sands, Johnny Cardoso, Jack McGlynn, Luca de la Torre, Sean Zawadzki, Timmy Tillman

The USMNT’s deepest position is where Pochettino may have the biggest selection headaches, as the coach will almost certainly leave deserving midfielders off his squad.

It’s hard to call many players locks at midfield, though Adams is likely one of them and McKennie should be another despite being omitted from two of the three fall rosters.

Tillman has proven his ability to translate his club form to the national team and his attacking talent is too strong to ignore. Reyna is back on the right side of the bubble after revitalizing his fortunes in November, but form and fitness are a constant concern.

Luna and Berhalter have similar profiles: high-energy MLS midfielders who have endeared themselves to Pochettino with their grit and ability in 2025. Their spots are tenuous but secure — for now.

Despite only returning to the fray in September, Roldan looks like a lock due to his aggression and leadership. Pochettino said last month that the Sounders midfielder ‘is an example of how you want to build your perfect player. He has a little bit of everything.’

Musah was a starter on the 2022 World Cup team but his stalled development and inconsistent playing time on loan at Atalanta could doom his hopes this time around. Time is also against Cardoso, who is at a massive club in Atlético Madrid but has been injured lately and hasn’t made the most of his USMNT chances when healthy.

Morris, De la Torre, Sands and Tillman have been involved in the fall but may simply be victims of a numbers game.

Forwards: Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Brenden Aaronson

In the mix: Josh Sargent, Alex Zendejas, Patrick Agyemang, Brian White, Damion Downs

The starting forward line looks more settled than any other position at the moment. Pulisic is the team’s best attacking player and is a must-start as long as he’s fit. Weah brings dynamism, experience and finishing chops at the other wide forward position and Balogun has put himself ahead of the pack in the race for the striker job.

Wright and Pepi look to be locked in a battle to back up Balogun at the No. 9 position. Wright scored a brace in October against Australia and has been red hot for Coventry. Pepi looked like a challenger to start ahead of Balogun, but hasn’t been starting at PSV. His scoring ability off the bench should keep him on the roster regardless.

The 6-foot-4 Agyemang is in the mix as a potential late-game option if the USMNT needs a goal. His form at Derby will be worth watching.

Sargent may have already missed his shot to make a second straight World Cup roster. The striker didn’t make an impact in September and is suffering through a lengthy scoring slump at Norwich.

The last attacking spot may be down to Zendejas or Aaronson. The race is close right now but we give Aaronson the nod after Zendejas has dealt with injuries over the past two months.

USMNT World Cup roster prediction

Goalkeepers (3): Matt Freese, Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte

Defenders (9): Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Miles Robinson

Midfielders (8): Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Cristian Roldan, Tanner Tessmann

Forwards (6): Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Brenden Aaronson

‘GOAT’ is the story of an underdog goat who dreams of being a star in the fast-paced world of roarball.
Stephen Curry is the voice of Lenny, a giraffe athlete.
The new trailer for ‘GOAT’ (in theaters Feb. 13) premieres exclusively at USA TODAY.

The Golden State Warriors point guard stars in the upcoming sports film “GOAT” (in theaters Feb. 13), which centers on an undersized but scrappy young goat named Will Harris (voiced by Caleb McLaughlin) who has big dreams of being a star in the fast-paced world of roarball. USA TODAY exclusively debuts the first full trailer for the animated movie, which also stars Gabrielle Union, David Harbour, Patton Oswalt, Jelly Roll and Jennifer Hudson.

‘GOAT’ comes from Sony Pictures Animation and the artists who made ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ and the ‘Spider-Verse’ movies, as well as Curry’s production company Unanimous Media.

Curry promises that “GOAT” will have family fun, comedy, themes that will ring true to the sports community and an underdog spirit. “It has something in there for every generation,” he tells USA TODAY. “We’re bringing something that hopefully is inspiring, something that brings family together, and something that’s uplifting to a lot of different people in the audience that can find their best selves through one of the characters.”

The new footage introduces audiences to the edgy and colorful full-contact sport of roarball, with “really cool, unique arenas that people haven’t seen before,” Curry teases. The trailer also digs a little into the movie’s plot. Will is a talented player who gets his dream shot when he’s signed by the winless Thorns, though this goat actually becoming a GOAT will be tough, considering how large and in charge his fellow animal competitors are.

Plus, we get to meet Will’s fellow Thorns: rhino Archie Everhardt (Harbour), ostrich Olivia Burke (Nicola Coughlan), Komodo dragon Modo Olachenko (Nick Kroll), giraffe Lenny Williamson (Curry) and black panther Jett Fillmore (Union), Will’s idol who’s not overly excited about her new teammate.

Will is “a small in a world of bigs,” Curry says, and his story arc of accomplishing a goal when people underestimate you or count you out is a universal one. “Everybody’s felt like an underdog or underrated at some point in their lives.’

When audiences see Will on screen, ‘there are a lot of dominating characters that he’s going up against,’ Curry adds. ‘It normalizes him. He’s relatable but also it’s believable that he can do what he’s going to do throughout the movie. But just the idea he has to find it for himself, there’s something endearing about that.”

As for his role in the movie, Curry calls Lenny “the change of pace in the locker room, if you will. He’s supposed to be one of the greatest because he is a giraffe. He’s tall but he’s kind of distracted at times. He’s the comic relief in the locker room, bringing a musical flair to the team. And over the course of the story, you realize how important this game and his teammates are to him.’

Curry does acknowledge, “If you knew me, you probably wouldn’t assume that Lenny’s character would vibe with me, except the joy part. I have fun with everything, so there’s a connection there, but super-serious when it comes to my work and how I approach it.” His teammate Buddy Hield is the Lenny right now on the Warriors, “but I’ve had different versions of Lenny throughout the years, for sure.”

The hoops icon has four children with wife Ayesha Curry, and two of his youngsters, daughter Ryan, 10, and son Canon, 7, might end up being the biggest “GOAT” fans.

“Both of them are super-high energy, super-charismatic personalities, and I feel like they’re going to immerse themselves into that world pretty immediately,” Curry says. “And they’re not shy to let people know how they feel. They’re going to be the ones in the theater that people might be telling them to quiet down because they’ll be talking and laughing and singing and dancing and all that. I can’t wait to watch it with them.’

Expansion side San Diego FC is two wins away from making history.
Lionel Messi has 12 goal contributions in Inter Miami’s four playoff games this season.
The Vancouver Whitecaps won a dramatic playoff showdown against Los Angeles FC.

The road to MLS Cup is down to its final four.

After the events of the latest playoff games, here are the matchups for the conference finals:

Inter Miami vs. New York City FC — Saturday, Nov. 29 at 6 p.m. ET
San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps — Saturday, Nov. 29 at 9 p.m. ET

Of those four teams, only NYCFC has made a previous appearance in MLS Cup (winning it in 2021). The league’s championship game is set for Saturday, Dec. 6.

Here are the winners and losers from the conference semifinals of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs:

WINNERS

Expansion San Diego FC survives

San Diego FC’s quest to complete the greatest expansion season in league history continues after grinding out a 1-0 win over Minnesota United on Monday night. Anders Dreyer – who’d be your 2025 MLS MVP if Lionel Messi wasn’t in the league – supplied the winning goal in the 72nd minute. Now, San Diego is two wins away from matching the 1998 Chicago Fire as expansion teams to win MLS Cup.

Lionel Messi is a tour de force

Lionel Messi has pushed Inter Miami to the brink of its first MLS Cup appearance with what is turning into a playoff run for the ages. In Inter Miami’s 4-0 win over FC Cincinnati in an Eastern Conference semifinal, Messi had the game’s opening goal and assisted on the other three. With that stat line, Messi now has six goals and six assists in Miami’s four playoff games. This is a goal contribution tear that dates back to early October. In his past seven games, Messi has 11 goals and 11 assists. If the soccer G.O.A.T. keeps this pace up, Inter Miami will cruise to MLS Cup glory.

Vancouver Whitecaps win an epic

Hope you watched this showdown Saturday night rather than, say, that dreadful Washington-UCLA football game. This dramatic soccer football playoff was a chamber-of-commerce-type advertisement for the league.

The Vancouver Whitecaps advanced to the conference final for the first time in the club’s 15-season Major League Soccer existence. All it took was a thrilling win over a powerhouse such as Los Angeles FC in front of a club-record (for MLS era) crowd of 53,957 at BC Place. In doing so, Vancouver exorcized a playoff demon and moved one win away from the club’s first-ever MLS Cup appearance.

Vancouver jumped out to a 2-0 halftime lead, but LAFC’s Son Heung-Min scored twice in the second half, including a stoppage-time free-kick golazo that pushed the playoff game into extra time. Vancouver survived being down to nine players and LAFC’s persistent attacks on goal, as the visitors hit woodwork and couldn’t muster a go-ahead goal in extra time. Instead, the Whitecaps would prevail in a penalty shootout. It was the second consecutive playoff game they’d closed out via a shootout. After having its season end in the playoff at the hands of LAFC the previous two seasons, Vancouver finally got the best of one of the league’s flagship clubs.

NYCFC playing the spoiler role

After pulling off a mild upset in Round 1, New York City FC scored the biggest stunner of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs so far when it knocked off the Philadelphia Union, 1-0, in the conference semifinals. On the road against the 2025 Supporters’ Shield winners, NYCFC got a goal from Maxi Moralez in the 27th minute and then let their star ‘keeper Matt Freese earn a clean sheet to propel the club to its third conference final in team history. Its first such run resulted in an MLS Cup win.

Freese is trending to be the USMNT’s starting goalkeeper at next summer’s World Cup, and he’ll be tested when No. 5-seeded NYCFC looks to keep its unexpected playoff run going when it faces Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Saturday, Nov. 29.

LOSERS

Philly sports teams on Sunday

Just hours after the Philadelphia Eagles blew a 21-point lead in a loss to the rival Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Union were upset by New York City FC in their Eastern Conference semifinal. It was another disappointing end to a season for the Supporters’ Shield winners, which suffered its first home loss since March 16. After scoring five goals over two games in a Round 1 playoff win over the Chicago Fire, the Union could not muster a single goal against NYCFC and their U.S. national team goalkeeper Matt Freese.

Supporters’ Shield winners in the MLS Cup Playoffs

The Philadelphia Union loss also means that just two of the past 10 Supporters’ Shield winners have gone on to win MLS Cup (Toronto FC in 2017, LAFC in 2022). After four of the first seven Supporters’ Shield winners in league history won MLS Cup, there have only been four in the 23 seasons since.

Bitter finale for Steve Cherundolo at LAFC

Los Angeles FC’s success would be the envy of nearly every other club in Major League Soccer. During Steve Cherundolo’s four years as coach, LAFC won a Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup in 2022, and the U.S. Open Cup in 2024. LAFC also prevailed in a highly lucrative playoff against Club América of Liga MX for a spot in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. However, as Cherundolo’s tenure at LAFC came to a dramatic end in British Columbia, it must also be pointed out how much hardware LAFC left on the table. Cherundolo’s LAFC also lost the Concacaf Champions Cup final, Campeones Cup and MLS Cup in 2023, as well as a Leagues Cup final in 2024.

Being in near-constant contention for trophies is the standard that has been set at LAFC, and also the lofty expectations facing the Cherundolo’s yet-to-be-named successor for 2026.