Houston Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen has urged his team to maintain their high level as they prepare to face Los Angeles FC for the second week running.

The Dynamo came out on top as 2-0 winners at BMO Stadium last weekend, bouncing back from their 1-0 defeat to Toronto FC.

They now sit seventh in the Western Conference as one of three teams on 40 points.

And Olsen says his team cannot let their guard down, despite already registering a vital win against LAFC.

"This is a league where you've got to move forward, and you've got to get better," Olsen said.

"We'll have to be at our best. Things happen quickly against LAFC. The focus you need to play against them is an incredibly high level.

"Alarm bells are always going off, and we coped with it well, but we'll have to be even better at it when we're back at home."

Meanwhile, LAFC are five points behind rivals LA Galaxy at the top of the table, but with three games in hand over them.

However, that home defeat was LAFC's second loss in three games (W1), having also been beaten by Columbus Crew in the Leagues Cup final.

When asked if LAFC struggled against Houston due to their similarity to Columbus, Steve Cherundolo said he could not see it, but that his team needed to be stronger in dealing with the problems they faced.

"They're different and can hurt you in other ways," he said. "They are secure in possession and combination play, and they're good at it if you let them find a rhythm.

"It's imperative to deter teams from building and combining. We just want to field a team that is mentally and physically fresh."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Houston Dynamo – Hector Herrera

Hector Herrera completed 118 passes in the Dynamo’s win over LAFC on Saturday.

Only Riqui Puig (134 on May 19 this year) has completed more in a single regular season match since the start of the 2021 season.

LAFC – Mateusz Bogusz

Mateusz Bogusz has equalled an LAFC club record by registering a goal contribution in six straight regular season away matches (Carlos Vela in 2018).

Bogusz has recorded three goals and three assists over the six matches.

MATCH PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES FC WIN

Despite the win probability favouring LAFC, they did lose to Houston last Saturday at the BMO Stadium (2-0). The teams are meeting in consecutive regular season matches for the second time in two years, also doing so in June 2023.

Houston's 2-0 win at LAFC on Saturday was their third straight regular-season victory over LAFC. Only San Jose Earthquakes (2020-21) have won four straight league meetings with the Black and Gold, though LAFC did defeat Houston in last season's Western Conference Final.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles have won five of their last six regular season away matches (D1) though the lone blemish came in Texas, a 1-1 draw at Austin on June 19. This is LAFC's best six-match span of away matches within a single regular season in club history.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Houston Dynamo – 31.6%

Draw – 25.3%

LAFC – 43.2%

St. Louis City interim head coach John Hackworth says his team have more to give, but need to find consistency, starting against New England Revolution.

St. Louis snapped a five-match winless streak in MLS last weekend, beating high-flying LA Galaxy 2-1 at home.

It was just their fifth win of the league season, and they remain second-from-bottom in the Western Conference, nine points off the playoff places.

However, Hackworth says he was waiting for a performance like the one they put in against the Galaxy, and hopes they can replicate it more often.

"We expect this [good performance]," he said. "We'd been talking about it.

"We believed we could do that, and then, the next step is to continue to do that. You have to have that belief in yourself - the players do, the staff do.

"That's what sport is. I was satisfied, but I don't think that is the end of it. We've got more."

Meanwhile, New England followed up a 5-0 thrashing of CF Montreal with a 2-0 loss to Real Salt Lake.

They sit 13th in the Eastern Conference, five points behind the playoff places, but Caleb Porter believes his team can only improve as more of his players return to the fold.

"I'm glad that those guys [Giacomo Vrioni, Ian Harkes and Dylan Borrero] are going to be close to being able to play major minutes now," Porter said.

"They needed another game. We felt they were kind of 30 to 45 minutes fit, max. Now, we feel like they will be close to 60, hopefully, with a good week of training. That gives us a lot of optimism for the next game."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

New England Revolution – Carles Gil

Carles Gil has recorded an assist in each of his last two MLS home appearances and has 38 total assists in home MLS matches (incl. playoffs) since joining the league in 2019, second only to Luciano Acosta's 40 in that time.

St. Louis City – Cedric Teuchert

Germans Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert scored St. Louis's goals in their 2-1 win over LA Galaxy on Sunday - it is the second time in MLS history that two German players scored for a single team in a match.

The first: Teuchert and Eduard Lowen for St. Louis the week before.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION WIN

This is the first-ever meeting between New England and St. Louis in any competition.

After suffering their first three-match home losing streak in nearly a decade in April-May this year, New England have lost only two of their last nine matches in all competitions at Gillette Stadium (W4 D3), though three of the last four matches in Foxborough have ended in draws.

Meanwhile, St. Louis won the first three road matches in the club's history in February-March 2023. Since then, they have managed just three wins in 31 away matches in all competitions, including going winless in 16 straight away from home (D7 L9).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

New England Revolution – 41.3%

Draw – 26.7%

St. Louis City – 32%

Conor Gallagher insists his Chelsea departure was not due to him lacking the technical qualities to play Enzo Maresca's preferred possession-based style of play.

Gallagher joined Chelsea at the age of six and progressed through the ranks before making 95 senior appearances for the Blues between 2019 and 2024. 

He captained the side regularly under Mauricio Pochettino last season as skipper Reece James battled a series of injuries, only to find himself out of favour when Maresca replaced the Argentine.

Gallagher sealed a £34million move to Atletico Madrid in August, amid questions around his suitability for the patient style of play favoured by former Leicester boss Maresca.

Gallagher started 37 of Chelsea's 38 league games last season, more than any of his fellow Blues midfielders, completing 1,766 of his 1,930 attempted passes with an accuracy of 91.5%.

That latter figure was the best recorded by any Chelsea midfielder in league action, ahead of Moises Caicedo in second (90.8%). 

However, when those stats are adjusted to per 90 minute values, Gallagher ranked third among Chelsea midfielders for passes completed (50.7 per 90) and successful passes in the opposition half (28.56), and fourth for passes completed in the final third (15.67).

He does not believe the narrative that he was unable to fit into Maresca's engine room is a fair one, however, saying: "I don't think that's true.

"Last season I had a good season with Chelsea and you could see that by Pochettino playing me every game and showing his trust in me. 

"The fans appreciated what I did on the pitch. I'm very grateful for all of that and very thankful to the fans, and very thankful to Pochettino for giving me that platform to go and express myself and show the best version of myself at Chelsea.

"Chelsea make their own decisions and they've brought in some top players on long contracts. That wasn't the situation with me but what happened is good for everyone."

Gallagher has helped his new club make a positive start to the new campaign, with Los Colchoneros sitting third in LaLiga – level with rivals Real Madrid – with eight points from four games.

Asked about his first interactions with new boss Diego Simeone, Gallagher said: "He was very welcoming and it was, 'ready to get to work?', basically.

"That's what he's like, that's his character; he just wants everyone to work as hard as possible, to prepare for each game and to win – and that's perfect for me."

Gallagher will hope to feature for England when they take on the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League opener on Saturday, in their first game under caretaker boss Lee Carsley.

Suriname, Costa Rica and Guatemala opened their League A Concacaf Nations League accounts with victories, as did El Salvador in League B as the fourth edition of the tournament got into full swing on Thursday.

All battling for Group A honours, Suriname and Guatemala topped Guyana and Martinique 3-1, while Costa Rica blanked Guadeloupe 3-0, as all three teams sit on three points, separated only by a slight goal difference.

Meanwhile, in Group A of League B, El Salvador romped to a 4-1 win over Montserrat, while Bonaire and St Vincent and the Grenadines played out a 1-1 stalemate.

Guyana vs. Suriname

Suriname’s victory away to Guyana spoiled the Golden Jaguars League A debut at the National Track and Field Centre in Leonora.

After three seasons in League B, Guyana would have hoped to start life in League A on a positive note, but it was not to be.

Djevencio van der Kust sent Suriname in front with an 18th-minute strike. However, Omari Glasgow pulled Guyana level with a 41st-minute penalty conversion for his 11th Nations League goal to extend his tally as the nation’s leading scorer in the competition.

But Guyana’s celebrations were short-lived as Jaden Montor drove home a powerful effort from an angle in the 66th to put Suriname 2-1 up.

Virgil Misidjan then sealed the win for the Dutch-speaking Caribbean island with a tidy 83rd-minute finish.

Costa Rica vs. Guadeloupe

Costa Rica were always favoured to secure three points here and they did just that on home soil at Estadio Nacional in San José.

After a goalless first half, Costa Rica’s captain Francisco Calvo led from the front with an expert header from Joel Campbell’s weighted corner kick to put his team in front in the 50th minute.

Ariel Lassiter doubled the lead in the 77th when he tucked home a right-footer from close range.

Warren Madrigal added another in 81st to cap the win.

Guatemala vs. Martinique 

Guatemala extended their all-time unbeaten record at home to eight matches as they bettered Martinique in a first-ever meeting between the two at Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores.

Rubio Rubin fired home from Oscar Santis’ cross to give Guatemala a 3rd-minute lead.

After keeping Guatemala at bay thanks to goalkeeper Yannis Clementia, who came up big to deny Rubin and Alejandro Galindo in the 10th and 22nd minutes, respectively, Martinique pulled level in the 51st when Kevin Appin headed home.

However, Guatemala regained the lead from the penalty spot when Jose Pinto converted in the 61st.

Martinique should have been back on level terms in the 72nd, but Brighton Labeau’s penalty kick was saved by Guatemala’s custodian Nicholas Hagen.

That allowed Guatemala to capitalise as Jose Martinez fired home in the 90+5 to secure all three points.

Group A action will resume on Monday, beginning with Guadeloupe against Suriname and Martinique against Guyana. A Central American clash will conclude the day’s play as Guatemala hosts Costa Rica.

Over in League B, El Salvador will be aiming to consolidate their lead atop the group when they take on Bonaire on Sunday, while St Vincent and the Grenadines play Montserrat.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 900th career goal sealed a 2-1 win for Portugal over Croatia in the Nations League, with Roberto Martinez hailing the "historic moment".

The 39-year-old scored the landmark goal in the 34th minute, and it eventually proved to be the winner; Diogo Dalot opened the scoring but then handed Croatia a lifeline with an own goal just before the break.

Ronaldo's close-range strike was his 131st for Portugal in 213 appearances, with both of those records for any male player on the international stage.

Martinez showed his faith by keeping Ronaldo in his squad despite an underwhelming Euro 2024 campaign in which he failed to score and was delighted to see the forward hit his latest milestone.

"It's a historic moment. 900 goals is incredible," Martinez said.

"It's not easy. He scores because he has a commitment to the national team, the work in training that no one can see, he has an energy to help the youngsters, and the commitment is an asset to the national team.

"It's a historic moment, the fans liked it, and being on the day of the tribute to Pepe is special. It's fantastic for Portuguese football, the World Cup and the national team."

Midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who also played with Ronaldo during his return to Manchester United, echoed his head coach's praise for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"I thought we had already stopped counting," Fernandes joked. "At least we've stopped counting, he hasn't.

"He likes to tell them, and I believe it's a very special number for him, and we are all very happy for him too because it's not just Cristiano.

"In addition to being Cristiano, he raises the name of our nation to the highest level as he has done all these years, and this is another record, another normality in his life."

After a frustrating spell on the sidelines due to injury, Reggae Boyz captain Andre Blake is back, fit, and eager to lead his team into a new era under recently appointed head coach Steve McClaren.

The talented goalkeeper, who has been a stalwart for both club and country, is ready to make his return for national duties as the Reggae Boyz prepare to open their Concacaf Nations League campaign against Cuba at the National Stadium on Friday.

Kickoff is 7:00pm.

Blake, who missed four to six weeks of action—including Jamaica’s failed Copa America campaign—after a meniscus surgery in May returned to training with his club Philadelphia Union in early July and has engaged a few games in his build up to once again sport the national colours.

He expressed his relief at being blessed with a clean bill of health and is ready to compete.

“It's always good to be back with the boys; the energy is good and the vibe is right at the camp. I've played eleven games since I've been back, quick succession games, so I guess you could say that was a test, and I've passed the test, so I'm good to go,” Blake declared.

“It was tough for me not being able to be with the boys, especially in the Copa, but I think they did well for the most part, but the game can be defined by small margins, and unfortunately, we fell short. But I think we're headed in the right direction, and Steve coming in and implementing these strategies got us excited, and we're looking forward to it, and I think there's great things to come,” he added.