MLS CUP PLAYOFFS
MLS Playoffs schedule: who has qualified for the Conference Semi-Finals?
After two rounds of fixtures in the MLS Cup Playoffs 2023, we take a look at the teams that have already booked their place in the final eight.
The format for the MLS Cup Playoffs has changed for the 2023 season, with a new best-of-three series introduced for the 16-team Round One.
Those matches will decide which teams make it to the Conference Semi-Finals, taking place in late November and into the start of December. The 16 teams in Round One are comprised of eight from the Eastern Conference and eight from the West.
MLS Cup holders LAFC swept past Vancouver Whitecaps with a convincing 2-0 series win. Elsewhere there was a major shock as St. Louis City, who finished top of the Western Conference in their debut season in MLS, were comprehensively beaten by local rivals Sporting Kansas City.
Here is the full list of teams that have already booked their place:
MLS Cup Playoffs: Semi-Finals qualifiers
- FC Cincinnati (2-0 series win over RB New York)
- Sporting Kansas City (2-0 series win over St. Louis City)
- LAFC (2-0 series win over Vancouver Whitecaps)
- Orlando City (2-0 series win over Nashville)
- Philadelphia Union (2-0 series win over New England Revolution)
- Seattle Sounders (2-1 series win over FC Dallas)
- Houston Dynamo (2-1 series win over Real Salt Lake)
MLS Cup Playoffs schedule
This year’s post-season will be played across seven weeks, making it the MLS’ longest playoff tournament.
The action began in late October with two Wild Card matches to decide the 16 teams competing in Round One.
The best-of-three Round One will be played from 28 October to 12 November, although some of the series will be wrapped up long before that end date. Cincinnati won the opening two games against RBNY, making them the first team to progress to the Semi-Finals of this year’s competition.
Once Round One has been completed there will be a 12-day break to coincide with the international fixtures in mid-November.
The action returns with Conference Semi-Finals and Finals, held between 25 November and 3 December. The grand finale, the 2023 MLS Cup, will take place on 9 December.
Can players be suspended for yellows cards in MLS Cup Playoffs?
During the course of the regular season, players receive a one-game suspension for reaching five yellow cards (not including the second of two bookings in the same game). But in the playoffs, where fewer games are played, the threshold for a suspension is lowered.
Players will receive a suspension after their third yellow card. The cumulative yellow card count is reset after the Conference semi-final. Players who receive their third caution in the semi-final will be eligible to play in the final.
Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga picked up his third booking of the playoffs for over-celebrating during his team’s penalty shoot-out victory over NYRB. He therefore misses the Eastern Conference semi-final.