Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

While Union fans continue to digest the implications of the Rais M’Bolhi signing, the team is in Kansas City for tonight’s game against Sporting (8 pm, NBCSN, NBC Sports Live Extra, Sirius XM FC).

Jim Curtin said Sporting Park “is one of the toughest places to go and play,” He added, “You absorb a lot of pressure there, and even the two times we got results there, we dodged a lot of bullets…There’s a system there in place. I always hate the word gold standard, but they’re kind of the gold standard for the way they’re doing things. They have a true system.”

Ray Gaddis said, “We just have to go in there and try to grind out a result. Kansas City is a tremendous team, and we know that. If we don’t go there to play, it’ll be a long night for us. They’re a great team.”

At the Union website, a look at the offensive threat that is Dom Dwyer.

Previews from PSP, Philadelphia Union, Inquirer, Daily News, Delco Times, Philly Soccer News, Brotherly Game, David Murphy’s Union Blog, Sporting Kansas City, Kansas City Star, MLSsoccer.com, Stoppage Time Soccer, and The Sports Network.

At the Sporting Kansas City website, a Q&A with Philly.com’s Jonathan Tannenwald about the Union. SB Nation Sporting Kansas City blog Blue Testament has three questions for fellow SB Nation blog Brotherly Game.

At CSN Philly, Dave Zeitlin writes of the visible irritation of Nick Sakiewicz during the Rais M’Bolhi unveiling press conference toward questions from reporters about what the signing means for Zac MacMath and Andre Blake, “[T]o think questions wouldn’t immediately come up about MacMath — who has started all but two games for the Union since the start of the 2012 season and has grown by leaps and bounds this year — is naïve and shows the disconnect between Sakiewicz and the team’s fans.”

More on the ramifications of the M’Bolhi signing from MLSsoccer.com, Delco Times and CSN Philly.

Michael Lahoud is unavailable for the Union tonight after being called up for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles that was scheduled for Saturday. On Thursday, Seychelles News Agency reported that “the Indian Ocean island nations’ health authorities asked the Seychelles Football Federation to cancel the match as a precautionary measure in view of the current Ebola epidemic affecting some West African Countries including Sierra Leone,” and the Confederation of African Football announced that Seychelles had withdrawn from the tournament. A report at ProSoccerTalk says Seychelles immigration officials refused Sierra National team players permission to board a flight from Nairobi, Kenya to Seychelles. (It is unclear if Lahoud would have been on that flight, but in a post on Instagram on Wednesday, Lahoud indicated his travel itinerary was “Philadelphia—>New York—>Brussels—->Kenya—>The Seychelles.”)

Meanwhile, PSP published an interview with Lahoud about the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.

The Sons of Ben’s Pints for Pets fundraisers for the Delaware County SPCA and Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia are taking place on Sunday at CR Shenanigans in Aston and the Fieldhouse by the Convention Center on Sunday, 1-4 pm. Click here for ticket information.

Local

Tickets are still available for Saturday’s Guinness International Champions Cup match at the Linc between Roma and Inter. Kickoff is at 1 pm.

Union fans will know Eryin Wandel from the design work he’s done for Union Dues, Brotherly Game, and Reading United. Brotherly Game talks to Wandel, who has Cerebral Palsy, about his recent call-up from the US Paralympic National Team.

Also at Brotherly Game, Barry Evans has more on the recent clinic co-hosted by the Liverpool FC Foundation and Camden Youth Soccer Club. After the clinic, the participating kids went to Princeton for a private Q&A session with Liverpool players, Lucas Leiva, Mamadou Sakho, and Conor Coady.

Don’t forget to register for the second annual Building Bridges 3v3 charity tournament, which takes place at Camden High School Athletic Field on Aug. 17, and benefits Camden Youth Soccer Club and Kensington Soccer Club.

MLS

At SI, Brian Straus has salary figures for DP signings Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, and DaMarcus Beasley.

Columbus Crew have the top spot in the allocation order and head coach Gregg Berhalter says the team plans to use it — to acquire a player themselves or in a trade —  before the close of the transfer window on Wednesday. “I don’t want to say names, but I got a call yesterday about a guy who wanted to specifically come to Columbus. A big national team player, and I thought that was interesting. All of a sudden we’re getting calls where people are coming to us.”

San Jose Earthquakes have signed Argentine attacking midfielder Matias Perez Garcia as a Designated Player.

Meanwhile, San Jose’s Clarence Goodson is out for eight weeks with a toe injury.

FC Dallas defender George John is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right knee.

David Villa says of the reasoning behind signing with New York City FC, “I’ve done a lot in Europe already, a very good career; an opportunity to start from zero, to start over again is something I thought was exciting…The thing that attracted me to the project was being one of the first players, being part of a founding team from the beginning. That was what drew me here.”

Manchester City chief executive Ferran Soriano says, “We have some bright players. We might ask them to come to New York before they play at Manchester.”

Ronaldinho to New York Red Bulls?

US

The USWNT will face Mexico in Rochester on Sept. 18. The 7 pm game will be broadcast on ESPN2 and WatchESPN. The team will also play Mexico on Sept. 13 in a yet to be determined venue.

ASN considers who should make the US squad for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

The Guardian on the support of Premier League teams in the International Champions Cup tournament. Saturday’s match in Michigan between Manchester United and Real Madrid “was a 110,000 sellout in just two hours.” It will be the largest crowd for a game in US soccer history.

Elsewhere

Check out the latest Footy on the Telly for listings of live soccer on TV, online, and on satellite radio for the upcoming week.

The AP reports, “Brazil and Barcelona striker Neymar says he is almost back to full fitness after the serious back injury he sustained at the World Cup.”

The Guardian has an update on Ray Whelan, the hospitality executive arrested by Brazilian police for allegedly “heading a $100m ticket-touting ring” at the World Cup. The report says Whelan “has completed two weeks in a notorious Brazilian prison, despite growing evidence that his detention may be procedurally and substantively flawed.”