Photo Ryan McElroy

Philadelphia have a new coach, three new assistant coaches, a new sporting director, and a newly-returned left back. And they have 19 MLS games in 14 1/2 weeks to try to rise six or eight places in the eastern conference standings to make the 2026 MLS playoffs.

They currently are dead last in the entire league, the only club with fewer than 10 points. They have only one win. They are 11 points behind ninth-place D. C. United, 12 points behind eighth-place New York City FC, and 13 points behind seventh-place Cincinnati. To make up 12 points requires four Union wins and four losses from each of the three teams being chased. The chances of a home field playoff advantage — apart from in the “wildcard” match — seem distantly remote.

They have three August matches in the Leagues Cup against Cruz Azul, Santos Laguna, and Necaxa that additionally congest their schedule. They play two games in July, eight (!) in August, five in September, six in October and one in November. Squad depth, an absence of injuries, and appropriate lineup rotation will be as important in August as they were back in March and April.

Roster changes

Kai Wagner is returning at left back. He becomes the second most expensive acquisition in Philadelphia Union history if Transfermarkt’s data is correct (click here). He is the most prominent club re-acquisition since Sebastian Le Toux returned 14 years ago in 2012.

Wagner’s return crowds the roster at left back, lending credibility to emerging internet rumors of a departure by fellow left back Philippe Ndinga.

A minor detail on the club website’s roster page suggests that center back Neil Pierre will not be going out on loan again to Danish club Lyngby Boldklub. Whether he becomes a first team starter or remains a primary reserve only time will tell.

We strongly suspect that center back Olwethu Makhanya will depart for Europe soon. Like Ndinga’s and Pierre’s information there is no formal official announcement, but the unofficial indications are highly suggestive. A cynic might allege that Wagner’s purchase price may roughly indicate Makhanya’s minimum future sale income.

Unofficially, there was a report on the internet from Quinn Sullivan’s younger brother that older brother Quinn played 30 minutes in a scrimmage Wednesday, July 15th against D. C. United. He will not yet be the powerhouse he had been before his knee injury. But his return will be a positive roster addition.

We also know from a recent, direct, accidental encounter on July 1st at the WSFS Sportsplex that striker Stas Korzeniowski has returned to training with the first team. He had suffered a non-surgical knee injury early in the second half May 17th against Columbus Crew 2 on the WSFS Sportsplex’s Kinetic Field #1.

Depth chart

Data from the Union’s scrimmages during the World Cup break has been sparse. So the chart below incorporates two guesses that could easily be proven wrong. The guesses are influenced by the fact that the Union’s first opponent this coming Wednesday is bitter rival Red Rull New York.

The two questions both lie within the defensive line and focus on Nathan Harriel’s role.

• Who partners Japhet Sery at center back among Harriel, Geiner Martinez, and Neil Pierre?
• Who starts at right back between Harriel and Frank Westfield?

With Makhanya assumed to be gone, and with Markus Anderson and CJ Olney on loan to head coach Marlon LeBlanc of Brooklyn FC in the USL Championship, 28 players matches exactly the roster number posted on the club’s website, although Philippe Ndinga’s status may be coming into question.

Conclusions

First, a remaining unknown is whether Jon Scheer will succeed in bringing in a new striker who finishes well in the box. Certainly scoring goals has been problem earlier in the season.

But the sale of the Union’s eighth international roster slot to Kansas City (for $100,000 in general allocation money — part of the mechanics of re-acquiring Wagner) means no one can be signed from overseas without buying another such roster slot. And the longer such a player remains not acquired the less are his chances of impacting the rest of this season.

Additionally, Wagner’s return renders Ndinga redundant. But solidly reliable unofficial information about his situation has yet to emerge to provide clarity.

Our second major conclusion is that the chances of Philadelphia securing a home field playoff advantage — aside from winning eighth place and hosting a so-called “wildcard” game — are remote. It would be a formidable achievement to go from a firm grip on the wooden spoon to becoming a playoff team of any sort. The changes detailed above suggest that Philadelphia is making a serious effort to try.

The wooden spoon does not seem as likely an outcome for the Union in 2026 as it once did. If interim head coach Ryan Richter leads the squad into the playoffs, he will no longer be tagged  “interim.”