2025 MLS Week 21 Power Rankings

The Week 21 Power Rankings:

1. FC CINCINNATI (+1) | 0-0 D MIA

FC Cincinnati was the preseason No. 1 in these rankings, and after long last, they've returned to the top spot. After beating Miami 3-0 a week ago, they drew 0-0 in the suspension of Lionel Messi game. That saga was a lot more interesting than this match, which was just an average performance. Evander wasn't able to get anything going and didn't gain any extra ground on Messi in the MVP ladder.

2. PHILADELPHIA UNION (+2) | 3-1 W COL

Colorado had them in the first half, but it was a late striker takeover to grab all three points. Tai Baribo got the party stared, before Mikael Uhre came off the bench to score a brace in the dying embers and rocket the Union atop the Eastern Conference. Kai Wagner continues to be one of the very best players in this league, doing it week in and week out on the most consistent basis.

3. INTER MIAMI CF (-) | 0-0 D FCC

Inter Miami still has three games in hand and currently sit eight points off the top of the East. They're right in the running, and with their suspended players back, they will first attack Leagues Cup before trying to claw their way to the top spots of the conference in MLS play. Luis Suarez turned creator with five chances created in the draw, but no one was there to finish and the match ended scoreless.

4. VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (+2) | 3-0 W SKC

The Vancouver Whitecaps are back in form and Sebastian Berhalter is one of the main reasons why. With rumors swirling of a Thomas Muller signing, this team could get even more dangerous. Berhalter has been fantastic as a creator with Ryan Gauld out all season and Pedro Vite now sold. The wingers were active in the victory and the Whitecaps could certainly use more of that consistently from Emmanuel Sabbi and Jayden Nelson, who hasn't lived up to the first game hype.

5. SAN DIEGO FC (+2) | 1-0 W NSH

San Diego grabbed a massive result in beating Nashville SC 1-0. Anders Dreyer thought he had an empty netter but it was a tad too late. Pablo Sisniega stepped in to keep a clean sheet and the backline embarrassed Nashville's star attackers. It was another fantastic match for the midfield as San Diego holds the top spot in the Western Conference after knocking off one of the standout teams in the league.

6. NASHVILLE SC (-5) | 1-0 L SD

Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar were left radio silent by a young San Diego defense. It wasn't a great showing considering the success Nashville has had as of late. They were on a serious roll, but this loss certainly sets them back in that any loss taken by these top four teams in the East can completely change the landscape of the table and its seeding.

7. ORLANDO CITY SC (+5) | 3-1 W CLB

What a result for Orlando City, who manifested a surprise comeback win over Columbus Crew away from home. Martin Ojeda capped the game off with his prolonged brilliance, but it was Ivan Angulo and Ramiro Enrique who ignited the spark. Orlando is fighting to be one of those top teams in the conference in perhaps the most competitive East the league has ever seen.

8. COLUMBUS CREW (-3) | 3-1 L ORL

Columbus was on the other end of that game, scoring early and conceding three late. The defense has been disappointing and the midfield just hasn't been the same since Aidan Morris left. Darlington Nagbe may finally be wearing out. Jacen Russell-Rowe is still struggling, which makes the arrival of Wessam Abou Ali's arrival perfect, along with Hugo Picard. The Crew may be losing Max Arfsten, but the addition of two pieces that can help go forward and one that should score a lot of goals is just what they need right now.

9. MINNESOTA UNITED (+1) | 2-1 W STL

Minnesota won a penalty battle over one of the worst teams in the West. By no means was it an impressive win, but with the way the Loons play it rarely ever is. They were able to squeak by with two Kelvin Yeboah hesitation penalties in the final 15 minutes of the match. Survive and advance to remain one of the top teams in the Western Conference.

10. CHARLOTTE FC (+1) | 2-0 W TFC

Charlotte FC is trying to sign a big name at striker—something that hasn't really worked so far in their existence—but it's Idan Toklomati who's trying to prove that this isn't necessary. He's been banging in goals for Charlotte as this team has hit top form once again. Even with an incredibly rough stretch that put this team at rock bottom, they have fought back into relevancy and are absolutely a contender to make a run if they can continue this current form.

11. SEATTLE SOUNDERS (-2) | 2-2 D ATL

The Seattle Sounders have been an absolute mess on the defensive end, and it's been at the fault of everyone involved at some point this season. They went down early to a Yeimar Gomez Andrade own goal, but after fighting back to take the lead, they let Alexey Miranchuk rocket one in to complete a bad 2-2 draw against a faltering Atlanta United. The Sounders were supposed to hit a run of form after the Club World Cup, but it hasn't quite come together yet.

12. NEW YORK CITY FC (+1) | 4-3 W DAL

NYCFC is one of the sneaky teams at the moment, and that's just yet another testament to how incredible the East is right now. Alonso Martinez finally turned those xG into actual goals—it's been a long time coming. Jonny Shore got himself on the board in a wild shootout played down in Dallas. A 4-3 win over Dallas isn't a great result and Matt Freese absolutely has to play better, but at least there's hope, especially with the new DP signing.

13. PORTLAND TIMBERS (+2) | 1-0 W LAFC

The Portland Timbers secured probably the most shocking result of the weekend in their 1-0 win over LAFC. Rising above the pack to secure the win was Cristhian Paredes. The Timbers clamped it down defensively and didn't allow Denis Bouanga anything. It was a massive win for a side that has been so incredibly inconsistent over the course of the season. Portland is trying to re-earn some of the respect it lost with a few really rough losses.

14. LOS ANGELES FC (-6) | 1-0 L POR

LAFC is far too talented to be slipping in this manner. Choking against LA Galaxy then losing a home match to the Portland Timbers is a horrible run again of Leagues Cup. They're still going to be in a great spot with the state of the West and the talent on the roster, and perhaps some more on the way. Javairo Dilrosun is leaving the club as his loan has expired. LAFC has a whole lot of games left to play in MLS, and they're going to need to hit a new gear in the final stretch of the season in August and beyond.

15. CHICAGO FIRE (+1) | 1-0 W RBNY

Chicago Fire has crawled into the final play-in spot with two straight wins. A 1-0 clean sheet result over New York at home was led by a Hugo Cuypers penalty for his 14th goal on the year. The Fire have been all over the place, but it's been a decent past few games as they prepare for the final few months of soccer after having a two-week break upcoming.

16. REAL SALT LAKE (+1) | 2-1 W SJ

Real Salt Lake has all sorts of reinforcements on the way, and there's already something brewing before they even arrive. RSL is playing some of the best soccer they have all season long and are really coming into their own at the moment. Diego Luna really hasn't been that dominant, but it's the likes of Diogo Goncalves finally getting going and some of those central midfielders starting to step up in ways that have been apparent in seasons past.

17. AUSTIN FC (+3) | 4-2 W DC

Austin FC is making a charge up the table as of late and are unbeaten in four games. The latter two were victories to bring Austin into seventh place and back to a winning record. The defense still hasn't been at that same level it was during the opening weeks of the year, but it's been passable at the very least. Myrto Uzuni seems to finally be figuring something out with Brandon Vazquez down and out, and the same can be said for Osman Bukari. Dani Pereira has also stepped up in the middle. Austin can make a move here.

18. NEW YORK RED BULLS (-4) | 1-0 L CHI

The Red Bulls are getting dangerously close to missing their first playoff in a long, long time. They're only two points out with nine games to play, but it's just the way that they're playing right now. Outside of a weird win against an embarrassing New England side, at least six of the last eight games have just been poor football. It's a team without a defined lineup at times and there's just no consistency at the moment. Making it back to MLS Cup is a longshot.

19. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (-1) | 1-0 L RSL

The perennial playoff-missing San Jose Earthquakes are back at it again. The awful front office decisions regarding defense have finally caught up to the Quakes as they are reeling with no wins in their last seven games across all competitions. After a promising start, they're staring yet another year without postseason soccer dead in the face. Bruce Arena's side has to step up now, before it's too late.

20. COLORADO RAPIDS (-1) | 3-1 L PHI

Colorado is just hanging on for dear life right now. When they play very sound teams tactically, Djordje Mihailovic disappears into thin air and the Rapids create absolutely no chances. In this game, Rafael Navarro scored a flukey goal that was eventually erased on three occassions. Colorado is a very one-dimensional team and when they're figured out, there's really no other way through for them.

21. HOUSTON DYNAMO (-) | N/A

Houston is the thick of a race for a Western Conference play-in spot, but the rain did not allow them to get any closer to their goals this week.

22. FC DALLAS (-) | 4-3 L NYC

Logan Farrington starred for FC Dallas and Petar Musa continued his stellar scoring ways, but it still ended up in zero points. The horrific renovation plan that has closed half of Toyota Stadium—the entire stand that is seen on Apple TV—is symbolic of this team's season in 2025. It's been bare, poorly planned and rather quiet.

23. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (-) | 3-0 L VAN

Sporting Kansas City is still in the race points-wise but anyone here down is essentially waving the white flag on the season at this point in time. There isn't enough here for this team to make a juiced up run. Dejan Joveljic can only do so much, as the creation really hasn't been there for SKC on a consistent basis.

24. CF MONTREAL (+3) | 3-1 W NE

CF Montreal walked into Gillette Stadium and stole all three points after conceding a goal within three minutes. Of course Giacomo Vrioni missed the game after getting injured in warmups, but his replacement in Prince Owusu did the dirty work. Dante Sealy followed suit to put the nail in the coffin in the walking dead that is the New England Revolution. Olger Escobar was acquired from the Revs for less than $200k, making his late goal that much sweeter.

25. TORONTO FC (-1) | 2-0 L CLT

Toronto FC is looking towards next year with a whole new crop of DPs and star players. If any of that work will be done right now remains to be seen, but there's nothing left to play for up in the 6ix.

26. LA GALAXY (-) | N/A

LA Galaxy provided a great TikTok featuring Tucker Lepley, Mauricio Cuevas and Edwin Cerrillo. That is all the action an environmentally wasteful flight to Houston contained.

27. ATLANTA UNITED (+2) | 2-2 D SEA

Atlanta United scored first early on, then scored last very late. Miranchuk put an absolute blast into the back of the net and didn't really celebrate—the appropriate reaction to the pathetic 2025 Atlanta United season. Miguel Almiron has finally stepped up and been playing really well, but this team is too far gone and the money has gone to waste in a team that isn't even playoff bound. It'll be interesting to see how they get out of this financial jam, something they've had to do far too many times for the amount of years they've been a team.

28. NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (-3) | 3-1 L MTL

Where do we even start? Well, firing Caleb Porter. If Porter isn't fired after losing 3-1 to Montreal on home turf, he has to have some insane dirt on the higher ups within the organization. Surviving last year was enough, but to not win a game for 15 matches and still have a job at this point is genuinely absurd. Fans have given up and are ready to leave this club in the dust for the mere lack of competence across the board. The Revs' last win was against Montreal many months ago, and this loss should be the full circle moment to end his time coaching in MLS.

29. ST. LOUIS CITY SC (-1) | 2-1 L MIN

St. Louis is just in a horrible position. They actually got the lead against a good Minnesota team through a penalty, only to somehow concede two penalties of their own late in the match and lose in a three-penalty affair. St. Louis is actually such a mess and have seen a wild fall from grace over time in their early years in MLS.

30. DC UNITED (-) | 4-2 L ATX

DC United is just bad. Christian Benteke should probably just retire to get out this black hole that is the modern day DCU. Gabriel Pirani shows some sparks but really doesn't have any other help. DC has been bad for a long time and at this rate, will continue to be a poorly run soccer team.