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Galaxy end a busy start to the season at Portland

March 21, 2026

The usual marathon of a Major League Soccer season has started in a sprint for the Galaxy and it’s not even time for the real recently announced sprint season in 2027.

Sunday’s game against the Portland Timbers closes a whirlwind start for the Galaxy with nine games in 32 days, which also included matches in Panama and Jamaica.

The upcoming international break is arriving at the perfect time.

The Galaxy have lost their last two MLS games and are 1-1-2. In CONCACAF Champions Cup, they’ve advanced to next month’s quarterfinals against Liga MX power Deportivo Toluca.

“I think in MLS, we’ve done our own undoing,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “We were at home, and in the first match, we were up 1-0, very in control of the game and took a red card on a penalty, which made it 1-1. We end up in a draw. We win the second 3-0, and we looked like we had a complete performance. The third, we take another yellow card, take another red card, and we end up losing a game that we are very much in at 1-1 and playing well.

“So, I think for us, we can’t be our own worst enemies. We’ve got to be able to, again, find the solutions inside of the game, execute and make sure that we play solid, and we don’t make any mistakes that hurt ourselves. In the last game, again, we had more chances, more opportunity, more possession, which doesn’t always mean everything. We gave up two goals off of two counterattacks, and we need to be cleaner in those situations. We’ve got to take care of our own business, and we’ve got to make sure that we can do a better job of executing on our side.”

Health issues

The Galaxy is welcoming next weekend off for the international break.

They started the season knowing they wouldn’t have star midfielder Riqui Puig, who reinjured his knee. Forward Joseph Paintsil (thigh) is out for Sunday’s game. Defender Chris Rindov (leg) has yet to make his season debut and fellow defender Jakob Glesnes has been out with a calf injury that could keep him sidelined for four to six weeks.

“We have to get healthy,” Vanney said. “We have got to get settled in here a little bit. We look forward to the international break, because we’ll get a couple of weeks of training that we can work on some things, (because) we’re just going from game and recovery to game.”

The Galaxy return from the international break April 4 at home against Minnesota United FC. The two legs of the Champions Cup quarterfinals will be played April 8 in Toluca, Mexico, and April 15 at home.

International duty

Harbor Miller, Ruben Ramos Jr. and Jose Magaña Jr. will head to Spain for a U.S. U-19 training camp after Sunday’s game.

From the second team at Ventura County FC, Eric Preston will join the U.S. U-18s in Portugal for the Torneio International Tournament, starting Thursday. Vicente Garcia and Aaron Medina will join the U.S. U-17s in Paraguay, for a camp starting Tuesday.

GALAXY at PORTLAND TIMBERS

When: 1:45 p.m. Sunday

Where: Providence Park; Portland, Oregon

How to watch: FOX 11, Apple TV

Orange County Register

News Details

Galaxy end a busy start to the season at Portland

Health issues

International duty

GALAXY at PORTLAND TIMBERS

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