'Austin was built to host great events': What we learned from Tuesday's MLS All-Star Game announcement

The soundbite from Austin FC president Andy Loughnane was a little awkward in its timing, given that SXSW had just announced a downsizing of the annual festival on Monday, in part coinciding with the demolition (starting next month) and rebirth (by 2029) of the Austin Convention Center.

But it expressed a sentiment that still nods to Austin lore, resonating with longtime residents, regarding the city hosting the 2025 MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 23 (and all the hoopla scheduled in the several days prior).

"Austin was built to host great events," he declared, "and this is just going to be another in a long storied tradition of hosting great events here in Austin."

In making the case for Q2 (that was set into motion once the stadium started being built, based on how the league likes to feature newly-opened stadiums for All-Star), Loughnane mentioned its role in hosting World Cup qualifiers and Gold Cup matches, as well as noting the league last brought its All-Star Game to Texas — specifically, in Houston, in what was then known as Reliant Stadium, for a 5-2 drubbing by Manchester United.

Loughnane also announced (though he was clipped by about 45 minutes by the league announcing it) that the Liga MX All-Stars will once again be the MLS All-Stars' opponent.

That's perhaps a bit of a disappointment to those hoping the league was finally moving back to its East vs. West matchup roots, which it's better positioned to do now than when MLS first died it. But keeping the new tradition is certainly better than what happened in 2023, when MLS departed from the North American All-Star format it introduced for the 2021 edition of the annual event, to again go with a European club – as it did from 2005 (with Fulham!) to 2019 (with Atlético Madrid winning 3-0, punctuated by a Diego Costa goal in stoppage time, because of course).

(2023 brought with it a 5-0 Arsenal beatdown that left this Arsenal/MLS fan conflicted and a little bewildered. That's also where I learned that D.C.'s Audi Field is only one of two soccer stadiums in the world – Everton's Goodison Park being the other – that has its press box/cameras face west instead of east. Sunset glare at Audi Field is painful, y'all – but not as painful as American Arsenal fans adopting English accents[[1]] to cheer on their preseason squad dunking on MLS's best.)

If it follows the trajectory of past MLS All-Star Games, you should expect the following – some of which Loughnane confirmed, and some of which he might not be yet entirely sure of, as the league controls the bulk of the All-Star programming.

• Starting on Sunday, expect national MLS media to converge on Austin and experience opportunities for local soccer fans to experience live podcasts and the like. (In 2022, in the Black Hart's back room, as a bonus for those who went to the Twin Cities' turn at hosting, The Cooligans' Alexis Guerreros and Christian Polanco, who started out as comedians before branching out into soccer podcasting, each did comedy routines. I can't promise we'll get a repeat of that, but there should be fun for those who listen to more than five soccer podcasts a week; I know you're out there.)
• On Monday, expect the activations downtown to go into full effect, including a likely community service opportunity and something Loughnane obliquely referred to as a "celebration of soccer." (Loughnane did say there would be quite a bit happening downtown, very possibly centered at the Fairmont if Austin brass gets any say in the matter.)
• On Tuesday, the glorious Skills Challenge takes place, which fundamentally asks its participants, "What if soccer was reduced to players just navigating an elaborate set of props cribbed from Big Brother challenges?" The event also incorporates Goalie Wars, which is perhaps the real celebration of soccer.
• And on Wednesday, the match itself – for which season ticket holders and waitlist folks will get a crack at before tickets go on sale to the general public a week from today.

But who will represent MLS?

As head coach of the team hosting, Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez will coach the MLS All-Stars and get to select 12 players on the 26-man roster, with fans selecting 12 and MLS Commissioner Don Garber selecting two. Here's a far-too-early prediction of who gets voted in:

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami; Luis Suárez, Inter Miami; Emmanuel Latte Lath, Atlanta United; Denis Bouanga, LAFC

Midfielders: Evander, FC Cincinnati; Brian Gutiérrez, Chicago Fire FC; Andres Dreyer, San Diego FC

Defenders: Kai Wagner, Philadelphia Union; Jordi Alba, Inter Miami; Jackson Ragan, Seattle Sounders; Maya Yoshida, LA Galaxy

Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte FC

Yes, that goalkeeper pick annoys me, but I feel like Kahlina's going to get some All-Star vote drift from his 2024 season, which really picked up recognition and praise and eventually accolades in the second half of the season. As MLS noted when he was named Goalkeeper of the Year, "The 32-year-old Croatia native was the only MLS goalkeeper to rank top-five in both saves (121) and goals against average (1.09), while finishing tied for first in shutouts (12) and leading the league in save percentage (75.63%)." Sometimes it's just a math aggregate like that.

Incidentally, the All-Star selections that year were Roman Bürki, Hugo Lloris, and Indonesia-boosted Maarten Paes, leaving Kahlina and two other more deserving GK candidates home. One was Matt Freese, arguably the best goalkeeper last season.

The other, of course, was (nodding to Flight of the Conchords here) definitely in the top three: Brad Stuver.

Will Stuver get a lifetime achievement award in 2025? He's got a decent resume brewing in 2025: Anchoring one of the better defenses in the league, only letting in 0.5 goals per match, and an 80% save ratio.

(Incidentally, Stuver's 2024 numbers were comparable to Kahlina's: a league-leading 143 saves, a 1.41 goals against average, eight shutouts, and a save percentage of 74.8%.)

There might be more splashier initial picks, including San Diego's C.J. dos Santos (who is having a surprisingly good statistical season given he's a relative unknown on an expansion team), but Estévez picking Stuver wouldn't turn the heads that, say, D.C. United manager Wayne Rooney did when he elevated Tyler Miller to the 2023 All-Star squad despite him having just a 62.8% save percentage.

(His option was declined after the 2024 season and he's currently without a club. That happened 18 months after his All-Star selection. Life comes at you fast?)

Which Austin FC player might join Stuver?

Stuver getting onto the All-Star squad in 2025 wouldn't be a stretch, but right now, a second Verde selection would be.

In 2024, the All-Star team had seven forwards/wingers, 10 (!) midfielders, nine defenders, and three goalkeepers — and given that whoever Garber chooses is a bit of a wild card, those numbers could change slightly in 2025.[[2]]

Given what Verde spent on DPs, it seems like one of Myrto Uzuni, Brandon Vázquez, or Osman Bukari would be a candidate, but they don't have the stats that players like Tai Baribo, Hugo Cuypers, Christian Benteke, Cristian Espinoza, Alonso Martinez, Jordan Morris, or Rafael Navarro have right now. All of those names would rightfully vault over Verde names if All-Star picks needed to be made today.

As for midfielders, Luciano Acosta still plays in this league. Eduard Atuesta has three assists so far for a high-scoring Orlando team still trying to figure some things out. Miami's Telasco Segovia is turning some heads; he has four goal contributions already. David Da Costa would be an exciting addition to the squad. Right now, Owen Wolff looks like Verde's best midfielder, and so far, the best candidate for a Verde field player to get the nod, though he might be considered a bit of a homer pick at this stage. (But if you need a designated corner kick specialist for a phase of the game, he might just be the guy.)

Given that Austin's defense has been doing well, it's possible for Estévez to choose a Verde defender with justification, but MLS All-Star defenders typically fall into one of two categories: A reputation pick (think Walker Zimmerman or Miles Robinson) or a defender scoring a lot of goals (2023 Jon Gallagher, or, so far, 2025 Andrew Gutman or Sam Adekugbe), which could also include a fake defender like Luca Orellano.

Fake defender? Don't believe me? Charts!

That's ... well, that's stark considering the defending numbers, but, uh, pretty dominant in nine categories. (Orellano would also be objectively fun as a wingback free to roam with MLS All-Stars like Evander or Bouanga to combine with; you just need a center back good enough to slide over and defend against Liga MX wingers.)

Meanwhile, speaking of charts, here's where Stuver is as a goalkeeper compared to MLS and its equivalent leagues.

And here's Kahlina, because, sure, why not.

And here's a comparison chart.

All told, I'd still rather have Stuver, but Kahlina is better overall statistically based on this. (But I'd still rather have Stuver.)

Again, it's still early in the season, and if Uzuni catches fire and scores six or seven goals in the next five matches, he likely enters the conversation as one of the nine or ten best 2025 attackers in MLS. But he's not there yet, and I doubt Estévez would gift an All-Star spot to a field player.

Keep an eye on Owen Wolff, though. (No, seriously.)

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[[1]]: The rest of you Premier League fans do this too! (Or, at least, you know people in your fan base who do.)

[[2]]: In 2024, Garber chose Héctor Herrera (a pick that made way more sense for 2023) and Darlington Nagbe, who the official site delightfully dubbed "still among the best midfield metronomes in MLS."