WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: MINNESOTA UNITED
Welcome back to What You Need To Know, a preview for Austin FC fans to check in on their next opponent.
Spring is almost here, the sun is shining, the grass is green, and Austin FC is back in action at Q2 Stadium against Minnesota United. Let’s see where MLS Experts think Austin will finish this season:
Not that this shouldn’t be a surprise. Austin FC is returning most of the players from a team that was bad last season (12th in the Western Conference). The additions have been few so far, adding Diego Rubio, Jader Obrien, and Guilherme Biro, who are likely to be improvements at striker, wing depth, and at fullback, areas Austin needed reinforcements. The worries come from bringing back Josh Wolff and his 39-21-52 record, the same defenders, and lack of depth. There will be less fixture congestion thanks to not qualifying for the CONCACAF Champion’s Cup and potentially not participating in the US Open Cup because MLS and US Soccer can’t come to an agreement to treat the biggest and older cup competition in the country as the jewel it should be.
Austin is still a team centered on Sebastian Driussi’s scoring prowess and the hopes that the midfield will return to him, Daniel Perreira, and Alex Ring being the starters and getting the bulk of minutes when healthy. There’s been a noticeable change in preseason where Ring is played deeper with Dani having more freedom to go forward, a change that could provide the creativity and attacking verve Austin was lacking last season.
The biggest issue involves the organization and players in front of Brad Stuver. Austin FC was in the bottom 5 of the conference in xGA, xG Difference, PSxG, and gave up the most shots in the league, which is how Brad Stuver somehow led the league in saves and in goals allowed. Hopefully a fully healthy season Zan Kolmanic, Julio Cascante, and Leo Väisänen will improve those stats.
Minnesota United came into 2024 with an “Under Construction” sign in front of the building. They surprisingly fired Adrian Heath with two matches remaining in the 2023 season and appointed Sean McCauley as the Interim Head coach. When McCauley left to coach the USL side Indy Eleven this offseason they didn’t appoint a new Head coach, but a new interim head coach, Cameron Knowles. It was just announced they hired 32 year old Manchester United set piece coach Eric Ramsay, who is the youngest MLS manager and has never been the manager of a Senior professional team. He is not going to join their team until after the Manchester Derby on March 3.
History vs. Austin FC:
Austin FC is 4-3 all-time against Minnesota including winning home (2-1 on May 31) and away (4-1 on July 8) last season.
Players to Watch:
Teemu Pukki
The journeyman striker led this team in goals last season (10) while only playing in 14 matches, which says a lot about who he was replacing and at how good of a player he is. Expect him to be the most likely goal threat and who the Austin FC defense needs to be most concerned with.
Dayne St. Clair
The Canadian goalkeeper is entering his third year as the starter for Minnesota and is coming off a disappointing season that saw him drop from being the 3rd best keeper in PSxG to being…52nd last season. Minnesota didn’t bring in anyone to challenge or push him, so they need him to play more like he did in 2022 than last season if they expect to get back into the playoffs.
Kervin Arriaga
The central midfielder is most important as the player Minnesota relies on to link play between the defense and attack. Preventing him time and space on the ball when Austin loses it will be important to keep them from using their speed to counter. He’ll also be tasked with controlling the spaces Driussi and Perreira will be moving into and trying to keep those two from linking up in Austin’s attack.
Keys to the Match:
Staying High
Last season Austin played a high and spread defensive line against Minnesota in both meetings and while this proved effective on the scoreboard, it also led to instances like in their opener at Q2 last season where a single misplay by a defender leads to a through ball and a 2 on Stuver situation. Austin also deployed this tactic in the away match, will we see Austin continue to play this way and invite Minnesota’s wingers forward and hope the offside trap is coordinated enough and the Minnesota attackers squander chances like they did last season?
Rodo’s New Menu Offerings
After his first offseason in charge, we’ve already seen two of Rodo’s signings, Jader Obrian and Diego Rubio, feature in preseason and both look more effective than options Austin FC played last season as they led the team in preseason goals. Will we see the roster change from more of “Wolff’s guys” (Zardes, Finlay) to Rodo’s?
Who pulls the strings?
Minnesota’s star player Emanuel Reynoso had a setback this week with his injured knee and is out this week. Without their star player, it’s unclear who would fit into that role, and may include Teemu Pukki having to drop deeper to add creativity.
See you at Q2!
WRITTEN BY: SCOTT SPECHT
