Cup Thế Giới 2026

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Saturday Showdown

Sporting KC's Dejan Joveljić: The Cup Thế Giới 2026most underrated player in MLS?

J. Sam Jones

Six MLS seasons, 54 goals, 13 assists, one MLS Cup-winning goal, zero All-Star appearances and zero awards.

Since arriving in MLS in the summer of 2021, Sporting Kansas City striker Dejan Joveljić has consistently found ways to put the ball in the back of the net.

To get granular, he’s generated goal contributions at virtually the same per-96-minute rate (0.7 per 96) as past Landon Donovan MLS MVP winners Luciano Acosta (0.71) and Hany Mukhtar (0.74). He’s outpaced big names like Christian Benteke and Thiago Almada. And, in the last two years as a starter for LA Galaxy and Sporting KC, Joveljić’s rate of 0.72 goal contributions per 96 minutes is ninth-best in the league.

So, where’s the love for a player who’s scored 33 goals over the last two seasons?

Well, at the very least, the folks who have to try and slow him down are paying attention. In a recent GOAL.com survey of players from all 30 MLS teams, 27% of players surveyed cited Joveljić as the most underrated player in the league.

“I think he should get quite a lot more credit,” teammate Manu García said ahead of SKC's Walmart Saturday Showdown at LA (9:30 pm ET | Apple TV).

“He was one of the best players with the Galaxy when they won the league, and also he was fighting for top goalscorer the year after with us, which is a much different team than what he was used to.”

Change of scenery

That last sentence is a bit of an understatement. Joveljić went from winning MLS Cup 2024 to doing anything he could to avoid a last-place finish in 2025.

Just two months after Sporting KC sent $4 million to the Galaxy to acquire Joveljić in the first cash-for-player trade in MLS history, Sporting parted ways with longtime manager Peter Vermes. SKC finished last in the Western Conference and avoided the Wooden Spoon by two points. Along the way, Joveljić still managed to score 18 goals.

“It's been a lot of different,” Joveljic said. “I mean, I spent just a couple of months, maybe less than two months with Peter. He's the guy who brought me here. I'm thankful, and I'm gonna be always grateful for that opportunity to play in this big club.

"After that, a new coach came, a new sporting director, everything changed. I like their ideas. I like their philosophy. I trust in them. They trust in me. And I think that we are going to make good things.”

1+1=✌️ pic.twitter.com/QX690mGxqX
— Sporting Kansas City (@SportingKC) March 1, 2026

Leading the rebuild

Sporting KC are still trying to find a path back to contending in the West. This year hasn’t started quite the way anyone would have hoped – they have one point in three games and a roster that’s actively under construction – but Joveljić is still out there, doing what he’s done from the start in MLS. Through three games, he’s got two goals.

When he talks about continuing to score goals regardless of the circumstances, it’s like he’s talking about continuing to breathe. There’s no extra motivation needed, no tricks. He scores because… well, that’s just what he does. No accolades needed.

“I don't really care about that,” Joveljić said. “My goal is to score, every season, 15-plus goals. And I don't need to be an MLS All-Star. I would rather choose to score 15-plus than to be an All-Star with 10 or less goals. You know what I mean?”

All of this fits with his personality. Joveljić is the kind of quiet where “he leads by example” gets thrown around a lot. If he’s not on the pitch or doing work off it, he’s probably somewhere being better at chess than you (he says his most recent Chess.com ELO rating is around 2,700) or solving a Rubik's Cube faster than you.

Still, as much as the quiet player leading by example is a cliché, Joveljić’s teammates and coaches clearly take notice of the work he puts in. When new SKC head coach Raphael Wicky arrived in January, he named his soft-spoken striker captain of the team.

“My first impressions were that he's a winner,” Wicky said. “He wants to win. He wants to win in training, in the exercises, everything. And that is a very good characteristic to have, because that sets the right example.”

What a season for Dejan Joveljic. Now a champion. 💙🤍💛@LAGalaxy // MLS Cup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com/uQ289ct8Xx
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 7, 2024

Exciting reunion

On Saturday night, Joveljić will try to earn a win against his former club, the LA Galaxy. Joveljić spent plenty of time coming off the bench for LA before establishing himself as a rotation starter in his final two seasons. In a little over three years, Joveljić scored 34 regular-season goals. In five playoff starts in 2024, he scored six goals and delivered two assists. His final goal for the Galaxy ended up as the deciding tally in the Galaxy’s first MLS Cup win since 2014.

LA moved on anyway. In short, the league’s salary cap rules wouldn’t let him stick around and earn what he’s worth without the Galaxy cutting loose another key player. Joveljić got a Designated Player deal, LA got $4 million, and both sides will face each other without bad blood.

“I mean, what can you say about LA Galaxy?” Joveljić said. “The club is the most branded club in MLS. I mean the most trophies, most everything. When you say MLS, you think about LA Galaxy and all those players who play there.

"I’m excited because I'm gonna play against my coach, against my ex-teammates. I think that we are ready. We can show some quality there, even though they're a very strong team.”

Regardless of what happens in the match, he’ll be in front of two fanbases that know full well how good a goalscorer he is. Maybe another career year will have more people around the league understanding that, too. Don’t put it past him.

“I’m just focused on scoring goals and helping my teammates,” Joveljić said. “If people think I’m underrated… maybe that’s just motivation for me to keep proving myself.”

J. Sam Jones - @J_SamJones