A different-looking Atlanta United squad will travel to Cincinnati for an afternoon match (2:30 p.m. first kick) on Saturday, Mar. 22. The team will be without 10 players due to international duty, including starters Miguel Almiron (two assists in four games this season), Ajani Fortune, Stan Gregersen. Even reserves such as Noah Cobb and Luke Brennan won’t be available due to his responsibilities for the United States U-20 squad.
Fortune, who started one game this season, will be playing for Trinidad & Tobago in CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying. 17-year-old reserve defender Dominik Chong Qui was named to the United States Under-18 National Team and will be headed to training camp in Marbella, Spain, before playing matches against the U-18’s from Morocco and Norway.
That means key players like Emmanuel Latte Lath (three goals this season), Edwin Mosquera (one goal), Saba Lobjanidze, Alexey Miranchuk, Brad Guzan, Derrick Williams, and Brooks Lennon, for example, will be counted on to play major minutes in order to try to pick up points on the road.
Brooks, who played his 200th match on Sunday night, understands that this can be seen as something good and bad at the same time.
“Obviously, playing against a great Cincinnati team in Cincy, and we’re missing a lot of guys, is great but it’s also a curse,” he said. “We’re going to have to use our full roster and that’s why Garth [Lagerwey] and the front office have built such a great roster this year.”
Mateusz Klich, who participated in training this week, was listed as “questionable” before the match and did not play against Inter Miami, should be available for Saturday’s match as well.
Last week, Atlanta United was also without striker Jamal Thiare and defender Ronald Hernandez for this match. Both were out with quad injuries.
Sunday Night Live
The official attendance for Sunday’s match against Inter Miami was 42,844. That total is the lowest of the three matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season.
Guess Who’s Back
Veteran right-back Brooks Lennon was back in the starting lineup for his first match of the season. Lennon had been at training the past couple of weeks and was cleared by the team’s medical staff.
Tristan Muyumba was also back in the starting 11 for a consecutive week. Muyumba came off the bench against Charlotte a week before earning his first start of the season against the New York Red Bulls.
Trophies in the House
The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 trophy made an appearance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last Sunday.
Former Argentina National Team star and Chelsea, Inter Milan, and AC Milan striker Hernan Crespo was there to greet fans alongside the trophy, which is a glimmering gold plate.
Asked why Atlanta has become such an important site for FIFA football, including multiple matches during the 2026 World Cup, Crespo, who played in Atlanta for the first time during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, said he didn’t have an answer.
“Every great event is important to the fans,” Crespo said. ‘It’s a great opportunity.”
Sunday was Crespo’s first time in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and he said he was impressed.
“It really surprised me, this stadium, ” he said. “I’m happy to come back to Atlanta.”
Leo Messi and Inter Miami CF, along with the Seattle Sounders, will be representing Major League Soccer in the 32-team tournament that includes teams from around the world and kicks off in 90 days.
Up Next:
Atlanta will close out the month of March with a home match against NYCFC on Saturday night, Mar. 29. Similar to last week against Inter Miami, there is a scheduled 7:30 p.m. first kick.
