The 2025 season for the Seattle Sounders was in many ways a year of firsts. The Sounders hosted three FIFA Club World Cup games and became the first MLS team to participate in in the tournament twice. They won their first Leagues Cup title in a 3-0 thrashing of Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in front of 70,000 fans at Lumen Field. And they became the first MLS team to win every trophy available to it, completing its trophy cabinet that already contained a Concacaf Champions Cup title, two MLS Cups, a Supporters’ Shield and four U.S. Open Cups.
By all accounts, 2025 was a major success, even for a club that holds itself to a rigorous high standard and is disappointed to not still be competing in the MLS Cup Playoffs after bowing out to Minnesota United in Round One.
“Just reflecting back on the year, it was for me, personally, a very exciting year,” said Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer in the end-of-year press conference on Tuesday. “Being able to play in the Club World Cup, that was a massive opportunity for this club. I don’t know if I’ll be around if we ever get there again. It was such a big deal and precursor to the 2026 World Cup, showing that Seattle can host these types of events.”
Seattle totaled a staggering 50 matches in 2025 across four different competitions including the Concacaf Champions Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Leagues Cup. Highlights included a remarkable showing in the Club World Cup against some of the best names in world football including France’s Paris Saint-Germain, Spain’s Atlético Madrid and Brazil’s Botafogo, as well as a historic 7-0 win over Mexican giants Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup before the convincing championship win against Miami.
“Incredible amount of games played, but incredible amount of success had as well,” said Sounders General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel. “There are a lot of teams that play a lot of games that don’t win nearly as much as we did, and the fireworks in the middle of the year made it a lot of fun.”
As the calendar turns toward 2026, the Sounders are already looking ahead to preseason and trying to hit the ground running with a Concacaf Champions Cup trophy on the line beginning in February, a competition in which Seattle will start in the Round of 16 thanks to their Leagues Cup triumph. A few players have moved on and others are currently out of contract and in negotiations, but many of the core pieces of this Sounders roster are returning.
MLS - FIFA Calendar Alignment
The MLS Board of Governors has approved a shift to a summer-to-spring schedule, aligning MLS with the world’s top leagues. This transition opens the door to greater competitive opportunities, fewer conflicts with international windows, and improved access to elite talent in the global transfer market.
Cristian Roldan is coming off arguably his best season as a professional, earning MLS Best XI honors as a defensive midfielder and playing his way back onto the United States national team radar. Danny Musovski had a career year, tallying 14 goals and forming a formidable attacking trio alongside fellow forwards Jordan Morris and Osaze De Rosario. Additionally, Albert Rusnák recorded his second straight double-double with 11 goals and 10 assists, and young players like Obed Vargas, Danny Leyva, Georgi Minoungou and Snyder Brunell took massive strides as well.
“I love the progression that the players made,” said Schmetzer. “It’s the development portion of our club…It’s really, really good and exciting to watch these young kids develop into grown men.”
While the roster will continue to finalize through the winter, the stress for greatness remains as 2026 hopes to build on the strong foundation set in 2025.
“What does 2026 look like? Craig and I have already started having conversations about making the team better, how we’re going to do that going forward,” said Schmetzer. “What I want you guys to talk about is the future because I see a bright future.”
