Team of the Matchday: Evander mounts MVP charge, Sporting KC duo pops off
Is Evander the new Landon Donovan MLS MVP frontrunner? At the very least, the Portland Timbers' No. 10 is making a case for serious consideration.
FC Cincinnati signed forward Yuya Kubo as a Designated Player via transfer from Belgian club KAA Gent on January 9, 2020.
2023 (FC Cincinnati): Made 25 appearances, including 10 starts, accruing 1,068 minutes … tallied three assists, including a game winning assist to Luciano Acosta in a 3-2 victory for the Orange and Blue over the Columbus Crew (May 20) … picked up his final two assists in a 2-2 draw against New England Revolution (July 1) and in another 2-2 draw against Philadelphia Union (Sept. 16) … in his 10 starts, the club only lost one game, going 5-4-1 during those games.
2022 (FC Cincinnati): Made 27 appearances, including 14 starts, totaling 1,347 minutes … scored his first goal since 2020 on September 10 vs. San Jose Earthquakes with a second half strike in the team’s 6-0 win … recorded the first four assists of his MLS career, with his first career assist with the Orange and Blue coming March 12 at Orlando City SC, in what proved to be a game-winning assist of Brandon Vazquez’s game-winner … followed that up with an assist one week later vs. Inter Miami CF … assisted the lone FCC goal vs. Nashville SC on July 23 with his corner kick finding Álvaro Barreal, who send a pass into Vazquez for the goal … notched an assist against Charlotte FC in a 2-0 win on Sept. 3 … also scored in the Leagues Cup Showcase on Sept. 21 against Chivas as part of the 3-1 win for FCC.
2021 (FC Cincinnati): Made 29 appearances, all starts, totaling 2,355 minutes primarily as a midfielder … Tied for ninth in the league with most tackles (50) … started and played in every match until September 15 at Atlanta United FC … from July 3 at Houston Dynamo FC to Sept. 11 vs. Toronto FC, started and played all 90 minutes in 12 straight game … had a season-high 94.1 accurate passing percentage on July 26 in the 2-0 win over Toronto FC.
2020 (FC Cincinnati): Made 19 appearances, including 15 starts, scoring a team-high three goals … started and played 79 minutes in season opener at New York (March 1) … was replaced by Kekuta Manneh in the second half … recorded first MLS and FCC goal at Atlanta (March 7) … became the first FC Cincinnati player in 2020 to score a goal outside the 18-yard box … recorded second goal of the season against New York (July 22) …started and played 90 minutes vs D.C. United (Aug. 21) and against Chicago Fire FC (Aug. 25) … started and played 89 minutes against Columbus Crew SC (Aug. 29) … was replaced by Caleb Stanko late in the second half … made first substitute appearance and played 27 minutes against Chicago Fire FC (Sept. 2) … replaced Siem de Jong in the second half … returned to the starting lineup and played 58 minutes against Columbus Crew SC (Sept. 6) … replaced by Haris Medunjanin in the second half … started and played 65 minutes against New York City FC (Sept. 12) … replaced by Allan Cruz in the second half … started and played 78 minutes against New York Red Bulls (Sept. 19) … replaced by Allan Cruz in the second half … played 22 minutes against Philadelphia Union (Sept. 23) … replaced Brandon Vazquez in the second half … played 19 minutes at New York City FC (Sept. 26) … replaced Allan Cruz in the second half … returned to the starting lineup and played 79 minutes at Minnesota United FC (Oct. 3) … was replaced by Caleb Stanko in the second half … started and played 90 minutes at the Philadelphia Union (Oct. 7) … led the team with five tackles … started and played 90 minutes against Toronto FC (Oct. 11) … co-led the team with three tackles … started and played 59 minutes against Columbus Crew SC (Oct. 14) … scored his third goal of the season and FCC’s first penalty in the 17th minute … led the team with three total shots and two on target … was replaced by Joseph-Claude Gyau in the second half … was unavailable against D.C. United (Oct. 18) and Minnesota United FC (Oct. 24) due to an injury … returned to the matchday roster and played 13 minutes against Sporting Kansas City (Oct. 28) … replaced Jürgen Locadia in the second half … missed the match against Atlanta United FC (Nov. 1) and Inter Miami CF (Nov. 8) due to an injury … MLS is Back Tournament: Made four appearances, all starts, scoring one goal … started and played 90 minutes in group-stage match against Columbus (July 11) … started and played 90 minutes in group-stage match against Atlanta (July 16) … started, played 66 minutes and scored second goal of the season against New York (July 22) … completed 15-of-16 passes for a 93.8% passing accuracy … was replaced by Siem de Jong in the second half … started in the Round of 16 game vs Portland (July 28) and was replaced by Siem de Jong in the second half.
OUTSIDE MLS: The forward has made 303 career appearances, while scoring 86 goals and adding 23 assists in 10 professional seasons in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Japan … Kubo made 12 appearances, including six starts, while scoring three goals and adding two assists across all competitions in 2019-20 with KAA Gent … scored a brace in 2019 against FC Viitorul (July 25) in the first leg of the Second Round of UEFA Europa League qualifying … Kubo comes to FC Cincinnati with 29 combined appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League matches, having scored in qualifying rounds of both competitions.
INTERNATIONAL: Has made 13 appearances, scoring two goals and adding two assists for Japan since making his senior international debut in an international friendly against Oman on Nov. 11, 2016 … the forward scored his first goal and also added his first assist for Japan in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier at the United Arab Emirates on March 23, 2017.