The 2024 Major League Soccer season came to an end on Saturday as LA Galaxy defeated New York Red Bulls in the MLS Cup final. There have been some standout performances across the regular season and the playoffs, but who has been good enough to make our best XI?
By James Nalton
Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina, Charlotte FC (7.18 FotMob rating)
There was one obvious standout goalkeeper in MLS this season: Charlotte’s Kristijan Kahlina.
The Croatian topped the charts for the goals prevented stat by some distance, ahead of Matt Freese who still deserves a mention for his performances with New York City this season.
This more advanced stat, based on xGOT faced, is linked to expected goals and assigns a number between zero and one to each shot on target faced based on its likelihood of finding the net.
The number of goals conceded is then subtracted from the total xGOT faced to give an idea of how many shots a goalkeeper is saving that they might not be expected to — hence “goals prevented”.
Kahlina also topped more traditional goalkeeping metrics such as save percentage (76%) and clean sheets (13) even though the latter is more of a team defensive stat.
The Charlotte goalkeeper was named Goalkeeper of the Year in this year’s MLS awards, receiving 35% of the votes. If anything, it’s surprising this percentage wasn’t higher.
Right-back: Steven Moreira, Columbus Crew (6.96)
Moreira was named Defender of the Year for his performances on the right of the Crew’s back three.
Though this means he’s classed as a centre-back, his job is as much about what Columbus does with the ball as it is defending without it.
Playing right-back for much of his career before joining the Crew has helped his adaptation to this fairly specific role.
One could imagine him playing effectively as a right-back in a back four who also contributes to build-up play, as he will do in our imaginary XI.
Centre-back: Yeimar Gómez, Seattle Sounders (7.29)
When it comes to pure defensive work, Yeimar remains one of the best central defenders in MLS.
Seattle conceded the fewest goals in the league during the 2024 season, and Yeimar’s partnership with Jackson Ragen in the middle of the Sounders’ backline played a big part in that.
His proactive defending also takes some burden off the midfield, and he led MLS for interceptions in 2024 with 63.
Centre-back: Miles Robinson: FC Cincinnati (7.05)
Robinson has played as part of a back three for Cincinnati this season, and showed he is still among the most highly regarded centre-backs in the league even while not being at his absolute best.
Robinson ranks well in FotMob’s season performance data for duels, both from tackling and aerial ability.
Cincinnati had the third best defence in the Eastern Conference behind the already mentioned Charlotte and Columbus.
Left-back: Jordi Alba, Inter Miami (7.54)
Alba’s availability and consistency made him one of the more reliable members of Inter Miami’s star cast.
He was third in the team for total minutes played and finished the season having scored five goals and made 11 assists.
His retirement from international duty in 2023 increased his availability in a league which plays through international breaks and he played a big role in his team’s record-breaking regular season.
Defensive midfielder: Sergio Busquets, Inter Miami (7.35)
Busquets, like Alba, was one of the strongholds of this Supporters’ Shield-winning Inter Miami season.
There was the odd shaky moment as the defensive side of Inter Miami’s team was often left in the lurch by the understandable focus on attack, but overall he was a steady, important presence.
A combination of defensive nous and link-up play in possession meant he was often the player that made the whole thing work for Miami.
Midfielder: Riqui Puig, LA Galaxy (8.17)
The veneration of Puig during the MLS Cup final showed how important he has been to LA Galaxy this season, despite an ACL injury keeping him out of the MLS Cup final itself.
The Spaniard is the best footballer in the league not named Messi, and has been instrumental in LA Galaxy’s turnaround this season, orchestrating their play from midfield.
Attacking midfielder: Ryan Gauld, Vancouver Whitecaps (7.79)
The outgoing Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini once said of Gauld: “In the last 5, 6, 7 games he’s almost MVP level. Some other guys are more flashy, maybe. He’s what I call a working-class DP.”
It sums up Gauld’s contributions in Vancouver where he has always been up among the best players in the league since joining in 2021.
There was more of the same from the Scottish attacker in 2024 as he scored 15 goals and made 12 assists across MLS regular season and post-season in 2024 this year.
Attacking midfielder: Evander, Portland Timbers (8.06)
Despite finishing 15th in the overall standings, Portland scored the fourth-most goals in MLS in 2024, partly because Evander was one of the league’s most productive attacking players.
Only Luciano Acosta registered more assists than Evander across the regular season and playoffs, and only Messi had more goals plus assists combined in the regular season.
Forward: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami (8.30)
Having missed a large part of the season through a combination of injury and international call-ups, there was plenty of debate around whether Messi had played enough games to be considered for the MVP award, but on a per-game basis, his stats broke MLS records.
He was voted the league’s MVP in 2024 on the back of votes from the media and his fellow players, and his stats and performances in the 22 MLS appearances he did make in 2024 make it difficult to argue against them.
Forward: Cucho Hernández, Columbus Crew (7.85)
While Puig is the second-best footballer in the league after Messi, Cucho has been the second-best player in terms of performance levels in 2024, so much so that he led the MLS MVP vote among technical staff at MLS clubs.
His defensive work is almost as impressive as his attacking numbers, as he’s one of the best in the league at winning the ball in the attacking third.
He led the league for shots per 90 in 2024, scored 19 goals, and made 11 assists.
(Cover Image from IMAGO)
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