USA MLS Standings and Table

Competition: USA MLS

Sport: Football

Region: United States

Standings and table

League standings, team points and form load in the interactive table once the app has started.

About this competition

Major League Soccer Standings – Conferences, the Playoffs, and MLS Cup

Major League Soccer has a unique way of running its table - different from the way traditional European football leagues do things. They use a conference-based system, combining it with a postseason playoff structure that ultimately decides who the league champion is going to be.

Eastern & Western Conference - how the teams are divided

MLS is divided up into two main parts:

  • The Eastern Conference
  • The Western Conference

Teams compete mostly within their conference during the regular season, which means they get points for their wins (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw)

What the standings determine - the bottom line

  • The top teams in each conference qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.
  • The seeding really matters when it comes to home-field advantage.
  • The team that ends up with the best regular-season record takes home the Supporters' Shield.

One big difference from European soccer is that coming out on top in the standings doesn't automatically mean that's the team that's going to be league champions.

The MLS Cup Playoffs & the MLS Cup Final

After the regular season:

  • The teams that qualify enter a knockout-style playoff bracket.
  • The higher seeded teams get home advantage.
  • The postseason comes to an end with the MLS Cup Final.

Clubs like:

  • Columbus Crew
  • Los Angeles FC
  • New York City FC

have all won the MLS Cup in recent years.

Playoff soccer in MLS tends to become a bit more tactical and a bit less open than the regular season, even though the league as a whole is averaging an impressive 3.14 goals per match.

League Identity - how MLS really stacks up

In the MLS standings you can see a league with:

  • A really strong level of parity due to all the rules about the salary cap.
  • A lot of turnover in the playoffs, week-to-week.
  • A high-scoring game - over 60% of matches end in both teams scoring.
  • Not too much stability in terms of which team is the favourite - a bit more like it is in many European leagues.

Because of how the league is structured:

  • Having a good regular season doesn't necessarily guarantee you're going to win the league.
  • Lower seeds can make deep runs in the playoffs.
  • The soccer betting odds tend to tighten up during the postseason.

Star Power - what's attracting the fans

In recent seasons you've had clubs like:

  • Inter Miami CF
  • LA Galaxy
  • Seattle Sounders FC

drawing in all sorts of international attention.

Players like Lionel Messi really elevate the prestige of the MLS Cup, and that means there's a lot more interest in the playoff races.

In MLS - what you do in the standings matters - but it's what happens in the playoffs that really defines a team's legacy.