MLS All-Star XI: A Heavyweight Lineup with New Faces
The MLS All-Star XI has arrived, and it looks every bit as heavyweight as the league promised.
A blend of fan votes, media voices, and player input has produced a side stacked with storylines as much as star power:
- Goalkeeper: Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)
- Left Back: Anthony Markanich (Minnesota United)
- Center Backs: Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC)
- Right Back: Andy Najar (Nashville SC)
- Defensive Midfielder: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps)
- Attacking Midfielders: Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC)
- Forwards: Hugo Cuypers (Chicago Fire), Son Heung-Min (LAFC), Leo Messi (Inter Miami)
Six first-timers headline the group, a clear sign of how quickly the league’s landscape keeps shifting.
Zavier Gozo, the teenage spark from Real Salt Lake, is the most eye-catching of the newcomers. Linked with a move to Aston Villa, he now carries the extra spotlight that comes with sharing an All-Star dressing room with Messi and Son. It’s a rapid rise, and this selection underlines just how loudly he’s announced himself.
Son’s inclusion feels overdue. Had the LAFC forward landed in MLS earlier last summer, his name would have been inked into the lineup long before ballots opened. Instead, this is officially his first All-Star nod, and it instantly changes the profile of the front line.
Markanich, Schwake, Cuypers, and Mbokazi complete the list of debutants. None arrives with the global marketing pull of Messi or Son, but each has forced his way into the conversation through form rather than reputation. Cuypers’ work for Chicago and Schwake’s emergence in Nashville have not gone unnoticed; Mbokazi’s rise into the Fire back line now comes with a marquee showcase.
At the other end of the spectrum stands Tim Ream, whose selection reads like a time warp. This is his second All-Star call — the first came in 2011, when he was a young defender at New York Red Bulls. Fifteen years later, now with Charlotte FC, he returns to the event in a completely different era for the league, anchoring a back four that will be asked to stand up to Liga MX’s best.
The memory of last year’s All-Star drama still lingers. Messi and Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba were both chosen, both expected to be central attractions — and both failed to appear. The fallout was swift. MLS suspended the pair for one game, leaning on a rule the league has now underlined again.
“Per league rules, any player who does not participate in the All-Star Game without prior approval from the league is ineligible to compete in their club’s next match,” MLS said in a statement.
The message is clear: if you’re picked, you show up, unless the league signs off on your absence. With Messi once again in the XI, the spotlight on that policy only intensifies.
As usual, MLS will face a selection of stars from Liga MX, renewing a cross-border rivalry that has become a staple of the summer calendar. Liga MX has yet to reveal its roster; last year, the names dropped in mid-June, roughly a month before kickoff, so the clock is ticking.
This year’s edition lands at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on July 29, a fitting stage for Ream’s return and a showcase of the league’s new faces. Messi, Son, Gozo, Mukhtar — different generations, different paths, converging for one night.
The names are in. The questions now belong to the pitch.
