Earthquakes open MLS playoffs against Houston on Nov. 24 at PayPal Park; a guide to the bracket and storylines
It is the San Jose stadium’s first postseason game. Here’s how the 18-team playoffs work, who plays whom and what to watch, from Messi’s defending champions to record-setting Nashville.
The San Jose Earthquakes will host the Houston Dynamo at PayPal Park on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. Pacific in Game 1 of their first-round MLS Cup Playoffs series, the club announced. It will be the first postseason game at the San Jose stadium since it opened in 2015.
The series is best of three: Game 2 is Saturday, Nov. 28, at 11:30 a.m. Pacific at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, and Game 3, if needed, is Wednesday, Dec. 2, back at PayPal Park, with the time still to be set. A tied game goes straight to penalty kicks, with no extra time, and the first team to win two games moves on to the conference semifinals.
Game 1 airs on FS1, FOX Deportes and Apple TV. Tickets for the home games are sold through the Earthquakes’ ticket page, and the club is giving every fan at Game 1 a playoff T-shirt.
San Jose finished fourth in the Western Conference with 14 wins and 52 points, its best finish since 2012, in coach Bruce Arena’s second season. Houston was fifth. The Earthquakes did not lose to the Dynamo this season, playing to a 0-0 draw in Houston on Aug. 29 and winning 1-0 at PayPal Park on Sept. 12.
“Home-field advantage means something, so if we can get the support from the stands and play well on the field, hopefully that produces a win,” Arena said.
The two clubs share history: the original Earthquakes moved to Houston in 2006 and became the Dynamo, and the current Earthquakes, keeping the old team’s records, began play in 2008. The club also plans a playoff rally at San Pedro Square Market downtown on Friday, Nov. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m.
How the MLS playoffs work
Eighteen teams made the MLS Cup Playoffs, nine from each conference, the league says. The top seven in each conference went straight to Round One. The eighth and ninth seeds meet in one-game Wild Card matches on Thursday, Nov. 19, and the winners face their conference’s top seed.
Round One runs Nov. 21 to Dec. 2. Every series is best of three, with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 3 and the lower seed hosting Game 2. Four teams from each conference move on to the conference semifinals. The MLS Cup final is Dec. 18, according to MLS.
The bracket
Western Conference, Round One
- No. 1 Vancouver Whitecaps vs. the Wild Card winner, No. 8 Seattle Sounders or No. 9 Real Salt Lake. Game 1 is Sunday, Nov. 22, in Vancouver.
- No. 2 FC Dallas vs. No. 7 Portland Timbers. Game 1 is Saturday, Nov. 21, near Dallas.
- No. 3 St. Louis City SC vs. No. 6 LAFC. Game 1 is Monday, Nov. 23, in St. Louis.
- No. 4 San Jose Earthquakes vs. No. 5 Houston Dynamo. Game 1 is Tuesday, Nov. 24, in San Jose.
Eastern Conference, Round One
- No. 1 Nashville SC vs. the Wild Card winner, No. 8 Orlando City or No. 9 FC Cincinnati. Game 1 is Sunday, Nov. 22, in Nashville.
- No. 2 Inter Miami vs. No. 7 Columbus Crew. Game 1 is Saturday, Nov. 21, in Miami.
- No. 3 New England Revolution vs. No. 6 Philadelphia Union. Game 1 is Saturday, Nov. 21, near Boston.
- No. 4 Chicago Fire vs. No. 5 Charlotte FC. Game 1 is Sunday, Nov. 22, in Chicago.
Storylines to watch
San Jose and Houston. A fast start to the season let the Earthquakes lock up home-field advantage, MLS says. German forward Timo Werner, signed last winter, added star power, while forward Preston Judd (17 goals, 4 assists) and midfielder Niko Tsakiris (3 goals, 13 assists) had career years. Houston leans on veterans. Its top attacker, Guilherme, leads the team with 16 goals and 10 assists, with Mateusz Bogusz and Lyle Foster also dangerous near the goal.
Nashville, the team to beat. Nashville won the Supporters’ Shield, the trophy for the best regular-season record, for the first time and set an MLS record with 77 points. It gave up only 25 goals all season, the league says.
Messi and the champions. Inter Miami is the defending MLS Cup champion and is trying to become the first team to win two titles in a row since the LA Galaxy in 2011 and 2012. Lionel Messi scored 26 goals to lead the league for the second straight year.
The top of the West. Vancouver, which reached the MLS Cup final in 2025, is the West’s top seed after scoring 74 goals, led by Brian White’s 20 and German star Thomas Müller. Second-seeded FC Dallas beat preseason expectations behind striker Petar Musa’s 22 goals. St. Louis won its first trophy, the U.S. Open Cup, last month. LAFC, with stars Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga, won just one of its last nine games.
New faces in the East. Chicago striker Robert Lewandowski, who joined midseason from FC Barcelona, will play his first MLS playoff games. Philadelphia teenager Cavan Sullivan set the league record for goals plus assists by a teenager in one season, with 23.
Source: San Jose Earthquakes announcement of the Round One schedule, MLS Round One and Wild Card matchups, MLS Round One format and MLS Decision Day preview.