MLS announces how All-Star roster will be decided
Voting details for the upcoming MLS All-Star Game was announced by the league on Wednesday, with a new format leading to some changes in how the league will structure its selection.
With the MLS All-Star Game slated to take on a new look (the league’s best players will square-off against a team of the best players from Liga MX), the competitive nature of the match will surely be a bit more intense than the played-out format of years past involving foreign clubs as the opposition. As such, there is a new look to how this team will be built.
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Per a press release from MLS, there are some changes to how this year’s squad will be constructed. The roster of 26 players will look like this for the MLS All-Stars:
12 will be determined by a vote of MLS players, fans, and media. Each of the three voting groups will represent one-third of the combined vote.
12 will be selected by MLS All-Star head coach Bob Bradley of host team Los Angeles Football Club.
2 will be selected by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.
Players, fans and reporters will cast their votes for 11 players: one goalkeeper, one right back, two center backs, one left back, one defensive midfielder, two attacking midfielders, three forwards/wingers. The top players in each position from the combined vote will be named All-Stars. The 12th player honored will be the one with the next-highest amount of votes overall.
For Mexico, things are a bit different in terms of how they will build their MLS All-Star Game roster.
The LIGA MX All-Star team will be “the core of the team will be made up of the 14 players nominated to the 2020-2021 Balón de Oro Awards in different positions: goalkeeper, defender, fullback, defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder, and forward” as well as two rookie players. The rest of the selection will come from the team’s head coach as well as one player who “Will be determined through a selection process led by LIGA MX BBVA Executive President Mikel Arriola.”
It doesn’t appear that Santos Laguna’s rising star Santiago Muñóz will be a part of the game. The Texas-born forward appears headed to Europe with several top clubs after the young player.
This year’s match will take place at Banc of California Stadium, home of Los Angeles FC, on August 25.
Follow Kristian Dyer of ‘MLS Multiplex‘ on Twitter @KristianRDyer