DC United in 2026: The Basics

A quick primer on DC United as the 2026 begins

Today, I’m writing a quick overview of DC United in 2026 which can help orient someone who hasn’t been paying much attention and wants to quickly get caught up.

Usually I write in-depth about DC United here at All-Points Bulletin and most readers are fairly dedicated fans. Still, there are some more casual fans subscribed who probably don’t read every article. And for the dedicated fans, here’s an article you can send a friend who asks what’s going on with the team!

So is DC United any good?

Last season, they were the worst team in the league. So the short answer is no.

The terrible record in 2025 caused some big changes to be made. The team hired a new coach named René Weiler, a Swiss manager with experience at clubs around the world. More controversially, they hired a former agent with no club experience named Dr. Erkut Sogut to head the revamped front office. Together, Weiler and Sogut have brought in a bunch of new players.

So this is a rebuilding year for DC United. On paper, the team looks like it should be better, but they will need to prove that on the field. MLS has a very forgiving playoff structure (currently 9 teams out of 15 make the playoffs in DC’s conference) yet DC United hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019, the longest playoff drought in MLS.

Getting back into the playoffs this year is possible if the team does well. That will be their goal since, unlike leagues like the NBA, there are basically no advantages to missing the playoffs.

Who are the best players?

DC doesn’t currently have an older, famous soccer star like Wayne Rooney or Christian Benteke, so if you’re about to watch the team play and want to know who some key players are, here’s three:

Tai Baribo (#9) is an experienced forward DC bought from the Philadelphia Union during the offseason. He’s quick, works hard on both offense and defense, and makes great runs to get in position to score. He was very good for Philadelphia and has looked bright in preseason, but DC fans worry the rest of the team won’t be able to get him the ball enough.

Sean Johnson (#1) is a veteran goalkeeper DC signed as a free agent during the offseason after suffering from several years of poor goalkeeping. Johnson has played 431 MLS games in 16 years and was also an unused reserve with the 2022 United States World Cup team. Despite being 35, he had one of his best statistical seasons last year with Toronto. DC is counting on him to help a defense that let in a huge amount of goals last year.

Louis Munteanu (#11) is another forward DC brought in over the offseason, paying a club-record $7 million to acquire him from Romania. Just 23 years old, Louis is an up-and-coming forward who needs to show he can score goals at the MLS level after doing well in the Romanian league. Foreign transfers of young players into MLS miss more often than they hit, so fans are nervous, but it would be a big lift for DC if he does well.

If you like rooting for younger players to develop into stars, 21-year-old American attacker Jackson Hopkins (#25) looks poised to start in the attack, 23-year-old Finnish defensive midfielder Matti Peltola (#4) is going to have to try to control the midfield and connect with the attackers, and while 23-year-old Brazilian attacker Gabriel Pirani (#10) tied for the team lead in non-penalty goals and assists last year (a low bar since the team was terrible), he probably needs to produce even more for the team to make the playoffs.

And while I don’t expect the 2026 first overall draft pick, 21-year-old Canadian centerback Nikola Markovic (#27), to start right away, he could soon be challenging for playing time.

How to Watch

Every game is broadcast on Apple TV. In a change from last year, there’s no additional paywall and the same Apple TV subscription you’d use to watch Severence or.Ted Lasso is enough to get all the 2026 MLS games.

However, the best way is to catch a home game is to watch in person at Audi Field in DC. You might hear some fans complain about Audi Field. The concourses are cramped, there’s no place for tailgating, and for various reasons the supporters’ groups aren’t what they used to be and consequently neither is the in-game atmopshere of drums, chanting and so on.

However, the stadium is transit accessible, situated amid a lot of walkable restaurants and bars in Navy Yard, and, most importantly for me, the same squeezed footprint that makes the concourses cramped means there’s not a bad seat in the house. You can see more of the game than on television and you’ll have a better view than an equivalent seat at most other stadiums because the seats are very steep and go almost right up the sidelines.

How to Follow the Team

With the collapse of the Washington Post specifically and traditional media more generally, it can be hard for people to track what’s happening with the team. There are some MLS-wide podcasts and newsletters, but until DC United gets a lot better, they won’t spend much time watching or talking about the team, so the best way to follow the team is through various fan-operated venues.

The list that follows is not exhaustive but should be enough to at least get you started.

Written articles:

• All Points Bulletin, the newsletter you’re reading now, does game previews, in-depth reviews of games a few days later if DC draws or wins, and sporadic other content.

• District Press, formerly Black and Red United, traditionally does fast-turnaround game recaps and daily news roundups for both men’s and women’s professional soccer in the DC area

Podcasts:

• RFK Refugees is a long-running two-man show that provides the widest podcast coverage of DC United as well as the Washington Spirit

• Capital City Soccer Show is a one-man weekly show that covers all aspects of DC United, though I’d say it specializes in game analysis

• Pitch Pass is an interview show hosted by Gregory Roche, longtime DC101 DJ who combines professional audio skills with genuine passion for the club and its academy

Finally, the DC United subreddit has discussions about most major news and usually has more comments about APB articles than are made here.