Atlanta Is Hosting the World Cup Semifinal. Atlanta United Won't Play There Until August.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium gets 75,000 people for a World Cup semifinal on July 15. Atlanta United gets the building back August 15. One month later. After the party's over and the streamers are swept up.

Let that sit.

The city spent $503M hosting a tournament that the local MLS club is too bad to participate in. A team carrying a $27.9M payroll — third-highest in the league — sits 14th in the East at 3-9-2. That's $2.54M per point. Miguel Almirón alone costs $7.87M. Zero goals. The most expensive left-footed passenger in MLS history.

Tata Martino came back. They gave him the keys again. He watched the world's best players prep to use his stadium and responded by going 3-9-2.

This is not bad luck. This is the franchise that posted the worst season in its history in 2025 and then ran it back with basically the same construct. They didn't rebuild. They reinvested. In a $16.7M designated player spend that has produced nothing.

The World Cup is coming to Atlanta. The streets will be electric. The stadium will be sold out. None of those players will wear Five Stripes.

I'm 61% sure this is the most embarrassing situation in Atlanta sports right now — and the Falcons are out there auditioning two quarterbacks.

Bookmark this. Come August 15, we'll see if they've figured out the lawn.