> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Sounders Notebook: Intrasquad Scrimmage Ends 1-1 as Portland Looms - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-sounders-notebook-intrasquad-scrimmage-portland-timbers-loom/ - Published: 2026-07-04T00:10:31.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:14:17.000Z - Author: Qasim Ali - Tags: News, Analysis, Sounders, Jesus Ferreira, Paul Rothrock, Brian Schmetzer, Pedro de la Vega, Yeimar \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2048"\] ![ Seattle Sounders midfielder Jesús Ferreira dribbles the ball against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Sandra Agbotse / Sounders FC Communications) ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/55273886582_52af7f9f52_k-format-original.jpg) Seattle Sounders midfielder Jesús Ferreira dribbles the ball against the LA Galaxy on Saturday, May 16, 2026 at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (Sandra Agbotse / Sounders FC Communications) \[/caption\] The excitement of the FIFA World Cup has Seattle buzzing about soccer. Belgium's round of 32 game against Senegal on Wednesday featured a wild comeback that saw the Red Devils pull it out 3-2 in extra time at Lumen Field, or Seattle Stadium, until Monday night. The local Seattle Sounders (7-3-3, 6th in MLS Western Conference) have been sharing a facility with Belgium for the last month, and many were witnesses to the high-level play associated with a World Cup knockout match, as even the Sounders equipment staff got to attend the game, according to head coach Brian Schmetzer. “They’re excited to be around this whole occasion of the World Cup,” Schmetzer said. “Whether that lifts their play or whether that has a little added pressure, I’d say it’s probably the first… they’re excited.” The Sounders didn't wait long to put that excitement toward their own development, as the Rave Green held an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday afternoon that ended in a physical 1-1 draw. It’s all part of the buildup to Seattle’s largest grudge match of every season: A July 16 home game against the Portland Timbers (4-8-2, 13th in west). Here's what the team is taking away from its game reps: ### World Cup Reigniting Love for the Game "We're all chomping at the bit at this point to play (Portland)," winger Paul Rothrock told media after Thursday's scrimmage. "We're hoping that this wave of soccer fandom continues… hoping to have a big crowd for Portland in two weeks." Rothrock described Thursday's scrimmage, which featured some Sounders academy players, as physical. Multiple heated duels and face-to-face confrontations throughout characterized the session. Jesús Ferreira, manning the wing and the central attacking midfielder spot at times for Seattle this season, said the team was intent on getting back to form. "This is a preseason," Ferreira said of the latter stages of the break. "We can show off what we can do and kind of tell the coaches that we're ready to play. And so our job is to give coaches a tough decision (on who to play)." Ferreira, who played 45 minutes for the USMNT in the 2022 World Cup round of 16, has taken inspiration specifically from the play of the U.S. squad. The Stars and Stripes are off to the round of 16, a 2014 rematch against Belgium, in Seattle on Monday. Thanks to the motivated play of Folarin Balogun and a clinical attack proving to be the best in the country's history, the U.S. has outscored opponents 10-4 over four games. "They're going out every game, right foot front, going with all the energy, pressing, not holding back. And I think that's what we need," Ferreira said. The Sounders offense has hit a lull, however, going scoreless in a two-game losing streak heading into the break. All in all, the Sounders have fallen to the seventh-fewest goals per game in MLS despite putting the seventh-most shots on target per 90 minutes. To Ferreira's point, being more clinical with those chances Seattle's generating could unlock a Sounders squad currently being carried by a defense giving up the second-fewest goals per game (0.85) in the league. Off the pitch, the Sounders and NWSL's Reign have both been doing work to capitalize on the hype around the World Cup. The squads, connected by joint ownership, have been hosting regularly sold-out watch parties on Pier 62 in Seattle. With the Sounders' biggest rivalry game set to take place just three days before the World Cup final in New Jersey, the sky's the limit for a franchise that routinely sees over 30,000 supporters fill the stands of Lumen Field's lower bowl. "I'm assuming it would be very positive," Ferreira said of the World Cup's impact on Sounders attendance. "Realizing that maybe the culture of other teams coming in, or the fans coming in and seeing their culture, their love for the game… maybe (it) spills over." ### Injury Updates: Yeimar, de la Vega Progressing Well The headliner injury updates are the same as they were ahead of the break, as star center back Yeimar (hamstring) participated in the scrimmage on a minutes restriction while designated player Pedro de la Vega (knee) missed the day altogether with a scheduled rest day per his rehab plan. Yeimar is clearly further ahead in his return to the pitch, where he hasn't been since March, than de la Vega. "We will be a little cautious with (de la Vega)," Schmetzer said, as the Argentine winger suffered a fractured kneecap back in the fall. "If he doesn't make the first game or two right away… he's gotta have a good block of training every day with the first group just to make sure that his knee is stable. "So if we don't see him right away, I would say closer to the end of the month you'd see him." The Sounders could use the dribbling prowess of de la Vega. With Georgi Minoungou lost to Colorado due to a transfer, Seattle is lacking the same individual creativity that powered it to a franchise-best scoring season in 2025. As for Yeimar, Schmetzer didn’t give a definitive timeline. It seems like the veteran will be eased back into play if he returns in time for Portland, and Seattle should be fine with that. Fellow veteran center back Kim kee-Hee returned from a calf ailment in the final game before the break against LAFC, and played a quality 63 minutes. With Alex Roldan making that position his as well, don't expect the Sounders to rush Yeimar back into action alongside Jackson Ragen.