Sporting Kansas City only needed a draw to advance win Group 2 and that's exactly how they played on Wednesday night. They were conservative and unambitious, but that was all they needed and a 0-0 draw with Olimpia was enough to book their spot in the quarterfinals.
Sporting KC vs. Olimpia: Final score 0-0, Kansas City uglies their way to quarterfinals
Sporting wasn’t pretty, but they don’t care because they’re headed to the quarters.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Most of Sporting's chances came from distance, with a handful of scrambles 10 yards from goal after aimless crosses proving to be the best they could manage in the first half, but Olimpia couldn't do any better. The Sporting defense was rock solid and when Eric Kronberg was called upon, he didn't have to work hard.
It looked like Sporting might grab a lead in the second half when Teal Bunbury was all alone from five yards, but he managed to bungle the header. In the end, it didn't matter. Kansas City continued to press Olimpia into giveaways and do nothing with it. A series of fouls and speculation about whether the referee would show them yellow for the tackles were the most interesting parts of the match, which was just fine for Sporting. After all, they had their draw and quarterfinals place.
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