MLS All-Star Skills Challenge 2026: Full Guide
MLS All-Star Skills Challenge 2026: Full GuideAll-Star Week in Charlotte kicks off Tuesday with the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T, and this year’s edition arrives with a genuinely new format, a stacked lineup of players, and a celebrity guest list that stretches well beyond the usual soccer crowd.MLS All-Star Roster 2026: Everything to Know About the Squad
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When and Where
The Skills Challenge takes place Tuesday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Truist Field in Charlotte — a separate venue from the following night’s main event at Bank of America Stadium. It streams on Apple TV as part of MLS Season Pass, available in more than 100 countries and regions.
A New Format This Year
Previous editions of the Skills Challenge pitted MLS against Liga MX as two teams competing for a single combined score. That’s changed for 2026: each individual event now crowns its own standalone champion, shifting the emphasis toward individual bragging rights rather than a running team tally. The night still closes with a genuine head-to-head moment, though — the MLS vs. Liga MX Relay Challenge, a timed team race combining elements from every earlier event, restores the league-versus-league framing for a high-energy finale.
The Five Events
Shooting Challenge — Players take turns aiming at multiple targets, racking up as many points as possible within 60 seconds. Highest score wins.
Passing Challenge — A precision distribution test, with players striking small targets around the field against the clock.
Goalie Wars presented by Old Spice — A fan-favorite MLS tradition returns, with goalkeepers going head-to-head, using kicks, drop-kicks and throws to try to score on each other while defending their own net.
Crossbar Challenge presented by Gillette — Expanded to an eight-competitor bracket this year, with the first player to land three hits winning each heat and advancing.
MLS vs. Liga MX Relay Challenge — The night’s closer, combining elements from the preceding events into a timed team race between the two leagues.
Who’s Competing
MLS’s roster for the night spans nine different clubs and includes genuine star power: Son Heung-Min (LAFC), Thomas Müller (Vancouver Whitecaps), Evander (FC Cincinnati), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Maxime Crépeau (Orlando City), Carles Gil (New England Revolution), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake), Petar Musa (FC Dallas) and Sebastian Berhalter.
Liga MX’s eight-player roster is led by longtime Tigres duo Juan Brunetta and Fernando Gorriarán, alongside Cruz Azul’s José Paradela and Carlos RodrÃguez, CF Pachuca’s ElÃas Montiel and Carlos Moreno, Toluca’s Federico Pereira, and Club Necaxa’s Javier Ruiz. Paradela takes on the Shooting Challenge alongside Kevin Castañeda, Moreno represents Liga MX in Goalie Wars, Montiel and RodrÃguez handle the Passing Challenge, and Pereira, Ruiz and Gorriarán tackle the Crossbar Challenge — with all eight featuring in the closing relay.
MLS NEXT Pro Gets Involved
For the first time, the Skills Challenge includes representation from MLS NEXT Pro. North Texas SC midfielder Edouard Nys becomes the first MLS NEXT Pro outfield player to compete in the event, taking part in the Crossbar Challenge. He’s joined by two MLS NEXT Pro goalkeepers in Goalie Wars, including Houston Dynamo 2’s Pedro Cruz, who returns to defend the title he won at the 2025 edition.
The Celebrity Lineup
MLS has leaned further into entertainment this year, announcing a genuinely eclectic celebrity lineup: actor Danny RamÃrez, known for roles in Top Gun: Maverick and Captain America: Brave New World, competes in the Passing Challenge, having previously partnered with MLS on the soccer film Baton, which he wrote, directed and starred in. Global soccer content creator Celine Dept and former NFL All-Pro receiver Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson headline the expanded Crossbar Challenge bracket, while YouTube personality FaZe Rug rounds out the guest list.
The Bottom Line
Between the format shake-up, a genuinely global roster of participants, and a celebrity guest list built to draw in casual fans, this year’s Skills Challenge looks positioned to be one of the more entertaining editions in recent memory — a lighter, faster-paced preview of the rivalry that continues the following night at Bank of America Stadium.
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