The emotional response will be the most carefully examined, the most extensively dissected and the most heavily scrutinized. Will Sporting Kansas City’s failure in Mexico define the season? Or will it merely be a blip in an otherwise prosperous year?

Over the long term, the results will bear the actual data. But in the short term, another factor is looming larger — the physical response.

Three days after the humbling 5-0 loss to Monterrey to all but end its CONCACAF Champions League hopes, Sporting KC travels to face expansion-side FC Cincinnati at 2 p.m. Sunday. In front of a national-TV audience, Sporting KC won’t be a full-go.

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Far from it. The likely starting group will include as few as two or three regulars.

“The objective is to not change the whole team but (instead) to try to keep some semblance of the skeleton, but in this situation, that probably isn’t an option,” Vermes said. “We have to be smart about this.”

The reasoning is to provide starters a breather. After most played 90 minutes late Thursday in Monterrey, Mexico, they traveled home to Kansas City on Friday. Twenty-four hours later, the team boarded a flight destined for Cincinnati. As far as turnarounds go, there won’t be any quicker in 2019.

That’s the primary purpose behind what will be a new-look lineup Sunday. But the mental break isn’t a bad side effect. Not after the way Thursday’s match unfolded, Sporting KC getting worked as MLS’ final hope in the tournament. Several of the team’s starters did not even travel this weekend, told to stay home.

Itching to see some of the younger players? Teenager Gianluca Busio? Recently-acquired Gedion Zelalem? Backup goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas?

That time is here.

“It’s difficult to change so much at once. It really is,” Vermes said. “But what I do think is the guys will try to play. They’ll try to do the things we want to do. There will be some things that we’ll just have to understand might not go the way we want it to go. I’m not talking about the result aspect but certain patterns of play.”

The most noticeable change should appear at the top of the formation, central forward. Krisztian Nemeth has transformed the play in the attacking third this year, but he is among the highly-populated group who should get a day off.

Sporting KC looked into acquiring another striker while Erik Hurtado and Daniel Salloi have battled injuries, leaving the team thin at the position. But Salloi is closer than expected to a return, already running without pain in his ankle. Hurtado is expected to beat his initial 2-3 month prognosis after knee surgery. Sporting KC opted not to make a swift move to sacrifice the long-term.

For now, that leaves options such as Busio, Yohan Croizet and teenager Tyler Freeman to play the No. 9.

It’s all part of the depth that Sporting KC so greatly emphasized this winter. And it’s set to be challenged.

“The bottom line is this is what makes most sense for us,” Vermes said. “We’ve got guys who can do the job.”





