Yuya Kubo voted MLS Player of the Matchday for Matchday 20

FC Cincinnati’s Yuya Kubo was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 20, the league announced Monday.

Kubo earned his first MLS Player of the Matchday honor and earned the seventh MLS Player of the Week/Matchday honor in FC Cincinnati history. Following Luca Orellano’s Matchday 16 Player of the Matchday recognition less than a month ago, he becomes the fourth different player to earn the award (Orellano, Luciano Acosta, Brenner).

Additionally, Kubo and Luciano Acosta were named to MLS Team of the Matchday for Matchday 20.

In Saturday’s 4-2 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, Kubo netted the fifth hat trick in club history, the first since Brandon Vazquez’s three-goal performance against Chivas last July in Leagues Cup. Kubo, who entered the match in the 64th minute, scored all three goals in the span of nine minutes and 10 seconds which was the second-fastest hat trick scored in MLS play in the last 20 years.

Kubo’s hat trick was the eighth by a substitute in MLS history. With his equalizing and game-winning goals in the 78th and 80th minutes, he helped propel FCC to the club’s third-ever win when trailing at the 75th minute. With the win, the Orange and Blue became the seventh team in MLS history to win at least five consecutive road matches in a single season (excluding the shootout era).

Kubo became the first Japanese player in MLS history to win a Player of the Matchday honor. The Orange and Blue will look to make it nine wins in 10 matches Wednesday against Philadelphia Union. Kickoff from TQL Stadium is set for 7:45 p.m. ET (FS1 | MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | ESPN 1530).

The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an X (formerly known as Twitter) fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.

Kubo and Acosta’s weekly Team of the Matchday honors are the 20th and 21st recognitions for an FC Cincinnati player or coach on the weekly team this season. A full list of 2024 FC Cincinnati matchday honors:

2024 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Player Recognitions
- Luciano Acosta (3, 5, 6-Bench, 10, 11, 12-Bench, 13, 14-Bench, 15, 20)
- Miles Robinson (3, 5-Bench, 14)
- Matt Miazga (6)
- DeAndre Yedlin (7-Bench)
- Corey Baird (11-Bench)
- Kevin Kelsy (14-Bench)
- Luca Orellano (16)
- Yuya Kubo (20)

2024 FC Cincinnati MLS Team of the Matchday Coach Recognitions
- Pat Noonan (13, 16)

The full team for Matchday 20 is listed below.

2024 MLS Team of the Matchday presented by Audi (Matchday 20)

F: Denis Bouanga (LAFC), Yuya Kubo (CIN), Gabriel Pec (LA)
M: Fabian Herbers (CHI), Luciano Acosta (CIN), Ryan Gauld (VAN)
D: Franco Escobar (HOU), Nkosi Tafari (DAL), Walker Zimmerman (NSH), Mohamed Farsi (CLB)
GK: Maarten Paes (DAL)

Coach: Frank Klopas (CHI)

Bench: Jonathan Sirois (MTL), Adilson Malanda (CLT), Joel Waterman (MTL), João Paulo (SEA), Cole Bassett (COL), Carles Gil (NE), Leo Afonso (MIA), Dejan Joveljic (LA), Cucho Hernández (CLB)