Atlanta United at San Jose Earthquakes: 3 questions with Tectonic Takes

Atlanta United will hope Matchday 1’s loss to FC Cincinnati doesn’t end up being a trend. Matchday 2 takes them out to the West Coast, where they’ll face off against the San Jose Earthquakes.

The Quakes, of course, had a fairly significant signing in the offseason: none other than Timo Werner, who touched down in the Bay Area on Wednesday night:

While the German’s status for Saturday is, of course, unknown — given he’s flown all the way from Europe — it stands to reason that Bruce Arena will give him some sort of game action. My guess is a 15-30 minute runout, though that exact timing is partially due to game state.

The Quakes, meanwhile, defeated Sporting Kansas City 3-0 behind a Daniel Munie brace. After barely missing the playoffs in 2025, can Werner help guide them there for the first time since 2023? For insight on San Jose, I turned to Abram Heredia and Devon Bolei from the Tectonic Takes podcast (X, BSky).

It was a busy offseason for San Jose: it moved on from Josef Martinez, Chicho Arango, and (surprisingly) Cristian Espinoza. The big signing, of course, was for Timo Werner. What are legitimate expectations for the Quakes in 2026?

Abram: I think any team would struggle after losing the calibre of players we let go this offseason. The quote from Bruce Arena that everyone has latched onto is “addition by subtraction,” which, at first glance, seems like blind optimism, but we’ve had a very strong offseason and a great start to this year. We believe Werner will provide a boost, but I think we should realistically expect to be fighting for one of the last playoff spots again this season unless we can bring in more attacking firepower to complement Timo.

Devon: Walking into preseason, uncertain of a Werner arrival until approximately early-mid March, expectations were low due to our only DP missing out on important preseason structuring. With the core group the Quakes have running into 2026, we were confident in certain players promoted to starter roles, like Niko Tsakiris, Ousseni Bouda, Preston Judd, Benji Kikanovic, and Reid Roberts. Werner arriving to San Jose yesterday will excite many Quakes fans, but with the three forwards of Ricketts, Judd, and Bouda firing on all cylinders after SJvSKC, it’ll be difficult for Timo to immediately slip into a starting role. Expectations, with these changes in mind, is to finish the season in a low playoff position, around 7th or 6th in the Western Conference.

Timo Werner was one of world football’s highest-producing forwards years ago, but hasn’t been able to maintain that form over the past few years. Will he be able to make a seamless transition to MLS like his countryman, Thomas Müller, and Son Heung-min have, or do you foresee him struggling a little bit when he arrives?

Abram: Although there is concern about Timo’s finishing, the expectation is that he will continue to have elite physical ability and make us more effective in our new pressing system. He didn’t get a preseason to get acquainted with the team, so it may take a few weeks to reach his potential, but we believe Bruce Arena is a great coach to get the most out of him very quickly.

Devon: I think Werner’s potential form mostly depends on how he can maintain good health through this season. Historically, he’s been unable to collect minutes with both Tottenham and Leipzig due to consistent injury issues. Tactically, his speed, direct style of play, and high defensive work rate will allow him to quickly settle into Bruce’s preferred style of play. Personally, I think with the Quakes’ current midfield trio of Tsakiris, Leroux, and Vieira, they’ll provide Timo with plenty of scoring chances in behind any team’s backline. Given his previous clubs’ individual stats, I think it may take until after the World Cup’s conclusion to see Timo consistently provide goals and assists here in San Jose.

The Quakes roster has a lot of solid young talent. Which ones do you potentially see having a breakout campaign this year?

Abram: Niko Tsakiris and Beau Leroux are the obvious answers, and they’re already showing what they are capable of. Edwyn Mendoza is a player many will not have heard of, but is a 19-year-old defensive midfielder who surprised a lot of people this preseason.

Devon: Keep a close eye on two key young guns this season: Reid Roberts and Niko Tsakiris. I think it’s unfortunate Niko hasn’t been given first team minutes he deserves, but already with 1g/3a in 4 games (including preseason), our new No. 10 is off to a hot start and is consistently punching holes in every team’s defensive structure. Roberts, only at 22 years of age, showed good promise in 2025, and with 3 clean sheets in 4 games in 2026 partnered alongside Daniel Munie, the sky’s the limit. I’d also include Beau Leroux in this list, but his breakout season was last year. He’s still a young talent to keep a close eye on.