Minnesota United v Colorado Rapids: Knowles hails ´high-quality´ James

Minnesota United coach Cameron Knowles was delighted with James Rodriguez’s impact as he looked forward to a quick turnaround in fixtures.

James, the former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich star, has not been able to maintain his fitness since signing for Minnesota.

But the Colombian made a telling impact from the bench against Austin FC last time out, playing a part in Anthony Markanich equalising before he then teed up Joaquin Pereyra to put Minnesota ahead.

Austin dragged themselves level to earn a point, but Minnesota are on an impressive run of just one loss in eight MLS games.

And Knowles was happy to laud James’ performance.

“He settled us a little bit in possession, we felt a bit rushed,” he told reporters.

“We have a lot of guys, who care so much, that want to, when we go down, impact the game. Sometimes that makes us look a bit frantic.

“He helped calm us down in possession, helped some other guys make some really good decisions and then you see him being involved in one and finishing the action that leads to the other.”

On James’ assist, Knowles added: “It’s a fantastic pass. The weight of pass through two players, it’s a high-level technical ability.”

The score was level but the vibes are good pic.twitter.com/BdyavnmvMw

— Minnesota United FC (@MNUFC) May 11, 2026

Next up for Minnesota is a clash with the Colorado Rapids, who sit seven points behind the Loons in the Western Conference.

“A ton of positives, we created a number of really good chances,” said Knowles.

“We got ourselves back into the game from being down. We continued our run and now the next game comes quickly and we’ve shown over this stretch that we’re good in these situations, putting games behind us and focusing on the next one.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Minnesota United – James Rodriguez

James only came on in the 63rd minute against Austin, and went on to register two assists and create three chances.

The only Minnesota player to enter a match later and then record multiple assists was Tani Oluwaseyi in October 2024 against St. Louis City SC.

Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro

The Rapids have failed to score in back-to-back matches for the first time since last June. Colorado last went three straight matches without a goal in all competitions in August-September 2023, including a 3-0 loss at Minnesota.

Navarro is their leading scorer in MLS this term, with seven goals, so the Rapids might need their captain to be at his best if they are to snap this run.

MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA UNITED WIN

Colorado have won only two of their last 21 away matches (D4 L15) after opening the 2025 regular season with two straight road victories. One of those two wins was a 2-1 victory at Minnesota last August.

Minnesota have won eight of its 11 all-time home matches against the Rapids (L3) across all competitions, though Colorado did win their lone visit last season (2-1).

Their 11 straight home matches without a draw is the longest streak against an opponent in Minnesota history.

Minnesota have 21 points through 12 matches this season, the third straight year the Loons have had more than 20 points in their first 12 games of the season after not reaching that mark in any of their first seven MLS campaigns.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Minnesota United – 54.3%

Draw – 23%

Colorado Rapids – 22.7%