Guerrero begins 2021 eMLS season with first night of Series One qualifying

Timbers.com Staff

6:21 PM PT: Despite climbing back from an early 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead at just past the hour mark, Guerrero (RCTID Thiago) was drawn in tonight's opening match by St. Louis City FC's debuting player, Hasib Zulfic. Thiago's second match of the night will be against Philadelphia Union's Macisse "cisseSZN" Diop.

6:48 PM PT: It took only 5:01 for Diop to breakthrough, but an attack down the right flank midway through the first half saw Thiago equalize through Yimmi Chará. After a second half of chances for both sides, Diop went up for good in the 87th minute, with a stoppage-time chance from point-blank range for Thiago saved to send him to the loss.

7:15 PM PT: It couldn't been more dramatic: A 92nd-minute goal with the last touch of the match to give the eMLS Timbers their first win of the season.

After 91 scoreless minutes, Thiago's Cristiano Ronaldo turned on a ball 16 yards from goal, burying Portland's second shot on goal of the match into the left side netting and sending Chicago's KidM3mito to defeat. Guerrero's 1-0 win moves his record to 1-1-1 ahead of his night's final match, against Nashville SC's DOOLSTA.

7:50 PM PT: A rough way to end the night against a former eMLS Cup champion. Thanks in part to two penalties conceded — and, by Nashville SC's DOOLSTA, converted — Guerrero finished the first night of Series One qualifying at 1-2-1, losing 4-0 in the evening's last match. Four games (out of 14) into the qualifying round, Guerrero sits roughly mid-table in the 27-player league, with the round's top eight finishers qualifying for Series One's knockout round.

Portland Timbers FIFA player Edgar Guerrero (RCTID Thiago) will start his 2021 eMLS season when the league's Series One, presented by Coca-Cola, begin its four-night qualifying stage tonight at 5:30 PM PT.

Catch up all on the Timbers' recent news

You can follow all of the qualifying round's progress via live standings, and can view a full schedule of all the Series One matches here.

Guerrero, who is beginning his fourth season with the Timbers, will begin his qualifying stage against an eMLS debutant: St. Louis City FC's Hasib Zulfic (STL CITY SC HASIB). The match is the beginning of a 14-game slate that will determine Series One's eight-player knockout round.

Each player, competing remotely, will play six games over the next two nights and complete the qualifying round next week. Beginning January 16, a series of two-leg matchups will determine eMLS's first champion of 2021, with a $15,000 prize pool at stake for come January 17's final rounds.

Series One is the first of three eMLS competitions this year, with Series One and Two also serving as qualifying competitions for the league's season-ending championship: eMLS Cup. Guerrero was one of 12 players to make 2020's eMLS Cup, going 7-2-3 during Series Two's qualifying stage to secure a place in the season's premier event.

All of this year's matches will be used EA Sports' latest version of its FIFA franchise, FIFA 21, and will be played on PlayStation 4 consoles.