Major League Soccer Player Defending Stats 2026

Who is leading the way on tackles, interceptions, clearances, duels won and much more.

Updated 7 October 2026, after the last game

Major League Soccer Player Defending Stats Questions

Which Major League Soccer player has made the most interceptions this season?

Nathan Harriel of Philadelphia Union has made the most interceptions in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 75 from 27 appearances, an average of 2.8 a game. Jimer Fory is next on 56.

Which Major League Soccer player has made the most clearances this season?

Lucas Bartlett of DC United has made the most clearances in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 181 from 25 appearances, an average of 7.2 a game. Mamadou Fofana is next on 165.

Which Major League Soccer player has blocked the most shots this season?

Finn Surman of Portland Timbers has blocked the most shots in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 47 from 26 appearances, an average of 1.8 a game. Lucas Bartlett is next on 29.

Which Major League Soccer player has won the most aerial duels this season?

Lucas Bartlett of DC United has won the most aerial duels in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 92 from 25 appearances, an average of 3.7 a game. Nathan Harriel is next on 90.

Which Major League Soccer player has won the most ground duels this season?

Nicolás Fernández Mercau of New York City has won the most ground duels in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 172 from 26 appearances, an average of 6.6 a game. Guilherme is next on 162.

Which Major League Soccer player has the most tackles and interceptions combined this season?

Andrés Cubas of Vancouver Whitecaps has the most tackles and interceptions combined in Major League Soccer in 2026, with 141 from 21 appearances: 101 tackles and 40 interceptions. Yannick Bright is next on 129.

Major League Soccer Tackles leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Tackles
1	Andrés Cubas	Vancouver	101
2	Yannick Bright	Inter Miami	81
3	Silvan Hefti	DC United	66
4	Peglow	DC United	64
5	Iván Angulo	Orlando City	62
6	Matti Peltola	DC United	59
7	Brandon Servania	DC United	58
8	Tristan Muyumba	Atlanta	57
9	Matthew Corcoran	Nashville SC	57
10	Taha Habroune	Columbus	57

Major League Soccer Interceptions leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Interceptions
1	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	75
2	Jimer Fory	Portland	56
3	Chris Durkin	St. Louis	49
4	Samuel Gidi	Cincinnati	48
5	Yannick Bright	Inter Miami	48
6	Noel Caliskan	RSL	47
7	Dante Polvara	St. Louis	46
8	Morris Duggan	Minnesota	45
9	Adri Mehmeti	New York RB	44
10	Alonso Coello	Toronto	42

Major League Soccer Tackles + Interceptions leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Tackles + Interceptions
1	Andrés Cubas	Vancouver	141
2	Yannick Bright	Inter Miami	129
3	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	123
4	Jimer Fory	Portland	106
5	Chris Durkin	St. Louis	99
6	Dante Polvara	St. Louis	96
7	Silvan Hefti	DC United	93
8	Adri Mehmeti	New York RB	91
9	Matti Peltola	DC United	89
10	Morris Duggan	Minnesota	88

Major League Soccer Clearances leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Clearances
1	Lucas Bartlett	DC United	181
2	Mamadou Fofana	New England	165
3	Finn Surman	Portland	162
4	Jack Elliott	Chicago Fire	153
5	Kye Rowles	DC United	149
6	Morris Duggan	Minnesota	148
7	Osaze Urhoghide	Dallas	130
8	Tristan Blackmon	Vancouver	128
9	Ryan Porteous	LAFC	124
10	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	124

Major League Soccer Blocked Shots leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Blocked Shots
1	Finn Surman	Portland	47
2	Lucas Bartlett	DC United	29
3	Ethan Kohler	New England	28
4	Kye Rowles	DC United	26
5	Brendan Hines-Ike	Austin	25
6	Jack Elliott	Chicago Fire	25
7	Henry Kessler	Charlotte	24
8	Nkosi Tafari	LAFC	24
9	Efraín Morales	CF Montréal	24
10	Manu Duah	San Diego	24

Major League Soccer Dribbled Past leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Dribbled Past
1	Jovan Lukić	Philadelphia	33
2	Zavier Gozo	RSL	31
3	Adri Mehmeti	New York RB	31
4	Philip Zinckernagel	Chicago Fire	29
5	Dylan Nealis	New York RB	29
6	Silvan Hefti	DC United	27
7	Cooper Sanchez	Atlanta	27
8	Ronald Donkor	New York RB	27
9	Cavan Sullivan	Philadelphia	27
10	Lucas Sanabria	LA Galaxy	27

Major League Soccer Total Duels leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Total Duels
1	Bruno Damiani	Philadelphia	362
2	Kristoffer Velde	Portland	355
3	Nicolás Fernández Mercau	NYCFC	344
4	Rafael Navarro	Colorado	330
5	Guilherme	Houston	323
6	Philip Zinckernagel	Chicago Fire	316
7	Ousseni Bouda	San Jose	308
8	Joaquín Pereyra	Minnesota	294
9	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	294
10	J. Rosales	Austin	291

Major League Soccer Duels Won leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Duels Won
1	Nicolás Fernández Mercau	NYCFC	184
2	Guilherme	Houston	179
3	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	179
4	Bruno Damiani	Philadelphia	167
5	Osaze Urhoghide	Dallas	161
6	Rafael Navarro	Colorado	161
7	Kristoffer Velde	Portland	154
8	Anthony Markanich Jr.	Minnesota	154
9	Philip Zinckernagel	Chicago Fire	142
10	Lucas Bartlett	DC United	139

Major League Soccer Ground Duels Won leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Ground Duels Won
1	Nicolás Fernández Mercau	NYCFC	172
2	Guilherme	Houston	162
3	Kristoffer Velde	Portland	144
4	Rafael Navarro	Colorado	137
5	Philip Zinckernagel	Chicago Fire	131
6	Iván Angulo	Orlando City	128
7	Joaquín Pereyra	Minnesota	128
8	Yannick Bright	Inter Miami	123
9	Andrés Cubas	Vancouver	122
10	Richie Laryea	Toronto	120

Major League Soccer Aerial Duels Won leaders

Rank	Player	Team	Aerial Duels Won
1	Lucas Bartlett	DC United	92
2	Nathan Harriel	Philadelphia	90
3	Bruno Damiani	Philadelphia	87
4	Osaze Urhoghide	Dallas	78
5	Anthony Markanich Jr.	Minnesota	66
6	Walker Zimmerman	Toronto	59
7	Brandon Bye	Portland	58
8	Frankie Westfield	Philadelphia	54
9	Tai Baribo	DC United	51
10	Idan Toklomati	Charlotte	50

Major League Soccer player stats in past seasons

Major League Soccer player stats 2025