San Diego FC won Game 3 of its best-of-three playoff series against the Portland Timbers at sold-out Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday night and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.

Now they wait 15 days to play it — Nov. 24 at home against Minnesota United — while key members of the roster scatter to distant corners of the planet for national-team duty during a mandated FIFA international break.

It is one reason (of several) why the MLS Board of Governors voted Thursday to align the season with the rest of the world starting in 2027, playing from mid-July to May instead of late February to early December. The owners would still need the blessing of the MLS Players Association, whose collective bargaining agreement with the league doesn’t expire until Jan. 31, 2028 — or midway throu

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