MATCH: Seattle Sounders FC (0-2-1, 1 point, T8, MLS West) at Real Salt Lake (1-2-1, 4 points, 6th, MLS West). TYPE: MLS. WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m., Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT. MEETING: 14th (RSL leads 5-4-4, all competitions ). TV: KONG. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: KOMO2 (Comcast Ch. 114) and La Gran D 99.3 FM.

National team players Eddie Johnson (USA), Mario Martinez (Honduras) and Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) have rejoined the Sounders following World Cup qualifiers, and injured midfielders Brad Evans and Shalrie Joseph are also expected to be available Saturday when Seattle faces Real Salt Lake.

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The Sounders desperately needed someone with a clue about offense against San Jose at Buck Shaw Stadium Saturday night. They didn’t find  one. Absent leading scorer Eddie Johnson (U.S.), new addition Obafemi Martins (Nigeria) and Mario Martinez (Honduras), all hailed by their countries to compete in World Cup qualifiers, the Sounders fell to Earthquakes 1-0.

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MATCH: Seattle Sounders FC (0-1-1, 1 point, T8, MLS West) at San Jose Earthquakes (1-1-1, 4 points, T3, MLS West). TYPE: MLS. WHEN: Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, CA. MEETING: 11th (Earthquakes lead 5-4-1). TV: KING 5. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: KOMO2 (Comcast Ch. 114) and La Gran D 99.3 FM.

The Sounders have a headache as they prepare for their first road match of the season Saturday at San Jose: Three of their top players, leading scorer Eddie Johnson, new acquisition Obafemi Martins and Mario Martinez, are unavailable due to national team commitments, Johnson with the U.S., Martins with Nigeria, Martinez with Honduras.

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The Sounders Friday signed Jamaican defender Ashani Fairclough and Dutch midfielder Phillip Lund, both of whom will be added to the roster as soon as the club receives their P-1 visa and international travel clearances. The Sounders also made official the release of Swedish defender Adam Johansson.

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The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier between the U.S. and Panama will be at CenturyLink Field 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 11. Kickoff is one hour ahead of a Safeco Field game between the Mariners and Houston Astros.

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Continuing the roster disruptions, the Sounders will be without forwards Eddie Johnson and Obafemi Martins and midfielder Mario Martinez when the club takes on the Earthquakes Saturday in San Jose. The players have been summoned by their national teams for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

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Painful as it was for Sounders FC fans to a witness a win collapse into a 1-1 draw in the 91st minute, especially against the contemptible Timbers, they aren't in for the pain of Obafemi Martins: Madrid-London-Seattle-London-Lagos in three days.

Sure, he's a wealthy international soccer star used to travel. Still, that itinerary is just silly.

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MATCH: Portland Timbers (0-1-1, 1 point, 7th, MLS West) at Seattle Sounders FC (0-1-0, 0 points, T8, MLS West). TYPE: MLS (Cascadia Cup). WHEN: Saturday, 5 p.m., CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 80th (Sounders lead 41-28-10 across all competitions; lead 2-1-2 in MLS play).  TV: NBCSN. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: KOMO2 (Comcast Ch. 114) and La Gran D 99.3 FM.

After a stunning 3-2 aggregate win over Tigres UANL that enabled the Sounders to advance to the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals opposite Santos Laguna, Seattle's focus shifts back to MLS play with the opening match of the Cascadia Cup. The Sounders and Timbers are seeking their first MLS victories and the Sounders have yet to score a league goal.

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The Sounders Friday finally signed Nigerian striker Obafemi Martins, who will occupy Seattle's third and final designated player spot. Martins will wear jersey No. 9 and might play as soon as Saturday night against the Portland Timbers in a Cascadia Cup match at CenturyLink Field.

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CONCACAF officials announced Wednesday that national teams from Canada, Martinique, Mexico and Panama will play 2013 Gold Cup matches at CenturyLink Field Thursday, July 11. Kickoff for the Panama-Martinique is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT., immediately followed by Mexico vs. Canada at 8 p.m.

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Forty-five minutes into the second leg in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament in Seattle Tuesday night, the Sounders CCL run appeared done. Seattle trailed Tigres 1-0 in the game 1-0, 2-0 on aggregate, and hadn’t scored a goal in 225 minutes this season. But a foolish red card by Manuel Viniegra left Tigres a man down for the second half and cleared the way for a startling 3-1 Sounders win.

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MATCH: Tigres (10-6-3, 21 points, Mexican Premier League) at Seattle Sounders FC (0-1-0, 0 points,T7, MLS West; 0-1-0 CCL). TYPE: CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal. WHEN: Tuesday, 7 p.m., CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 2nd match of two-legged series (Tigres leads 1-0). TV: FOX Soccer. RADIO: KIRO AM, 97.3.

The Sounders, who are goal-less (two matches), need to outscore Tigres by two or more goals when the sides meet Tuesday night in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Having lost the first leg 1-0 last week in Monterrey, Mexico, Seattle requires that margin to advance to the semifinals against either the Houston Dynamo or Santos Laguna. A 1-0 result would force overtime, and any other result would end Seattle's CCL run.

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Prior to taking on Tigres in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid said that if his team couldn't win the first leg of the two-legged series, he would be more than satisfied with a one-goal loss. That's what happened, as the Sounders fell 1-0 to Mexico's top team in Monterrey, Mexico, Wednesday night.

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MATCH: Seattle Sounders FC (0-1-0, 0 points,T7, MLS West; 0-0-0 CCL) at Tigres (9-6-3, 21 points, Mexican Premier League). TYPE: CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal. WHEN: Wednesday, 7 p.m., Estadio Universitario, Monterrey, Mexico. MEETING: 1st. TV: FOX Soccer. RADIO: None.

Taken down 1-0 by the Montreal Impact in their MLS opener last Saturday night, the Sounders face a more formidable non-league adversary when they play the first of two Champions League matches against Tigres of the Mexican Premier League. In their first four seasons, the Sounders have come to understand that playing the first match of a two-legged series on the road is not an ideal proposition.

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After losing 1-0 in a surprisingly listless effort for a home opener against an ordinary Montreal outfit, the Sounders might be tempted to demand that owner Joe Roth throw an extra $1 million in the pot to get that hot-shot Nigerian striker, Obafemi Martins, on a plane to Seattle.

But that would be unjustified, since a good chunk of the current team was unavailable Saturday night, and those who did play seemed to think it was still a preseason lollygag. It wasn't Martins' problem to solve.

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As expected, the Sounders Saturday bought out the contract of Christian Tiffert, who played 12 games for Seattle in 2012. The 31-year-old midfielder from Halle, Germany, was one of three designated players, the MLS maximum, so a spot has been created for the potential arrival of Obafemi Martins, a 28-year-old striker from Nigeria whose acquisition from his team in Valencia, Spain, is expected soon.

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MATCH: Montreal Impact (12-16-6, 42 points, 7th, MLS East in 2012) at Seattle Sounders FC (15-8-11, 56 points, 3rd, MLS West in 2012). TYPE: MLS. WHEN: Saturday, 7:30 p.m., CenturyLink Field. MEETING: 2nd (Montreal leads 1-0). LAST 10: Sounders 0-0-0; Impact 0-0-0. TV: KING 5. RADIO: 97.3 KIRO FM; SPANISH: KOMO2 (Comcast Ch. 114) and La Gran D 99.3 FM.

Coming off a four-match Desert Diamond Cup tournament sweep to close out their preseason schedule in Tucson, the Sounders' fifth Major Soccer League season begins Saturday night against second-year Montreal Impact. Montreal's first visit to Seattle will be the first of six matches in March.

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The Sounders, who begin their fifth MLS season Saturday night (7:30 p.m.) at Century Link Field against the Montreal Impact, Friday traded midfielder/forward Cordell Cato to the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2014 supplemental draft.

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Just ahead of Sounders FC's opener Saturday at the Clink for their fifth Major League Soccer season, it feels as if the club is the middle of a checked swing. Wrong sport, but you get the idea. They haven't taken a full cut. Yet general manager Adrian Hanauer claims to be close to a rip.

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The Sounders' first hire of a UEFA Champions League winner, defender Djimi Traore, 32, was announced by the Sounders Saturday and will be added to the roster pending receipt of his P-I visa and international transfer clearance. Traore ( jimmy try-OR-ay), a 6-3, 191-pound defender, last played for Marseille in France, making 11 appearances from 2011-12. winning the 2012 Coupe de la Ligue title.

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