Atlanta United heads into Atlanta United vs Charlotte with only two full days of rest, a fresh road win over Toronto FC and a growing list of fitness questions. The club will face Charlotte FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
The timing matters because Atlanta’s 2-1 victory at Toronto on Saturday was its first win in a run of matches, and the club is trying to turn that result into something more durable. Tata Martino called it “a result we've been searching for now for some games” and said it showed the team is close, while cautioning that the group has to understand what the win means without giving it too much weight.
The match will be shown on CBS Sports Network and Paramount Plus, and Atlanta is coming in after training on Sunday and again on Monday. Monday’s availability report gave the club one lift: Tomás Jacob is back to health and eligible. But the injury list remains crowded, with Miguel Almirón nursing a knee injury, Sergio Santos working back from a calf issue and Steven Alzate dealing with an adductor problem.
Cayman Togashi is out for Tuesday after injuring his ankle during the weekend match, a blow that narrows Martino’s options even further on a short turnaround. Martino also said the training staff and Almirón are working together to see whether the midfielder can be fit for Saturday’s home match against CF Montréal.
The Toronto win offered more than three points. Tristan Muyumba scored his first goal of the 2026 season, Jay Fortune drew the foul that led to Alexey Miranchuk’s free kick goal and Cooper Sanchez picked up the secondary assist on Muyumba’s finish. Muyumba said he feels he is building the right habits to make an impact on matches, and he said the team needs to bring more players into the last third of the pitch.
“We have to find the right moment when we can make those kind of runs [into] the box, and also when we have to keep more balance,” Muyumba said. “It's definitely something we need to bring more player in the last third of the pitch.” He also described his bond with Jay Fortune, Will Reilly and Cooper Sanchez as a big part of the group’s rhythm, saying, “Those guys are my boys,” and adding that they talk constantly on and off the field. Atlanta’s turnaround is the quickest of the season, but Tuesday night will show whether that momentum holds under tighter conditions and a deeper injury list.
