The Brazilian star becomes the only player to win consecutive MLS Player of the Month honors across the last three seasons
NEW YORK (Tuesday, September 1, 2026) – FC Cincinnati midfielder Evander was voted the MLS Player of the Month for July and August 2026.
During the months of July and August, Evander was tied for first in MLS with nine goal contributions (four goals, five assists) across seven regular-season games. His five assists were tied for the second most in the league, while his four goals were tied for the fourth most. Of Cincinnati’s 13 goals in July and August, Evander scored or assisted on 69 percent of them, which was the highest percentage in MLS (minimum of five goal contributions). The Brazilian midfielder also had several of his patented clutch moments, which included a game-winning assist vs. Vancouver on July 22, a late game-winning goal against San Jose on August 1, and a second-half stoppage-time game-winning goal against New York City on August 19.
Throughout the months of July and August, Evander set several MLS and club records. On August 1, he produced four goal contributions and became the fifth-fastest player in MLS history to reach 100 regular-season goal contributions, doing so in just 104 matches. In that same match, he also became the first player in Cincinnati history to record an assist in five straight MLS games. With another 10-plus goal and 10-plus assist season, Evander is one of five players in league history to do this in three straight seasons, alongside Lionel Messi (2024-26), Luciano Acosta (2022-24), Hany Mukhtar (2021-23), and Preki (1996-1998).
In 2026, Evander has now totaled 13 goals and 11 assists in 21 regular-season matches. Across all MLS players he ranks second in goal contributions (24), tied for first in assists (11), and tied for fourth in goals scored (13). The Landon Donovan MLS MVP contender has produced 57 goal contributions in 53 regular-season games since FC Cincinnati acquired him prior to the 2025 season. In FC Cincinnati history, he ranks either second or third in most major categories – goals, assists, goal contributions, and more.
After winning the award for the month of May, Evander becomes the first player to earn back-to-back MLS Player of the Month awards, since Luciano Acosta did so for FC Cincinnati in 2023. It marks just the fifth time this has happened in the last decade, joining Acosta, Carlos Vela in 2019 and Josef MartÃnez in both 2018 and 2019. Evander also becomes the first Brazilian-born player to win the award three separate times.
Evander and FC Cincinnati will return to action on Saturday, September 5, when they host D.C. United at TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV).
MLS Player of the Month is voted upon by a group of select national and local media members in a process conducted by MLS Communications.
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