The playoffs will begin on October 23, four days after the MLS regular season ends. The MLS Cup final will be on December 7.
With seven games remaining until the so-called Decisive Day, when the seven teams in each conference that advance to the playoffs will be known, plus the four in total that will compete for two wild cards – one for the East and the other for the West – Inter Miami is the absolute leader of the American league.
The Rosanegros had 59 points in 27 games before hosting the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, September 14 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
Their closest rivals in the Eastern Conference are FC Cincinnati with 51 points and the defending champion, the Columbus Crew, with 49, but with one game less.
The Western Conference is led by the Los Angeles Galaxy with 52 points in 28 games, followed by Los Angeles FC with 48 in 26 games and Real Salt Lake with 47 in 27 matches.
Of the seven remaining games, Inter Miami will play four away from home and three at home.
Their next rivals are Philadelphia, in 11th place, with 30 points, Atlanta United, tenth, with 31, New York City, fifth, with 39, Charlotte, sixth, with 38, Columbus, third, Toronto, eighth, with 33 and the New England Revolution, twelfth, with 29 points.
All of Inter Miami’s remaining opponents have a chance of making the playoffs, so it won’t be a piece of cake for Gerardo Martino’s team to close out the season.
In their last appearance, the Rosanegros beat the Chicago Fire 4-1 on August 31, and since then they have had two weeks to recover their injured players, including their star player.
Step by step
Inter Miami took extreme care with Messi after he was injured in the final of the 2024 Copa América USA, in which Argentina beat Colombia 1-0, on the night of July 14 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The coach of the Argentine national team, Lionel Scaloni, also took this precaution and did not call up Messi for the matches against Chile and Colombia on September 6 and 10. Scaloni, however, stressed the importance of Messi in the group.
“It is difficult for a team not to depend on Messi in terms of football because he is a unique player,” the Argentina coach said on September 8. “I am hopeful that he will start playing. Before we submit the list in two weeks for the October matches, we will communicate with him and find out if he is okay.”
He must be. Two weeks ago, Martino announced that Messi had completed his therapy and was training on the pitch and that his return was close. Everything indicates that he will play against Philadelphia.
These seven games that Inter Miami has left to complete the regular season are ideal for Messi to gradually regain his physical form.
At 37 years of age and with a series of injuries that have kept him from playing in most of Inter Miami’s games this season, it is unlikely that the star will be able to return to full fitness after two months without playing.
That’s why it’s key to take it step by step.
Even his teammate Julian Gressel dared to predict in his podcast Messi’s imminent return.
“I hope Messi will be part of the team for the next match,” Gressel said. “After two weeks of full training, it is realistic to think so. At times his workload was somewhat limited, but it is logical that we have to be cautious. It is good to have him on the pitch. After all, he is Leo Messi.”
Due to injuries and Argentina call-ups, Messi has only played 12 of Inter Miami’s 27 games this MLS season.
Messi has missed the last 13 consecutive games and yet the club has been able to come out on top thanks to the good performances of other stars such as Sergio Busquets, Drake Callender and Luis Suárez himself.
The moment of truth is approaching and everyone is hoping to see a recovered and decisive Messi in action.
