Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi will make his MLS playoff debut next Friday when the club begins its Round 1 best-of-three series at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.
After an incredible season leading the Eastern Conference table with 71 points and being crowned the MLS Supporters’ Shield champions — the award given to the regular season’s top team — Inter Miami also secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Their first opponent will be the winner of the Eastern Conference Wild-Card Match.
Though Messi played for Inter Miami last season, he joined the team late and couldn’t rally the club into the postseason. He led the franchise to the Leagues Cup in his first season, but MLS fans were not able to see him in the playoffs. Now, all eyes will be on him, as Inter Miami is one of the clear favorites to win the MLS Cup.
“I’m thrilled with this team, I think we said before — at the beginning of the year — that we knew we have a team to compete, and we took charge since the beginning because we have players to do it,” Messi said.
The regular season ends on Saturday at Chase Field with “Decision Day,” which is when teams post their final results and find out their playoff opponents. Then, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Wild Card games take center stage, when the Nos. 8-9 teams in both the Eastern and Western Conference face off for the right to secure the final two qualifying spots.
All told, there will be between 16-24 games in the MLS postseason. After the first-round series, the format moves to single-game elimination, a win-or-go-home format for the remaining clubs in the conference semifinals. The MLS Final will be on Dec. 7, with Inter Miami in line to be the host if they advance.
“We have a beautiful opportunity to do history, but we must focus on the three-game series. Then it’s single elimination and anything can happen,” Messi said. “We’ll have an advantage because we’ll play our game as locals. It’s not easy to play away in MLS, but we have the home-field advantage. We play every game as local, which is what we were looking for.”
The Supporters’ Shield, clinched after Inter Miami defeated the Columbus Crew, 3-2, earlier this month, was the 46th trophy of Messi’s career. But he and his teammates have already moved past it, and are focused on bringing their first MLS Cup home.
“I think it is a great landmark for the club,” goalkeeper Drake Callender said when asked about winning the Shield while preparing for playoffs. “I think it represents all the hard work we put in and by no means is this finished.”
In their final tune-up on Saturday, Inter Miami will shoot for its 22nd season victory when they take on the New England Revolution.
