Messi’s Miami open playoffs as MLS Cup favorites, even if history isn’t on their side

The 2024 MLS Cup playoffs begin on Tuesday following a marathon regular season, with Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi the clear favorite to win the title.

Messi and Miami will meet the winner of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference wild card between CF Montreal and Atlanta United. The Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers will battle it out for Western play on Wednesday, with a best-of-three Round 1 series starting with the Oct. 1 opener. 25 between the Herons and Atlanta/Montreal. All the same is available on Apple TV.

Messi just led Miami to the best regular season in the 29-year history of MLS; The GOAT scored an 11-minute hat trick in Saturday’s comeback win over the New England Revolution, a victory that gave the Herons a league record 74 points.

A Supporters Shield victory means Miami will enjoy home field advantage throughout the postseason. Tata Martino’s team has also qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced at Chase Stadium following Saturday’s win. Infantino also revealed that the Herons will host the tournament’s opening game at the 65,000-capacity Hard Rock Stadium.

FIFA’s decision was not without controversy, however, for good reason: the MLS Cup is the league’s most prestigious award, which has been deciding the champion of the US and Canadian top leagues for almost three decades now. The Supporters Shield does not.

But while the commercial for Miami to take part in an extended Club World Cup is clear, it’s not as if Marino’s team – one made up of Messi’s former Barcelona team-mates Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez – is not a more suitable representative. for MLS.

Miami could make FIFA’s decision stronger by winning the MLS Cup, of course. It’s easier said than done.

Finishing for the first time in eight months, the 34-game regular season is rarely a predictor of what happens in the fall. Only eight holders of the Supporters’ Shield have achieved two points since the inception of MLS in 1996. Only five have done it this century.

Given the way Messi and friends are managing all MLS players in 2024, it will not surprise anyone if Miami becomes the sixth winner on December 7. They will face tough competition to reach the championship game, however, with the defending champion. The Columbus Crew could be the enemy in the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the West, two Los Angeles majors took the top seed. The LA Galaxy lost their shot at the top spot with a blowout loss in their regular season finale on Saturday in Houston. Meanwhile, in 2022 LAFC surpassed their cross-town rivals by beating the harmless San Jose Earthquakes.

Here are the matchups for Round 1.

Eastern Conference

Inter Miami vs. Atlanta United or CF Montreal

There will be plenty of stories no matter which team emerges to face No. 1. Martino led Atlanta to the 2018 MLS Cup title. His star player with the Five Stars? Former Miami forward Josef Martinez, who left for Montreal last winter and helped the team Bleu-Blanc-Noir punched their ticket to the postseason with a Decision Day win over New York City.

Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC

Orlando dropped its last game in Atlanta but has been in good form before, going 6-1 in its last seven games. One of those was a decisive 2-0 victory over Charlotte on September 18. The Lions and Crown met in North Carolina in June in their only other meeting in 2024. The series begins Sunday in Central Florida (7:30 pm ET , FS1/FOX Deportes/Apple TV).

FC Cincinnati vs. NYCFC

Last year’s Supporters Shield winners have managed just three wins in their last ten games to finish fifth. But despite losing key defenders Nick Hagglund and Matt Miazga to season-ending injuries, FCC still boasts an elite roster led by 2023 MLS MVP Lucho Acosta. And while the Doves took the most recent meeting earlier this month, Cincy beat NYCFC twice at home to take the season series. Their playoff slate opens at TQL Stadium on Oct. 28 (6:45 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/Apple TV).

Columbus Crew vs. New York Red Bulls

After winning it all last December, Wilfried Nancy’s team is poised for another deep run this fall. The club has already captured one piece of silverware in 2024 – the Leagues Cup – and lost in the final of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

They shouldn’t have too much trouble getting past the Red Bulls, who have made the playoffs for 15 consecutive seasons without a single MLS Cup appearance. The Ohio capital hosts the opening on Oct. 29 (6:45 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Sports/Apple TV).

Western Conference

LAFC competes against Portland Timbers or Vancouver Whitecaps

Last year’s runner-up LAFC opens its playoff homestand Sunday (9:45 pm ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/Apple TV) with high hopes of returning to the finals for the third year running. In the regular season, LAFC went undefeated in four games against the Timbers and Caps, hitting the latter at home and north of the border.

Seattle Sounders vs. Houston Dynamo

The Sounders are always struggling this time of year. And with an 18W-6L-8T record against the Dynamo, they own the all-time series. Last month, Seattle beat Houston at Lumen Field, with a rematch next Monday (9pm ET, FS1/FOX Deportes/Apple TV). The two teams played to a 2-2 draw in Texas in June.

Real Salt Lake vs. Minnesota United

Winning the MLS Cup is often hot when it counts. Minnesota enters the playoffs hot, the Loons have won six of their last eight games.

RSL, on the other hand, have been consistent throughout the year, finishing in sixth place. Choosing a winner is not easy; the teams have drawn both times they have met in 2024. The final opening game of Round 1 will begin on Oct. 29 (9:00 p.m. ET, FS1/FOX Sports/Apple TV).

LA Galaxy vs. Colorado Rapids

The Galaxy should be kicking themselves after last weekend’s loss; The Rapids, under first-time coach Chris Armas, are one of the league’s most improved teams this season. But Colorado suffered a devastating blow on Decision Day, as star player Djordje Mihailović was carted off the field with an ankle sprain. Whether Mihailović is able to return later in the series is unclear.

Doug McIntyre is a football reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered the US men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cup tournaments on five continents. Follow him @by DougMcIntyre.

---

---