Home Sweet Home for Inter Miami

Two months is a long time in soccer, just ask Inter Miami.

Miami ended the month of September with a draw at Toronto FC and a defeat to Chicago Fire, allowing Philadelphia to sweep in and claim the Supporters’ Shield. After a glorious two years that saw them win the Leagues Cup in 2023 and finish with the best regular season record in MLS history in 2024, it seemed that Miami were finally starting to regress to the mean. Or so they thought.

The Herons would win each of their next four before losing 2-1 at Nashville SC, forcing a Game Three in South Florida. This time, Miami made no mistake whatsoever by demolishing Nashville 4-0 to book their spot in the Conference Semifinals for the first time ever. Whilst Lionel Messi bagged himself a brace, Tadeo Allende also scored two goals, demonstrating why countless pundits like Sid Lowe and Tim Vickery have described him as one of the top rising stars in MLS. However, in order to confirm their spot in the final four, they would need to overtake their Kryptonite: FC Cincinnati.

Having lost in each of their last four trips to TQL Stadium in league play, Miami didn’t quite have the upper hand going into Saturday’s match-up, but they nevertheless delivered with arguably their best display of the season. Javier Mascherano raised a few eyebrows with his decision to start Argentine teenager Mateo Silvetti over Luis Suárez, who was suspended for Game Three after lashing out at Andy Najar, but his decision soon paid off.

The visitors took an early lead as Messi teed up an open Silvetti on the left flank, who dialled in a perfect cross for Messi to head home. Messi would return the favor near the hour-mark after receiving, turning, and unleashing Silvetti, who slotted home. Similarly to others like Neymar Jr. and Carlos Alberto Pintinho, Silvetti is yet another South American talent who is making an instant impact at an early age. After arriving in September from Newell’s Old Boys and playing three matches, Silvetti headed to Chile and emerged as a revelation with 3 goals and 1 assist in their run to the FIFA U-20 World Cup Final, before returning to the USA and playing in Miami’s last four matches.

Miami would have been well aware of the previous night’s match, which saw Vancouver Whitecaps relinquish a 2-0 advantage and go down to 10 men at home, only to end up edging LAFC on penalties. It’s why, just a few moments later, Miami added to their lead as Messi won possession off Evander and threaded the needle for Allende, who coolly fired into the left corner. The cherry on top came just over 10 minutes later as Messi conjured up a masterful trivela pass to Allende, who timed his run to perfection, held off his man, and found the back of the net to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. The following two matches would New York City FC triumph 1-0 in Philadelphia, whilst San Diego FC edged Minnesota United 1-0 on Monday.

Unlike Vancouver, San Diego and NYCFC, Inter Miami didn’t just squeeze past their opponent; they sent a statement, winning by 2+ goals for the sixth time in seven matches. And after having to travel to Tennessee and Ohio in the past few weeks, they can rest assured knowing that the path to the MLS Cup Final will lie in South Florida. They will host New York City FC on Saturday, and if they win, they will host either San Diego FC or Vancouver in the final.

The last time these two sides, Miami won 4-0 in the Big Apple thanks to goals from Baltasar Rodríguez and Suárez, and a Messi brace. Can they repeat this result in the weekend? Stay tuned for what will undoubtedly be the most important match in Inter Miami’s five-year history.