This MLS playoff race is an absolute mess

Put on your boots, because we’re about to wade into a mess

The race for the MLS playoffs is promising that Decision Day will be as bonkers as it ever has been.

The final day of the regular season is less than a month away, with 28 of the league’s 29 teams set for two breathless rounds of simultaneous kickoffs, one for each conference (sorry D.C. United, you’re just going to have to follow along at home).

There’s an old MLS truism that a team just needs to stay in touch until late August or so, and that if said team can start to heat up around Labor Day, you’re looking at a major threat coming from what on paper is a low playoff seed. Plenty of teams with multiple MLS Cups in their trophy case have at least one season where they followed this plan to a tee.

However, in 2023 it’s not so much about getting hot at the right time as simply ending up next to an empty seat during a poorly-played game of musical chairs. Seven teams have clinched their playoff berths already, and two more are simply abysmal.

That leaves 20 teams vying for 11 postseason spots in what is an extraordinarily forgiving set-up. The problem is that almost none of this group seems able to get a solid hold on their invite to the big dance.

Put on your boots, because we’re about to wade into a mess:

Lionel Messi didn’t score in an MLS game. Is that even legal?

What do you mean, Messi didn’t score?

Someone in MLS finally managed to stop Lionel Messi.

Messi and Inter Miami could only manage a 0-0 draw with Nashville SC, marking the first time that any team has managed to keep the Argentine legend from scoring or assisting a goal.

Coming into the match, Messi had scored in all seven of Miami’s Leagues Cup matches, followed by two assists in a wild U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Even when restricted to a substitute’s role in his MLS debut, Messi scored another delightful goal.

That short night’s work set him up to make his first start in MLS play Wednesday night, and in a quirk of the schedule, it just so happened to be a rematch of an epic Leagues Cup final. Less than two weeks ago, Miami won in dramatic fashion, but this game was a bit different.

For one thing, Nashville choose to rest its own star No. 10, Hany Mukhtar, a nod to the reality of life in the league as MLS served up a nearly full slate of mid-week matches in the summer heat.

Messi Mania remained a strange experience for longtime MLS fans. How often, for example, would you expect to see baseball legend Ken Griffey Jr. working a midseason Wednesday night match on a photographer’s credential?

Or, for that matter, when are you going to see Gianni Infantino turn up to see a mid-week game featuring what was at kickoff MLS’s 27th-best team?

Unusual guests or not, Nashville once again proved itself to be a team that can unsettle Miami.

The Herons, with Messi largely restricted to creating for others rather than calling his own number, saw a small handful of looks fly wide or high. Miami enjoyed 74% of the possession, but the two teams combined for just 0.56 total expected goals in a choppy first half.

The biggest moment in the opening 45 minutes may have ended up being nothing more spectacular than Sergio Busquets grabbing referee Chris Penso with both hands and not being booked for doing so.

Nashville sent Mukhtar on at halftime, benefitting from a more open game as Miami — who remain in desperate need of points — started taking more risks.

If anything, Miami ended up lucky to escape with anything. First, Mukhtar’s finish past Drake Callender was chalked off for offside. Later, Jacob Shaffelburg’s late cross struck DeAndre Yedlin’s right arm seemingly inside the box.

A stoppage-time VAR check into it did reveal the handling offense, but also caught the Nashville winger for being offside earlier in the move, negating what would have been a gut-punch penalty kick call.

Deep in stoppage time, Messi nearly conjured up a goal that for him would be ordinary, and for anyone else would be a miracle. He raced past multiple Nashville players, pinging a low shot with his less-favored right foot towards goal that forced Elliot Panicco into his best save of the night.

While Miami may look at getting a shutout against a good team as some kind of positive, the reality is that the home draw is a severe blow to the team’s already remote playoff hopes. Miami trudged off the field at DRV PNK Stadium 10 points out of a playoff place with 10 games to play, and were fortunate that the Chicago Fire (who lost later on Wednesday) didn’t increase that gap.

In other words, even Messi might not be able to wriggle out of this particular jam.

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How to watch Lionel Messi and Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC

Is there more Messi magic to come in another MLS outing?

In his first-ever Major League Soccer action, Lionel Messi scored and Inter Miami won.

Try not to act too shocked.

Messi brought excellent form to begin his North American career in cup competition, leading Inter Miami to a Leagues Cup title and then to an Open Cup semifinal victory over FC Cincinnati.

Saturday’s matchup with the New York Red Bulls was the first MLS match for Inter Miami since the arrivals of Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.

Amid a crowded set of fixtures, Messi and Busquets were rested in New York while Alba started the game.

However, Messi and Busquets entered the contest (along with United States international DeAndre Yedlin) with 30 minutes remaining — and yes, as noted, Messi still scored as a substitute.

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The 2-0 win over the Red Bulls pulled Inter off the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Still unbeaten since the arrival of Messi, next up is a team with revenge on their mind.

Miami hosts Nashville SC, the same side Inter defeated in the Leagues Cup final. It took a long shootout, which indicates a close fight could be on the docket for MLS fans.

With 21 points (14th place), Inter still sits 11 points back from a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Nashville will want to add to their 38 points which sees them positioned seventh in the table.

Here is everything you need to know to catch all the action:

Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC

  • When: Wednesday, August 30
  • Where: DRV PNK Stadium, Ft. Lauderdale
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Apple TV

MLS Starting Lineups

Inter Miami possible lineup:
Callender; Yedlin, Kryvstov, Miller, Alba; Cremaschi, Busquets, Arroyo; Messi, Taylor, Martinez

Nashville possible lineup:
Willis; MacNaughton, Zimmerman, Bauer, Lovitz; Muyl, McCarty, Anunga, Leal; Mukhtar, Bunbury

MLS Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Monday at 4:33 p.m.

Inter Miami (-195) vs. Nashville SC (+480)

Draw: (+330)

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Messi, Inter Miami claim Leagues Cup trophy over Nashville SC

Messi wins a trophy? You don’t say!

Inter Miami without Lionel Messi? Cellar dwellers.

With Messi? Unbeaten in seven, and now Leagues Cup champions.

Messi and Miami claimed the club’s first-ever trophy, defeating Nashville SC on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw at Geodis Park. Messi scored, as is seemingly a thing that will happen in every appearance he makes for the Herons, but a gritty Nashville side showed there is a way to hang in there against a star-studded Miami side.

Every team that has tried to solve the problem that is Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba has taken a different tack.

Nashville’s approach? Gary Smith choosing a pair of defensive midfielders and the two hardest-working pressing wingers on the roster pointed to a more conservative approach, but Nashville opted for a mid-block with some bouts of high pressing as opposed to a pure park-the-bus approach.

Miami had scored in the 12th minute or earlier in each of Messi’s first five starts, but Nashville’s approach kept the Herons from so much as a single shot attempt until Robert Taylor tested Elliot Panicco — something of a surprise starter in goal — in the 21st minute.

Unfortunately for the hosts, even the best approach can be undone because Messi is Messi. He’ll score the kinds of goals that he alone can score.

Cue the highlight!

However, despite the wizardy, Nashville’s plans were largely working: Miami had plenty of the ball, but walked in at halftime with just two shots.

Nashville needed more than that, though, and ended up looking to its own favorite trick for a goal: a scrappy set piece amid a mosh pit inside the box. Fafà Picault would end up getting the final touch.

Messi nearly produced another wondergoal in the 70th minute, bursting away from Dax McCarty to uncork a long-range rocket that slapped off Panicco’s left post.

Nashville’s big names aren’t, you know, Messi or Sergio Busquets, but they’re still major threats. Seven minutes after Messi’s threat, Hany Mukhtar and new addition Sam Surridge carved out a two-on-two counter against Miami. Surridge saw his low shot saved well by Callender, while Mukhtar’s follow-up was deflected inches wide.

If anything, Messi’s shot off the woodwork seemed to be Miami’s last push for goal, as heavy legs on an aging side that had seen little rotation gave Nashville an opening. Mukhtar and Surridge both forced Callender into reflex saves as the hosts smelled an opening for a winner.

However, that set the stage for an unreal sequence for the game’s final kick: Busquets caught Nashville throwing numbers forward, playing substitute Leo Campana in alone.

Campana dinked the ball over Panicco, whose follow-through took out the retreating Shaq Moore. Surely, this was it.

Well…

Leagues Cup matches go straight to penalties if tied at full time, meaning that what followed that bizarre sequence was a coin toss. Messi and Busquets converted, and while Mukhtar did the same for Nashville, Randall Leal had his effort in the second round kicked away by Callender.

Miami was one kick away in the fifth round, but Victor Ulloa was denied by Panicco, and Surridge kept Nashville alive.

On into the night it went. 12 straight players stepped up, and 12 straight finished clinically. Callender, in round 11, put his spot kick into the roof of the net, a shot a striker would be proud of.

Just seconds later, the 25-year-old offered one better, saving Panicco’s shot and giving Miami its first-ever trophy, and Messi his 44th.

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Messi does the most predictable thing in the world: score a Leagues Cup final golazo

Messi cannot be stopped

Lionel Messi cannot be stopped by man.

Teams in Spain and France learned this the hard way, as did Champions League contenders, CONMEBOL national teams, and an entire World Cup field in 2022. Everyone wants to stop the guy, everyone fails, it’s just how soccer works when he’s playing it.

So naturally the Leagues Cup final saw Messi and Inter Miami facing down a Nashville SC side that has been the preeminent defensive team in MLS for several years in a row. A loud crowd at Geodis Park was roaring more for the home team than for Messi. The hosts kept Miami from even one sight of goal in the first 20 minutes. It was going well!

Was.

One loose ball after a block in the Nashville area bounced closer to Messi than anyone else in the game. Messi had five Nashville defenders forming a barrier. Walker Zimmerman was stepping hard to him, a collision that — given their size disparity — would end in something other than Messi taking a shot.

But this is Messi, and the result was a goal that had everyone watching the game talking.

Inter Miami would go on to lift the Leagues Cup trophy, defeating Nashville on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC: How to watch Messi in Leagues Cup final

Can Messi pull it off in the final?

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s magical Leagues Cup run has reached its final turn. Can he mark the occasion once again?

Messi, joined by former Barcelona-turned-Miami teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, have reached the Leagues Cup final. Awaiting Miami is Nashville SC.

Since the trio’s arrival, Inter Miami has become a powerhouse. The team scored 22 times in 22 MLS matches prior to Messi joining. They have 21 in Messi’s six games played thus far, with the Argentine legend scoring nine himself.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch Inter Miami vs Nashville SC on Apple TV” link=”https://apple.co/3OIMOOh”]

But Nashville has also been rejuvenated of late.

Former Premier League striker Sam Surridge has netted three goals in three games since joining the club. Surridge and MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar will be a formidable test for the upstart Miami side.

Here is everything you need to know to catch all the action:

Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC (Leagues Cup)

  • When: Saturday, August 19
  • Where: Geodis Park (Nashville)
  • Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Apple TV

Leagues Cup Starting Lineups

Inter Miami possible lineup:
Callender, Yedlin, Miller, Kryvtsov, Alba, Arroyo, Busquets, Gomez, Messi, Martinez, Taylor

Nashville SC possible lineup:
Panicco, Lovitz, Zimmerman, MacNaughton, Moore, Shaffelburg, Godoy, McCarty, Muyl, Mukhtar, Surridge

Leagues Cup Odds and betting lines

MLS odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Odds were last updated Friday, August 18, at 5:12 p.m.

Inter Miami (-110) vs. Charlotte FC (+240)

Draw: (+270)

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Leagues Cup final: Messi, Inter Miami will face Nashville SC

A wild Leagues Cup will conclude in Nashville

The teams that qualified for the Leagues Cup final will be happy to be in the running for a big bonus and a spot in next year’s CONCACAF Champions Cup.

They probably won’t be as delighted as executives from MLS and Apple TV, who already have Lionel Messi vying for a trophy on their platforms.

Messi and Inter Miami will square off with Nashville SC in the 2023 Leagues Cup final. The match is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET Saturday, August 19 at the latter’s home, Geodis Park.

The winner, apart from claiming a $2 million cash prize, will also get a bye into the round of 16 in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Different paths for Miami, Nashville to final

Miami earned their spot by more or less running over anyone in their path. A series of very early goals and Messi wizardry has resulted in the Herons reeling off five wins out of six. Even FC Dallas pushing Miami into a penalty kick shootout required a preposterous 4-4 draw, and that knockout game still ended with Messi and co. moving on.

Cruz Azul lost in dramatic fashion, Orlando City came up short in a fractious match, and Dallas went out in the tiebreaker. In Tuesday’s semifinal, the Philadelphia Union joined Atlanta United and Charlotte FC in getting lit up by Messi and Miami. The same team that has 22 goals in 22 MLS regular season games has scored 21 in just six Leagues Cup matches. Despite being on the road for the final, the Herons are surely the favorites.

Nashville’s path has been far more circuitous. The Tennesseans lost to Toluca in the group stage, and had to get help from the Liga MX side to guarantee a place in the knockout stage.

From there, it didn’t get easier. Nashville’s path included the Supporters’ Shield leaders FC Cincinnati (who they eliminated on penalties after a 1-1 draw), followed by Liga MX titans Club América. Once again, Nashville advanced, but only by surviving one of the most bizarre games in recent memory.

Finally, things got a little bit easier, as Gary Smith’s club clobbered Minnesota United 5-0, but all that did was set a date against a giant in CF Monterrey. Late on Tuesday, Nashville showed major nerve in a 2-0 win over one of the region’s elite teams.

Fans at Geodis Park finished that match chanting “we want Messi!” and now, they’ll get exactly what they hoped for.

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Nashville SC gets past Club America in Leagues Cup game with a thousand endings

Nashville seemed down and out untold times, but went through anyway

The Leagues Cup is truly unhinged.

What else can one say after the scenes as Nashville SC got past Club América despite falling behind in second-half stoppage time, then watching las Águilas celebrate an apparent penalty kick shootout win.

Stick with us, we can explain.

For most of the match, things were extremely normal for Nashville. A resolute defensive performance kept América at bay for an hour before the home side went ahead via a powerful Walker Zimmerman header on a corner kick. Yawn, right?

América turned to star playmaker Diego Valdés, playing his first minutes of the tournament, and got a 78th minute equalizer to get level.

Valdés then unleashed an 89th minute thunderbolt that clipped Lukas MacNaughton’s left hand. Despite the clarity of the handball, what followed was a long delay: América crowded referee Selvin Brown, then Nashville did the same, and it took over 90 seconds before Brown got a call from VAR to go to the monitor.

Brown’s check then took an additional 110 seconds — including a stoppage to book Nashville’s Aníbal Godoy for encroaching by the VAR monitor — before further protests and stalling from Nashville.

At long last, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Julián Quiñones stepped to the spot and put las Águilas ahead.

Both teams made substitutions immediately after a goal, Nashville sent Zimmerman forward as a striker, and play was delayed even longer as, per the Apple TV broadcast, a pitch invader wandered the field taking selfies. Play didn’t resume for another two minutes, with the fourth official then at long last revealing the stoppage time total so long after the stadium clock read 90:00 that no one was particularly sure how much time would remain.

The answer? Just enough time for new Nashville Designated Player Sam Surridge, on his debut, to equalize nine minutes into time added on.

Crucially, as Geodis Park went into a full boil, Nashville used their last substitution to bring goalkeeper Elliot Panicco in for Joe Willis, something head coach Gary Smith did in the round of 32 to great effect. Nashville’s path to this game Tuesday night involved ousting FC Cincinnati on penalties, with Panicco’s save on Matt Miazga the difference.

There’s no way to know whether Willis could have matched Panicco, but the choice paid off again. Just after Luis Malagón had denied Hany Mukhtar in the first round, Panicco did the same to slap away Miguel Layún’s shot in the second.

The teams traded seven straight successful takes, going into a sixth round, where it all seemed to be over. Álvaro Fidalgo put his shot away, but Jack Maher (another late substitute Nashville used to allow for Zimmerman to go play up top) couldn’t respond, with Malagón diving left to deny the defender’s low effort.

América celebrated, manager André Jardine sprinted to join them, and it seemed for all the world like the Mexico City giants were off to the quarterfinals. Nashville players shook hands with those from América, several more pitch invaders sought out their América faves — Geodis Park security, what are you doing these days? — and Apple TV showed a post-game highlight package honoring Valdés (who was literally walking random children off the pitch) as man of the match.

Things were settled for so long that Minnesota United, thinking they would host América, literally billed season ticket holders.

Meanwhile, amid all this chaos — a security guard was stretchered off after hurting their leg! — the VAR booth was checking something important: was Malagón’s save, you know, legal?

Nope! Malagón had clearly come off his line before Maher struck the ball, and eventually, with the América goalkeeper irate at Nashville’s bench for unclear reasons and a roughly eight minute VAR check done, Maher shot again.

This time, the 23-year-old finished with ease, and on to round seven this utter madness went. There, Jonathan dos Santos crashed his shot off the crossbar, and Dan Lovitz — only after multiple gestures about where the ball was on the penalty spot — finally put this game to bed.

Intelligent viewers at this point were banking on this game carrying on for some unknown reason, but Nashville really did advance, where the Tennesseans will host Minnesota United on either August 11 or 12.

That is, unless this game somehow is forced to re-start, who knows?

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Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes minority owner of Nashville SC

Nashville SC has some very tall new co-owners

Nashville SC has announced that NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has joined the club’s ownership group.

The Milwaukee Bucks star has invested in the MLS team along with his brothers Thanasis, Kostas and Alex, who are also professional basketball players.

Along with the Antetokounmpo brothers, Nashville Predators star Filip Forsberg was also announced as a new investor in Nashville SC.

“My father was a professional soccer player, and it was the first sport I fell in love with in Greece,” Giannis said in a club release. “I’ve always had the dream of owning a soccer team. When my brothers and I explored Nashville SC, we knew it was a team and a city that we wanted to get involved with.”

Nashville SC already has a star-studded ownership group that includes Reese Witherspoon, her husband Jim Toth and NFL star Derrick Henry.

“Soccer is a global sport, and our newest owners once again reinforce our club’s commitment to being a global team,” said principal owner John Ingram in a statement. “Filip and Giannis are not just amazing athletes — they are ambassadors for their respective sports, role models for millions and advocates in their hometowns and worldwide. We share a common belief that our teams not only play to the highest standards, but also lift up their communities and help those who need it most.”

Several NBA stars are already co-owners in MLS clubs including Kevin Durant, who is an investor in the Philadelphia Union and James Harden, who is a co-owner of the Houston Dynamo.

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Nashville SC star Hany Mukhtar named 2022 MLS MVP

The forward won the MLS Golden Boot as well, scoring 23 goals in 2022

Nashville SC star Hany Mukhtar has been named the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP.

The 27-year-old took home the award after an incredible campaign in which he tallied 23 goals and 11 assists, winning the league’s Golden Boot award as well.

Mukhtar is the first German-born player and first Nashville SC player to be named MLS MVP.

If judging by the “valuable” element of MVP, Mukhtar had an incredibly strong case: he scored 44.2 percent of Nashville’s goals (23 of 52) in 2022, the highest percentage in MLS by one player.

The German also turned it on down the stretch, scoring 21 goals in Nashville’s final 22 games to help the club finish fifth in the Western Conference and reach the playoffs.

Mukhtar beat out fellow finalists Cristian “Chicho” Arango (LAFC), Andre Blake (Philadelphia), Sebastián Driussi (Austin FC), and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández (LA Galaxy).

Mukhtar clinched the award easily, earning 48% of the total vote. Driussi finished in second with 17% while Blake was third with 8%.

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