Can Messi carry Miami against Charlotte and Seattle?
Inter Miami CF faces two of Major League Soccer’s hottest teams over the next four days. Without Luis Suarez, the Herons need Messi magic more than ever.
Lionel Messi is expected to start against Charlotte FC on Saturday as the Herons turn their focus to the MLS Cup playoffs./MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Inter Miami has nine matches left to improve its playoff position, starting tonight against the league’s hottest team.
Charlotte FC (16-11-2, 50 points) is third in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference and has won eight straight MLS matches — one short of the record held by the Seattle Sounders.
The Herons (13-5-7, 46 points) are sixth, 11 points behind conference- and league-leading Philadelphia. FC Cincinnati is second with 52 points; Nashville SC is fourth, with the same number of points but one fewer win than Charlotte, and Orlando City SC is fifth with 47 points. The Columbus Crew are in seventh, the last guaranteed playoff spot, with 46 points but one fewer win than Los Garzas.
The eighth- and ninth-place clubs, currently New York City FC (44 points) and the Chicago Fire (40), will play to decide who gets the conference’s playoff berth.
The Herons beat the Crown 1-0 earlier this year without eight-time Balon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who was injured. The captain is healthy and will start tonight, but his good friend and former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez will miss the match, serving the first of a three-game suspension levied by MLS for the Uruguayan striker’s actions during a brawl after the Herons lost 3-0 to the Sounders in the 2025 Leagues Cup final Aug. 31.
Tonight’s starters:
INTER MIAMI CF — Oscar Ustari; Jordi Alba, Maxi Falcon, Tomas Aviles, Ian Fray; Telasco Segovia, Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright, Rodrigo De Paul; Tadeo Allende, Messi.
CHARLOTTE FC — Kahlina; Marshall-Rutty, Malanda, Ream, Byrne; Bronico, Diani, Westwood; Vargas, Toklomati, Zaha.
Aviles and Busquets received multiple-match suspensions, three and two, respectively, in future Leagues Cup play for their parts in the post-match fracas in Seattle. Allende scored the only goal in Miami’s first meeting with Charlotte.
Former Herons’ standout goalkeeper Drake Callender, traded to Charlotte during the recent transfer window, has struggled with injuries this year and is not available.