Lionel Messi, Inter Miami can clinch MLS regular season title with win in Columbus
The ultimate goal for Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates this season is obvious: to hoist the MLS Cup as the confetti rains down following the league's championship match on Dec. 7.
A major step toward that end for the GOAT and coach Tata Martino's squad could come on Wednesday night, when the Herons meet the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew in Ohio's capital with a chance to claim the 2024 regular season title (live coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, FOX Deportes and AppleTV).
MLS Cup remains the most prestigious piece of silverware in American soccer. But the Supporters Shield isn't far behind. And securing it with two games to play would be a coup for both Messi and Miami, which sat dead last in the Eastern Conference standings when the Argentine living legend arrived in North America a little more than a year ago.
Clad in the club's distinctive pink, Messi — along with former Barcelona running buddies Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets — promptly led Inter on a storybook run to the inaugural Leagues Cup triumph by besting 46 other top-flight teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico's vaunted Liga MX.
The King then added another crown, the 45th of his unparalleled career, when he helped Argentina win the 2024 Copa América at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium over the summer. Yet the Supporters Shield would represent his first exclusively MLS trophy, a significant achievement even if the priority this fall is clearly winning MLS Cup in front of their own supporters at Chase Stadium. By finishing first overall, the Herons would guarantee home field advantage throughout the postseason.
It's fitting that the club's first opportunity to clinch the Supporters Shield will come in Columbus, a city that has become the spiritual home of the American game. And it's fitting that it comes against this version of the Crew, the small-market darlings of MLS who are led by Colombian striker Cucho Hernandez and who have become a legitimate continental heavyweight by playing the risky, free-flowing attacking style employed by the league's rising star of a coach, Wilfried Nancy.
The storylines here all but write themselves. Not only are these two squads the undisputed beasts of the East, they're No. 1 and No. 2 in the entire 29-club domestic circuit based on points per game. Wednesday could and should serve as a worthy preview of the win-or-go-home conference final later this fall. The playoffs rarely go to plan, however. All that's for sure is that Wednesday's contest is the highlight of the 2024 season so far. It might even be the most hotly-anticipated early October match in MLS history.
The math is simple. Miami, with the second-best away record (9W-2L-4T) in MLS, would claim the Supporters Shield with a win at Lower.com Field. Meantime, the Crew — which have played one fewer game than Miami — can pull within five points of the league leaders with a victory at home. Columbus roared back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Messi-less Herons the last time these sides met, in the round of 16 of this year's Leagues Cup that ended Miami's title defense, though Martino's side did beat Columbus in MLS play in June.
Now Messi is back, having overcome the ugly ankle injury he suffered in the Copa América final. He's been almost unstoppable since returning, with three goals and two assists in four September games. His second half strike last weekend against Charlotte salvaged a valuable point for his side, setting up Wednesday's marquee tilt.
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It's not all about Messi; Columbus also has Luis Suárez to worry about. The Crew held the Uruguayan icon scoreless in his lone appearance against them this year, though he did have a helper in that Leagues Cup loss. But Suárez, currently tied for third in MLS with 17 goals (one more than Hernandez), is almost as dangerous as Messi in the attack. And stopping him will be even harder with Messi also probing for openings behind Nancy's back line.
Besides the Supporters Shield, Miami is chasing history, too: Messi and Friends would set a new points record by winning its final three regular season matches — just one more reason why Wednesday's featured match sets up as a must-watch.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.