Inter Miami, led by Lionel Messi, has the opportunity to win the Supporters' Shield and the number 1 seed in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Securing a victory on Wednesday is the easiest strategy and has the best odds of working.
With a win in Columbus on Wednesday, MLS favorites Messi, Suarez, Alba, and Busquets could secure the supporters' shield.
Unless they lose their final three games, Inter Miami is set to receive the #1 seed in the playoffs. The Supporters' Shield would be their second trophy, won in 2023 after Messi's arrival.
The Supporters' Shield was previously won by the now-defunct team Fusion in 2001, but problems with attendance and revenue marred their final campaign. Inter Miami has had difficulty lately, routinely finishing in the lower half of the MLS standings.
It has been an incredible year for the club. After starting the season with a 3-2-1 record in their first six MLS games, they dominated with a 16-2-7 record. This is the greatest record in the club's history. With a 3-0-0 victory, Inter Miami would establish an MLS record for the most points in a regular season.
They might finish up with 74, which would be one more than New England's 2021 total of 73.
Moreover, Messi is not the only one who has contributed.
Due to his commitments with the Argentine national team and the two months he required to recuperate from a severely wounded ankle, he has missed fifteen of Inter Miami's Major League Soccer matches this season. The injury occurred in July, during his nation's victorious Copa America championship campaign.
In Major League Soccer (MLS), Inter Miami has performed well this season, going 9-1-6 when Messi is starting. This outcome is consistent with Messi's teams' standing, as they have been fierce rivals for the past 20 years. It's worth noting that Inter Milan has also had remarkable success in league play; they are 10-3-2 even without Messi.
The squad averages 2.06 standing points out of a possible three each match when Messi is playing for them, according to the performance comparison. Interestingly, though, the team's average increases little to 2.13 standing points in his absence. Given that Messi is considered the greatest player of all time and has won the Ballon d'Or eight times, these numbers may appear conflicting.
Goalie Drake Callender says this statement shows that Messi and a handful of regular people are not the only players in the Inter Miami lineup.
If Inter Miami does not secure the clinch on Wednesday, they will have their last two regular-season matches away at Toronto on Saturday and then at home against New England on Oct. 19. Inter Miami's playoff run is scheduled to begin at home during the final weekend of October, benefiting from home-field advantage throughout the entirety of the MLS Cup playoffs up until the final.