Messi has helped Inter Miami win 9 matches since his debut on July 21, including 8 wins (including 3 wins in penalty shootouts) in cup competitions - Leagues Cup (champion) and US Open Cup (final) and only 1 match in MLS.
Messi scored 11 goals and had 3 assists after 9 matches for Inter Miami
The new MLS mission is important and challenging for Messi. The Argentine star and teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are expected to help Inter Miami reverse the situation of being at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, to rise to 8th or 9th place to have hope of reaching the playoffs.
If Inter Miami finishes in this position, they will play a wild card round with the teams in the same position in the Western region. If they continue to win, they will officially be present in the playoff round to compete for the championship called MLS Cup.
In total, there will be 16 teams in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs, including 14 teams that will enter directly, which are the teams ranked in the top 7 in the Eastern and Western regions, and 2 teams that pass the wild card round.
MLS Cup will be played in a format including round 1 with 16 seeded teams and divided into pairs to compete in a knock-out format, the winning team will advance to the semi-finals (4 pairs). The winning teams will advance to the final round (2 pairs). Next, the 2 winning teams in the final round will compete for the MLS Cup championship.
MLS Cup is the most important and prestigious championship title in American soccer.
How many points does Inter Miami need to keep hope alive?
Messi made his MLS debut as a substitute, scoring the winning goal as Inter Miami beat New York Red Bulls 2-0 on August 27. This was Inter Miami's first win in the tournament after 11 previous matches, drawing 3 and losing 8.
The team chaired by former football star David Beckham has, for the first time in a long time, officially left the bottom position in the Eastern region, rising to 14th place with 21 points after 23 matches.
Inter Miami still have 11 MLS games to turn around. They are 11 points behind ninth-place wild-card Chicago Fire FC (21 points to 32), but have played two games less.
Messi (center) made his MLS debut by scoring the decisive goal to help Inter Miami beat New York Red Bulls 2-0 on August 27.
According to AS (Spain), "Inter Miami needs to win about 21 more points in the remaining 11 matches (maximum 33 points), to have at least 42 points. With this score, they can win a wild card round spot. Last season, Charlotte Club ranked 9th with 42 points, showing that Inter Miami needs to reach this number of points to have a chance to continue."
However, Inter Miami's schedule of 11 remaining matches over the next two months is a huge challenge for Messi and his teammates. They are preparing to meet Nashville SC (the team they beat after a penalty shootout in the Leagues Cup final) at 6:30 a.m. on August 31. Then they will play Los Angeles FC at 9 a.m. on September 4. Los Angeles FC is also the team that won the 2022 MLS Cup.
Can Messi (center) help Inter Miami overcome its biggest challenge in MLS?
In the remaining matches, Inter Miami will face three of the four teams currently leading the Eastern Conference table: Atlanta United, Orlando City and FC Cincinnati. Messi and his teammates will end the MLS season in a round-robin schedule with two matches against Charlotte FC on October 18 and 21.
This is considered an impossible mission for Inter Miami, but with what Messi has brought to this team since joining, it is worth hoping that the impossible will become possible.
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