MLS Playoff Preview: Messi and Miami look impressive, but not unbeatable

Having already recorded the greatest regular season in Major League Soccer history, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami now have their sights set on winning their first MLS Cup. 

The MLS playoffs kick off this week and not surprisingly the major storyline surrounds Messi. The Argentine ace had an MVP-type year in his first full campaign with Miami, scoring 20 goals and tallying 16 assists in only 19 appearances. 

The World Cup winner’s explosive offensive production helped Miami win the Supporters’ Shield as the regular-season champions. Messi saved the best for last in Saturday’s 6-2 home win over the New England Revolution with a five-point night (a hat trick and two assists) as Miami established a new league record for the most points (74) in a single MLS season.  

Nobody scored more goals in MLS in 2024 than Miami (79), who only suffered four losses in 34 games. The Herons never lost consecutive matches, their last defeat came on July 6 and they ended the regular season with an 11–match unbeaten run, including eight wins. As the Supporters’ Shield winners, Miami will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and will host MLS Cup on Dec. 7 should it make it to the final. 

Without question, Miami is the heavy favourite to lift the MLS Cup, but it’s not a given that they’ll romp to the title. Messi’s side has a bye into the first round, where they’ll meet the winner of Tuesday’s wild-card match between CF Montreal and Atlanta United. Both Montreal and Atlanta earned regular-season wins over Miami and will be looking to upset the team from Florida yet again. 

“On to the playoffs, and we’ll be ready,” Miami co-owner David Beckham told reporters after Saturday’s win. 

Montreal left it late by clinching a playoff berth on the final day of the regular season on Saturday courtesy of a 2-0 home win over New York City FC. The victory capped off an amazing turnaround.  

In late August, first-year coach Laurent Courtois’ side was near the bottom of the table in the Eastern Conference and in danger of missing out on the post-season. But Montreal ended up winning five of its last seven games (with only one loss) to finish eighth in the East and earn the right to host Tuesday’s wild-card match at Stade Saputo. 

The key to Montreal’s late-season surge was its stout defensive play and Canadian goalkeeper Jonathan Sirios, who had three clean sheets in the club’s final five matches. Sirios has also gone 325 minutes without allowing a goal at home for Montreal. 

Veteran forward Josef Martínez, a league MVP in 2018, got hot at the right time with six goals in his last five games, while the addition of Caden Clark via a summer trade with Minnesota United helped Montreal strengthen its midfield. 

“All around, everybody had the right mindset. If we have that, I think we're a tough team to beat,” Montreal midfielder Samuel Piette said after Saturday’s game. 

Teammate Joel Waterman, a fellow Canadian international, added: “We're hitting our stride at the right time. We have that momentum. Our forwards are scoring, our midfield is running, our defenders are keeping clean sheets.” 

While Montreal is surging, the Vancouver Whitecaps are stumbling into the playoffs.

 

Vancouver had multiple chances to finish in the top seven in the Western Conference and earn a first-round bye in the playoffs, but it ended the regular season on a seven-match winless run. As a result, it will play the Portland Timbers in Wednesday’s wild-card game for the right to see who’ll meet LAFC in the next round. 

The Whitecaps finished eighth in the West and under normal circumstances they would host the ninth-place Timbers. But due to a conflicting event at BC Place, and with no other venues available in the Vancouver area, Wednesday’s wild-card match will take place at Portland’s Providence Park. 

Coach Vanni Sartini’s side, which features Canadian internationals Ali Ahmed and Sam Adekugbe, is riding a four-game losing skid, which includes a 2-1 road defeat to Real Salt Lake on Saturday. 

“If I knew [what’s wrong], I would tell you, but we’ve been trying to turn the page for the last few weeks and we haven’t quite got it right,” star midfielder Ryan Gauld told reporters after the Whitecaps’ latest loss. 

“So, we’re going to have to look at a different approach to getting everybody ready to go on Wednesday. We’ve got a group of strong characters and good personalities, so I’m sure that when Wednesday comes around, everyone’s going to be buzzing for it and confident that we’re going to get the result.” 

Montreal and Vancouver aren’t the only clubs with members of the Canadian men’s team who’ll be competing in the MLS playoffs. 

Portland will be relying on Maxime Crépeau, Canada’s starting goalkeeper, to help it overcome Vancouver in the wild-card game. Crépeau is a former MLS Cup winner with LAFC in 2022 and was named the Whitecaps player of the year in 2021. 

Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, Crépeau’s backup on the Canadian team, is coming off a solid regular season in which he posted seven clean sheets for Minnesota. Forward Tani Oluwaseyi scored eight goals and tallied six assists for Minnesota in his first full MLS season, and was rewarded for his efforts by earning his first cap for Canada under coach Jesse Marsch. 

Both St. Clair and Oluwaseyi will be important figures for Minnesota in its first-round, best-of-three playoff series against Salt Lake. 

Forward Jacen Russell-Rowe scored a personal-best five goals this season for the Columbus Crew, who are looking to repeat as MLS Cup champions. But first, they must overcome the New York Red Bulls in the first round. 

Other teams to look out for in the MLS playoffs are FC Cincinnati (featuring the league’s top playmaker in Luciano Acosta with 19 assists), and LAFC and the Los Angeles Galaxy, who finished in a tie atop the Western Conference table. The Galaxy are led by former Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney. 

John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 25 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.