The 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) regular season is rapidly nearing its conclusion, and one team stands head and shoulders above the rest: Inter Miami. Despite only starting playing in the MLS in 2020 and having never finished higher than sixth in the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami are clear MLS Cup favorites for 2024.
Like many new franchises, Inter Miami initially struggled to adapt to the pace of the MLS. The team may have a superstar co-owner in David Beckham. Still, even the former Manchester United and England midfielder couldn’t inspire his team to finish higher than 10th in the Eastern Conference and 19th overall during Inter Miami’s debut season.
Matters grew slightly worse in 2021, with Inter Miami finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference and 20th overall before things started clicking in 2022; Beckham’s boys climbed to sixth in the east and 12th overall.
Pulling Off the Transfer Coups of the Century
Something unpredictable occurred in the summer of 2023, which turned around Inter Miami’s fortunes, at least temporarily. On July 15, the club announced the signing of eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who joined Inter Miami on a free transfer from French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi was 36 when he signed his Inter Miami contract, but the Argentinian still has plenty to give. While he only scored once in six MLS appearances, Messi was instrumental in helping Inter Miami win the Leagues Cup, the team’s first piece of silverware, by scoring ten goals in seven appearances, including the opening goal in the final against Nashville SC.
Messi Fever gripped Miami and the entire MLS. The competition has seen more than its fair share of soccer superstars grace its pitches over the years, but none of them come close to the legendary figure of Messi. What’s more, Messi used his influence and status to convince two of his former FC Barcelona teammates to join him in Florida.
Talismanic midfielder Sergio Busquets put pen to paper 24 hours after Messi signed and on his 36th birthday, with marauding wingback Jordi Alba joining Inter Miami four days after him. The veteran trio may have had a combined age of 107 but all three would have walked into almost any side in club soccer, such is their incredible talent and experience.
Adding More Firepower to the Roster
Just as Inter Miami supporters were getting used to the idea of having global soccer icons in their roster, the club pulled off another masterstroke by signing Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker scored 111 goals for Ajax, 82 for Liverpool, and 198 for Barcelona, among others, plus 69 international goals for Uruguay. Inter Miami was now a force to be reckoned with.
Although you should not read too much into preseason friendlies, Inter Miami fans had cause for concern because the team was dreadful. One win, three draws, and three defeats, including a 0-6 hammering at the hands of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, were hardly the ideal preparation for the 2024 MLS season.
The team started the MLS regular season with a 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake, a hard-fought draw away at LA Galaxy, and a comprehensive 5-0 win at home to Orlando City SC. Suarez scored his first goals in Miami colors against Orlando City.
A 0-4 loss at New York Red Bulls in Game 6 was unexpected, but Inter Miami exacted revenge in Game 12 when they brushed aside New York Red Bulls 6-2 thanks, in part, to a Suarez hat-trick, his first in the MLS.
Through 25 games played, Inter Miami has won 16, drawn five, and lost only four. They have scored 56 goals and conceded 39, enough for 53 points and first place in the Eastern Conference and in the overall standings. Amazingly, Messi and Suarez have scored 24 of the team’s 56 league goals; the duo are still deadly despite approaching the ends of their illustrious careers.
A Short Price to Win the MLS Cup
Unsurprisingly, bookmakers have Inter Miami as the short-priced favorite to lift the coveted MLS Cup at the end of the season. The team has never progressed deeper than the first round since its formation, but that should all change in the next couple of months.
Inter Miami simply has too much firepower not to blast away its rivals. No team in the MLS has a defensive unit robust enough to stop Alba, Busquets, Messi, and Suarez. Few teams worldwide could stop that quartet when they are on their game.
Los Angeles FC or LA Galaxy are the two teams most likely to prevent Inter Miami from becoming MLS Cup champions. Los Angeles FC already has an MLS Cup in its trophy room despite only starting in the MLS in 2018. The team has former Tottenham Hotspur and France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris keeping out shots, former Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Bogusz scoring and creating goals for fun, and Gabon frontman Denis Bouanga, who has 62 goals in 90 appearances since joining late in 2022.
LA Galaxy has won five MLS Cups from nine appearances, more than any other North American team. They last appeared in the MLS Cup final in 2014, and they won. Although LA Galaxy does not have one player banging in goals at an alarming rate, they are spreading the goals throughout the team and have managed to find the back of the net 50 times through 26 games played.
In addition, on August 15, the club announced the signing of two-time German Player of the Year Marco Reus on a free transfer. Reus scored or assisted 301 goals in 429 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, adding some much-needed star quality to the LA Galaxy roster.
In short, the 2024 MLS Cup looks like Inter Miami’s to lose if they can keep their aging stars fit. But we all know anything can happen in soccer. Exciting times are ahead.
