As season hits midpoint, Inter Miami focused on climbing into playoff mix
The Major League Soccer season has reached the midway point, and Inter Miami is determined to rack up some points over the final 17 games and climb into the playoff race.
Heading into Monday night’s road game against FC Dallas, Miami was in 10th place with 21 points (six wins, seven losses, three ties) in the Eastern Conference, which is three spots shy of the playoff line. Ninth-place Columbus has 22 points, eighth place Charlotte has 23 and Cincinnati, Orlando City and New England all have 25, so a few wins could mean a big leap in the standings.
Miami has struggled to score on the road this season. Heading into Monday’s game, they had been outscored 5-0 in their previous four road games and their record over those games was 0-3-1.
Coach Phil Neville and his staff made that a point of emphasis during training last week as the team headed into back-to-back games on the road. The next game is Saturday on the road against Orlando City before returning home for league games against Philadelphia on July 13 and Charlotte July 16 and a friendly against
Spanish giant FC Barcelona on July 19.
“At home, we are very strong, we win a lot of games and I see a team with a lot of confidence,” Neville said. “But we have to win points away to reach our goals. We’re in the marathon now. We’ve got to start grinding out results. Two or three results can take you either way. We’re in a cluster of teams that are all three or four points apart where a win can get you into sixth position.
“I’m sure if you talk to Toronto, DC, Chicago, they’re thinking, ‘One or two victories will take us above Inter Miami and into the playoff position,’ so whoever goes on a run now with four or five games unbeaten, you’re going to find yourself up in fourth position. I think the league is as condensed as it has ever been.”
INTER MIAMI U15S WIN NATIONAL TITLE
Inter Miami’s U15 academy team won the MLS NEXT Cup national championship, after defeating Real Salt Lake Academy 2-1 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday. Victor Fung and Santiago Morales scored for Miami.
In the 14th minute, Morales clipped a ball to the back post and Fung notched his second finish of the tournament with a forceful header past Real Salt Lake goalkeeper William Mackay.
Twelve minutes later, Inter Miami connected several passes before a one-time strike by Morales from 20 yards out that clinched the victory.
En route to the Cup final, Inter Miami also defeated the New England Revolution, Solar SC, Austin FC and LA Galaxy.
NOAH ALLEN SCORES FOR USA
Inter Miami left back Noah Allen, an 18-year-old Pembroke Pines native, scored a goal for the U.S. Under-20 national team in a 6-0 rout of Dominican Republic in the CONCACAF U20 Championship. The Dominican team included Allen’s Inter Miami teammate Edison Azcona.
Allen’s goal — the third for Team USA — was unassisted and came in the 39th minute.
Having already secured berths to the 2023 U-20 World Cup and 2024 Olympic Games, the USA scored three goals in each half and posted its sixth shutout to win its third consecutive regional title at this level. The U.S. had not earned an Olympic berth since 2008.
The team finished with a 6-0-1 record in the CONCACAF tournament with a 31-2 goal differential.
“This was a dream come true for me, my family and friends because the Olympics is one of the greatest achievements,” Allen said. “We had goals set before we came that we wanted to qualify for the World Cup and the Olympics, and we took it game by game and did a fantastic job.”