MLS Regular Season | Match #34
New England Revolution at Inter Miami CF
Saturday, October 19 | 6 p.m. ET
Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
English Talent: Jake Zivin (Play-by-Play), Taylor Twellman (Analyst)
Spanish Talent: Sammy Sadovnik (Play-by-Play), Diego Valeri (Analyst)
Listen: 98.5 The Sports Hub (English), SiriusXM FC Ch. 157 (English), 1260 AM Nossa Radio (Portuguese)
English Talent: Brad Feldman (play-by-play), Charlie Davies (analyst)
CURRENT FORM
New England Revolution
14th in Eastern Conference (9-20-4, 31 pts.)
Last Result | 4-0 loss at Columbus Crew
It all comes down to this. Decision Day 2024 is here – not the day that the New England Revolution were hoping would bring their campaign to an end, but a day with everything to play for all the same. With their trip down to Miami, the Revs will be fighting not only for the badge, but for the future they hope to build, as well as the history they hope to preserve.
There’s no denying that it’s been a challenging end to the season for New England. The Revs came back from Leagues Cup with a bang, thrashing CF Montréal 5-0 on the road, but have only won one game since then, to bring their record over their last 10 outings to 2-6-2. Now, with the Herons challenging to break the MLS single-season points record, the Revolution will need to dig deep and bring the fight if they are to end the year on a high note.
Inter Miami CF
1st in Eastern Conference (21-4-8, 71 pts.)
Last Result | 1-0 win at Toronto FC
Simply put, this Inter Miami side is one of the best teams Major League Soccer has ever seen – and now they want to make it official. The Herons have already sealed the 2024 Supporters’ Shield, but they are looking to reach one last height before the postseason begins: break the all-time MLS regular season points record set by the 2021 New England Revolution with a win over the Revs on Decision Day.
Only a win will be enough to claim that record, but with Miami coming in on a 10-match unbeaten run (7-0-3) that includes a win over the high-flying Columbus Crew to seal the Shield, you have to think that the Herons will fancy themselves to claim all three points. But games aren’t played on paper, and if there’s anything true about MLS, it’s that just about anything can happen on any given night.
KEY PLAYERS
Revolution forward Giacomo Vrioni
Sitting just one goal shy of notching his first 10-goal season with the Revolution, forward Giacomo Vrioni will have the burden upon his shoulders of leading the charge against the Inter Miami defense. The Herons have built their season more upon a foundation of dazzling attacking football than any sort of stonewall defense – their 47 goals conceded this season are more-or-less midtable – and a goal or two from New England’s No. 9 would go a long way toward keeping the points record in Foxborough.
Injuries played their part in disrupting what was shaping up to be a promising season for Vrioni, with the Albanian international at one point enjoying a run of seven goals in seven league games. Whether or not the big man can recapture that same level of form will go a long way in determining the outcome of this clash.
Miami forward Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi will rejoin his Inter Miami teammates after just another phenomenal international window with his native Argentina. Miami head coach Tata Martino said that this would likely mean an appearance from off the bench for Messi, but anyone who’s seen a soccer game will know that La Pulga hardly needs any time at all to take the reins of a game.
Those who were a part of the record-breaking Gillette Stadium crowd when Inter Miami came to town will have gotten a firsthand taste of what Messi can do, the legend having scored twice and assisted once in the Herons’ 4-1 triumph over the Revs back in April – doing it all while barely seeming to break a sweat, it might be added. Whether he plays five minutes or 45, look out for Leo on Saturday night.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Revs head coach Caleb Porter on the test of closing the season against Supporters’ Shield winner Inter Miami CF:
“I’ve said it: The last two games, we are playing the two best teams in the league. We saw Columbus' quality, and we were second best. We got a few guys back, which hopefully will help, although they get here later in the week so they won't have much prep. But we are going to be a part of history one way or another. We are going to be a part of their [Inter Miami] history winning the highest point total in a season, or we are going to stop that from happening, which is what our goal is. Obviously, it won't be easy, but we owe it to the 2021 team that set that record to do everything we can to not let that record be taken.”
Porter on the impact of having players returning from international duty:
“Obviously, it helps to get everybody in. I thought, looking at Columbus, we lacked a little bit of athleticism and quality at times in certain positions. Obviously, we are going to not be as good with Carles [Gil] out. He is one of our three DPs. [Tomas] Chancalay is another one, and he is out. So, you are always going to be a bit better when you have your best guys in. We will get [Alhassan] Yusuf back, we will get Esmir [Bajraktarevic] back, we will get Peyton [Miller] back. Carles, unfortunately, won't be back, but [Xavier] Arreaga will be back. It is the final game to continue to build for the future. It was disappointing, the result [at Columbus], but we have to shake it off and we have to end the season with some positive here.”
Porter on what he expects from his players in Saturday’s match:
“Just a good performance, individually and collectively. As simple as that sounds, I'm looking for a strong mentality. I'm looking for a group that's going to fight, a group that's going to be disciplined. It's a big test, so I'm looking for a group that's going to defend well and a group that can find a goal or two, because that's what the game is about. It’s a pretty simple game, when you break it down. You have to score goals to win, you have to stop goals to win, and we haven't done that consistently enough. There have been games where we have put it together; people will forget that, I don't. I remember every game. I remember the way the season went. I remember how close we were to popping, and it just didn't quite come off. Some of that is we lost rhythm and then I thought after we lost that rhythm, after the run, we gained our rhythm back, and then we just got three draws at home in a row, and we're right there. So, I'm not going to forget that, but I do know that the season on a whole – it wasn't good enough. We have to also look at the areas we need to improve. So, in this game, it's simple. I just want to see a group that's going to perform and be tough to play against and be in the game. In Columbus, we were never in the game, and it wasn't close. So, I want to see us in this game.”
Revs defender Brandon Bye on preserving New England’s points record from 2021 and how that compares to this Miami side:
“I think every year that you are competing to break records, league records, that you have a very good team. So, I think that team we had was a very special team. I remember it well. We are reminded of it every day when we walk in the building with some pictures. It was an exciting year, a great team, and this Miami team is showing that they are a special team, as well.”
Bye on the extra motivation in playing the last game of a season and going against a quality opponent:
“For me personally, I think it was a game that was circled on my calendar because of my injury and things like that. I wasn't able to play in the first game [against Inter Miami], so I am excited to play. But absolutely, I think it is an important game for us and another measuring stick, like I think Coach [Caleb Porter] has mentioned. I think any time we get to play a game, we want to win.”
Revs winger Luca Langoni on playing against one of his idols, Lionel Messi, this weekend in Miami (translated from Spanish):
“I’m very anxious. To see him for the first time and play against him will be something very nice. Like you said, he’s an idol. Obviously, I want to win, but to play against him will be very special.”
