By James Nalton
Javier Mascherano’s aspect want to recuperate floor on the groups forward of them within the MLS standings following the Membership World Cup, and right here they’ve an opportunity to take factors off the one sitting in second place.
Internacional Miami
The Membership World Cup has been and gone, for MLS a minimum of, however the worldwide soccer expertise on house soil appears to have given Inter Miami an additional swagger on their return to common season MLS matches.
Once you’ve simply crushed Porto and examined yourselves towards Paris Saint-Germain, returning to MLS might both be a chore or an opportunity to indicate why you had been on the Membership World Cup within the first place.
Inter Miami have gone down the latter route, following up a 4-1 thrashing of Montréal with a 2-1 win towards New England Revolution.
As is commonly the case in Miami video games, the opponents put up good numbers, and the xG suggests the Revolution might need received their current assembly, however Messi occurred.
Extra Messi information
Messi scored each his aspect’s objectives in New England, including to the 2 he scored towards Montréal.
From the three video games instantly previous to the Membership World Cup and the 2 instantly after, Messi has 9 objectives and 4 assists.
His brace towards New England adopted two-goal hauls towards Montréal, Columbus Crew, and Montréal once more, and made him the primary participant in MLS historical past to attain a number of objectives in 4 straight regular-season video games.
You wouldn’t guess towards him making it 5.
The Surridge impact
Not the entire gamers becoming a member of MLS from Europe are high-profile names who create a stir again house on shifting to, or certainly enjoying in, MLS.
Only a few of them, although, no matter profile, have been as profitable as Sam Surridge has develop into this season in Nashville.
Having moved to MLS from Nottingham Forest in the summertime of 2023, Surridge’s first season and a half had been regular and greater than respectable, yielding 20 objectives in 47 video games in all competitions.
In 2025, although, Surridge has been probably the most prolific striker within the league, scoring 18 objectives in 22 video games throughout MLS and the US Open Cup.
Whereas Messi is making the headlines as soon as once more, and making a late push to retain his MVP title from 2024, it’s Surridge who tops the MLS goalscoring charts, two forward of Messi.
Surridge’s tally does embody 5 penalty kicks, however two objectives within the Open Cup quarter-final win towards DC United on Wednesday take him to 12 objectives in his final eight video games in all competitions.
There are few extra in-form gamers within the league than Messi and Surridge, whereas Nashville nonetheless have a former MVP of their very own in Hany Mukhtar, who might additionally trigger Miami issues.
Prediction
If this had been in Tennessee, you would possibly fancy Nashville, however at house in Fort Lauderdale, the Herons ought to do sufficient to get a draw, with objectives for either side, as is sort of at all times the case in video games involving Inter Miami.
(Cowl Picture from IMAGO)
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