The road to MLS Cup officially will go through Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
The Messi-led side will host MLS’s title game after winning the Eastern Conference crown for the first time and advancing to the final with an emphatic 5-1 win over NYCFC. Perhaps the only surprise is that Messi didn’t score any of the five, with Tadeo Allende (hat trick), Mateo Silvetti and Telasco Segovia finding the back of the net at an elated Chase Stadium. The home crowd will get one more game to cheer on their squad, and it’s the one that matters most. For Allende, his eight goals during a single postseason has tied an MLS record.
Waiting in the final will be either San Diego FC or the Vancouver Whitecaps, who will square off later Saturday night for the Western Conference championship. Since both clubs finished behind Miami in the overall Supporters’ Shield standings during the regular season, Miami is guaranteed to host the final regardless of their result.
MLS Cup will take place on Dec. 6 – a day after the World Cup draw. So a day after learning Argentina’s route to defending its World Cup title, Messi will turn his focus to trying to lift his first league championship in MLS since his arrival in the summer of 2023. No matter what, it’ll mark the final match for both Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with the two longtime Spain and Barcelona stars previously announcing they’ll be retiring at the end of the MLS season. It’ll also mark the final Inter Miami match for Chase Stadium, with the club moving to its new Miami Freedom Park next season.
Here’s what the road to MLS Cup has looked like (Updated as of Nov. 29):
Full MLS Cup playoff schedule and results
First round (best of three): Oct. 24-Nov. 9
Game One
Oct. 24: Inter Miami 3, Nashville SC 1
Oct. 26: Philadelphia Union 2, Chicago Fire 2 (Philadelphia wins 4-2 on PKs)
Oct. 26: Vancouver Whitecaps 3, FC Dallas 0
Oct. 26: San Diego FC 2, Portland Timbers 1
Oct. 27: FC Cincinnati 1, Columbus Crew 0
Oct. 27: Minnesota United 0, Seattle Sounders 0 (Minnesota wins 3-2 on PKs)
Oct. 28: Charlotte FC 0, New York City FC 1
Oct. 29: LAFC 2, Austin FC 1
Game Two
Nov. 1: New York City FC 0, Charlotte FC 0 (Charlotte wins 7-6 on PKs)
Nov. 1: Chicago Fire 0, Philadelphia Union 3
Nov. 1: Nashville SC 2, Inter Miami 1
Nov. 1: FC Dallas 1, Vancouver Whitecaps 1 (Vancouver wins 4-2 on PKs)
Nov. 1: Portland Timbers 2, San Diego FC 2 (Portland wins 3-2 on PKs)
Nov. 2: Columbus Crew 4, FC Cincinnati 0
Nov. 2: Austin FC 1, LAFC 4
Nov. 3: Seattle Sounders 4, Minnesota United 2
Game Three
Nov. 7: Charlotte FC 1, New York City FC 3
Nov. 8: Minnesota United 3, Seattle Sounders 3 (Minnesota wins 7-6 on PKs)
Nov. 8: FC Cincinnati 2, Columbus Crew 1
Nov. 8: Inter Miami 4, Nashville SC 0
Nov. 9: San Diego 4, Portland Timbers 0
Conference semifinals (one match): Nov. 22-24
Nov. 22: Vancouver Whitecaps 2, LAFC 2 AET (Vancouver wins 4-3 in PKs)
Nov. 23: FC Cincinnati 0, Inter Miami 4
Nov. 23: Philadelphia Union 0, NYCFC 1
Nov. 24: San Diego FC 1, Minnesota United 0
Conference finals (one match)
Nov. 29: Inter Miami 5, NYCFC 1
Nov. 29, 9 p.m. ET: San Diego FC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps
2025 MLS Cup
Dec. 6, 2:30 p.m. ET: Inter Miami vs. San Diego FC/Vancouver Whitecaps