Get out your crystal ball. It’s time to forecast the MLS season.<\/p>\n
Below, Apple TV talent weigh in on some of the biggest trophies and individual awards available in 2026. Hint: Inter Miami CF<\/a> and LAFC<\/a> are early frontrunners.<\/p>\n \n MLS Cup presented by Audi<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Agulla: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC The last repeat MLS Cup champion? The LA Galaxy<\/a> in 2011 and 2012.<\/p>\n That could change this year, with over half the voting bloc picking Inter Miami to defeat LAFC when the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy is on the line.<\/p>\n Last December, Inter Miami secured a 3-1 win<\/a> over Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> in MLS Cup 2025.<\/p>\n \n Supporters’ Shield<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Agulla: LAFC LAFC were the most common pick to top the regular-season table, a feat they accomplished in 2019 and 2022.<\/p>\n However, Inter Miami are another Shield favorite. The Herons won that same title in 2024 behind a league-record 74-point campaign.<\/p>\n The Philadelphia Union<\/a> are reigning Shield champions, though they didn’t receive a preseason pick.<\/p>\n \n Landon Donovan MLS MVP<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Agulla: Lionel Messi (MIA) Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi<\/a> earned nine votes for league MVP, an award he received in 2024 and 2025. No player has won the league’s top individual award three times.<\/p>\n LAFC’s Son Heung-Min<\/a> got five votes, adding hype to his first full season in MLS. The South Korean forward arrived last summer from EPL side Tottenham Hotspur on a league-record deal.<\/p>\n San Diego FC<\/a> forward Anders Dreyer<\/a>, the reigning MLS Newcomer of the Year<\/a>, also received a vote. He was the MVP runner-up to Messi in 2025.<\/p>\n \n Golden Boot presented by Audi<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Agulla: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)\u00a0 Lionel Messi could become the league’s first back-to-back Golden Boot winner. The Argentine icon won last year’s prize<\/a> with 29g\/19a in 28 games for Inter Miami.<\/p>\n LAFC’s dynamic duo of Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga<\/a> also figure to impact the Golden Boot race. Son produced 9g\/3a in his first 10 matches for the Black & Gold, while Bouanga (Golden Boot winner in 2023) has three straight seasons with 20 goals or more.<\/p>\n Don’t count out Inter Miami newcomer Germ\u00e1n Berterame<\/a>, either. The Mexican international produced 68g\/15a in 153 appearances for LIGA MX’s CF Monterrey.<\/p>\n \n Newcomer of the Year<\/p>\n Andr\u00e9s Agulla: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA) Germ\u00e1n Berterame has joined Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul<\/a> as Designated Players for Inter Miami. The forward could score in bunches.<\/p>\n Minnesota United FC<\/a> completed their highest-profile signing to date, landing Colombian playmaker James Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>. He’s under contract through June with an option through December.<\/p>\n Other head-turning winter signings include German forward Timo Werner<\/a> (San Jose Earthquakes<\/a>) and Mexican winger Jorge Ruvalcaba<\/a> (Red Bull New York<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get out your crystal ball. It’s time to forecast the MLS season. Below, Apple TV talent weigh in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5429,123,125,124,75441,4959],"class_list":{"0":"post-158122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami","8":"tag-inter-miami-cf","9":"tag-miami","10":"tag-miami-headlines","11":"tag-miami-news","12":"tag-mls-is-back","13":"tag-sendtonews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarcelo Balboa: San Diego FC win vs. Inter Miami CF
\nMax Bretos: LAFC win vs. Inter Miami CF
\nSteve Cangialosi: Seattle Sounders FC win vs. Inter Miami CF
\nDaniel Chapela: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nMiguel Gallardo: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nMichele Giannone: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nTony Husband: Inter Miami CF win vs. Seattle Sounders FC
\nSacha Kljestan: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nKaylyn Kyle: LAFC win vs. Inter Miami CF
\nLori Lindsey: Seattle Sounders FC win vs. FC Cincinnati
\nDax McCarty: LAFC win vs. Chicago Fire FC
\nSammy Sadovnik: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nBruno Vain: Inter Miami CF win vs. LAFC
\nBradley Wright-Phillips:\u00a0LAFC win vs. Inter Miami CF<\/p>\n
\nMarcelo Balboa: LAFC
\nMax Bretos: Inter Miami CF
\nSteve Cangialosi: LAFC
\nDaniel Chapela: Inter Miami CF
\nMiguel Gallardo:\u00a0Inter Miami CF
\nMichele Giannone: Inter Miami CF
\nTony Husband: LAFC
\nSacha Kljestan: LAFC
\nKaylyn Kyle: Inter Miami CF
\nLori Lindsey: FC Cincinnati
\nDax McCarty: Inter Miami CF
\nSammy Sadovnik: Vancouver Whitecaps FC or Atlanta United
\nBruno Vain: LAFC
\nBradley Wright-Phillips: LAFC<\/p>\n
\nMarcelo Balboa: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nMax Bretos: Anders Dreyer (SD)
\nSteve Cangialosi: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nDaniel Chapela: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nMiguel Gallardo: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)
\nMichele Giannone: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)
\nTony Husband: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)
\nSacha Kljestan: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nKaylyn Kyle: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nLori Lindsey: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)
\nDax McCarty: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)
\nSammy Sadovnik: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nBruno Vain: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nBradley Wright-Phillips: Lionel Messi (MIA)<\/p>\n
\nMarcelo Balboa: Denis Bouanga (LAFC)
\nMax Bretos: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nSteve Cangialosi: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nDaniel Chapela: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nMiguel Gallardo: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nMichele Giannone: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nTony Husband: Denis Bouanga (LAFC)
\nSacha Kljestan: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nKaylyn Kyle: Lionel Messi (MIA)
\nLori Lindsey: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)\u00a0
\nDax McCarty: Hugo Cuypers (CHI)
\nSammy Sadovnik: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nBruno Vain: Denis Bouanga (LAFC)
\nBradley Wright-Phillips: Son Heung-Min (LAFC)<\/p>\n
\nMarcelo Balboa: James Rodr\u00edguez (MIN)
\nMax Bretos: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nSteve Cangialosi: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nDaniel Chapela: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nMiguel Gallardo: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nMichele Giannone: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nTony Husband: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nSacha Kljestan: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nKaylyn Kyle: Timo Werner (SJ)
\nLori Lindsey: James Rodr\u00edguez (MIN)
\nDax McCarty: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nSammy Sadovnik: Timo Werner (SJ)
\nBruno Vain: Germ\u00e1n Berterame (MIA)
\nBradley Wright-Phillips: Jorge Ruvalcaba (RBNY)<\/p>\n