{"id":38536,"date":"2025-11-08T07:32:19","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T07:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/38536\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T07:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T07:32:19","slug":"deja-vu-inter-miami-look-to-avoid-another-playoff-upset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/38536\/","title":{"rendered":"D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu? Inter Miami look to avoid another playoff upset\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Inter Miami CF<\/a> have been in this situation before, playing for their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs lives in a do-or-die Game 3 of their Round One Best-of-3 Series.<\/p>\n

Last season, they came up short.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no more motivation than reaching a stage the club has never been to,\u201d head coach Javier Mascherano told reporters on the eve of Saturday\u2019s must-win clash at home against Nashville SC<\/a> (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n 2024 all over again?<\/p>\n

Miami have likely yet to forget last year\u2019s playoffs, when the record-breaking Supporters\u2019 Shield winners fell in the rubber match of their Round One Best-of-3 Series to Atlanta United<\/a> in one of the biggest upsets in MLS history.<\/p>\n

Comparisons to 2024 inevitably came after the Herons – in a repeat of their series against the Five Stripes – failed to put away Nashville after their Game 1 win<\/a>, losing in their visit to GEODIS Park<\/a> last weekend and setting up a winner-take-all scenario in Game 3.<\/p>\n

For goalkeeper Rocco R\u00edos Novo<\/a>, the club is solely focused on taking the next step towards its goal of lifting MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s a lot more pressure. I honestly don\u2019t pay attention to that,\u201d said the 23-year-old, who took over the starting job from \u00d3scar Ustari<\/a> in the final weeks of the regular season. \u201cObviously we want to win, that\u2019s been the objective since the beginning. I think that\u2019s more than clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [Nashville] have the same objectives as us. I have no doubts their objective is also to win MLS [Cup].\u201d<\/p>\n

\n Su\u00e1rez suspended<\/p>\n

Should the Herons advance to an Eastern Conference Semifinal showdown against FC Cincinnati<\/a> or Columbus Crew<\/a>, they\u2019ll have to do so without Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legendary Uruguayan striker was handed a one-game suspension<\/a> this week for violent conduct in Game 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we\u2019re losing a very important player for the group, but it\u2019s what we have to face. Now we have to turn the page,\u201d said R\u00edos Novo.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 They\u2019re footballing situations. We can\u2019t control them. We\u2019ll have to adapt on the field and focus on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n One game at a time<\/p>\n

Key absences aside, Miami know what the expectations are for a side that boasts a high-profile roster led by legendary Argentine No. 10 Lionel Messi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very conscious of it. We\u2019re literally in the final stretch of the season,\u201d said Venezuelan midfielder Telasco Segovia<\/a>. \u201cWe are literally four games away from becoming champions. We\u2019re fully aware of this. It\u2019s what we want, we\u2019ve worked all year for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, based on last year’s experience against Atlanta, the Herons would be wise to take things one game at a time in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re [Nashville] going to do everything possible, as will we, to qualify for the next round,\u201d Mascherano said. \u201dI don\u2019t expect a simple game where we\u2019ll be comfortable. Quite the opposite.<\/p>\n

“We have to understand that it\u2019s a final.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Inter Miami CF have been in this situation before, playing for their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs lives in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38537,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5429,12629,123,125,124,22903,5426,4959],"class_list":["post-38536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-inter-miami-cf","tag-match-previews","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-miavsnsh-11-08-2025","tag-mls-cup-playoffs","tag-sendtonews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38536","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=38536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38536\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}