FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Lionel Messi will play for yet another trophy. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets clearly aren’t ready to begin retirement, either.
Tadeo Allende scored three goals — Alba and Busquets, a pair of longtime Messi teammates who will retire when this Major League Soccer season ends, had the assists on his first two — and Inter Miami CF topped New York City FC 5-1 on Saturday night for the Eastern Conference title and a berth in the MLS Cup final next weekend.
Mateo Silvetti scored in the 67th minute for Miami, with Messi setting up that goal — the 405th assist of his career for club and country, which is generally believed to be the most in soccer history. Telasco Segovia scored off a heel pass from Alba in the 83rd minute to turn it into a runaway, and Allende finishing off the hat trick in the 89th minute was the final play.
“We have reached the final with a brotherhood of moving forward,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “The power of one group can overcome many things.”
Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz brought the East trophy onto the field to present to Miami’s ownership before it was handed to Messi. Fireworks, confetti and a ton of happy photos and hugs followed, but it was also clear this wasn’t the trophy Miami wants most.
“We have made a fantastic playoff run and are very deserving of reaching the final,” Silvetti said in Spanish.
Miami — the No. 3 seed in the East — will host Western Conference champion Vancouver in a showdown for the league title at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6.
It will be the first appearance in the title game for Miami, which had never made it past the opening postseason round in any of its first five seasons. Messi’s club went 0-2 against Vancouver this season, losing both legs of a semifinal meeting in the CONCACAF Champions Cup by a 5-1 aggregate.
Justin Haak scored in the 37th minute for NYCFC, which went 0-2-1 against Miami this season.
The win moves Miami one step closer to another trophy, with the franchise having won the Leagues Cup in 2023 and the Supporters’ Shield as Major League Soccer’s top regular-season team last year. The 38-year-old Messi — a World Cup champion for Argentina and now an eight-time winner of the Ballon d’Or award as the top men’s soccer player in the world — joined the team midway through the 2023 season when it was at the bottom of the MLS standings and in an 11-match winless streak.
Now? The club’s brand is global, Messi’s No. 10 jersey in the club’s pink kit is sold all over the world, a new stadium near Miami International Airport is on the way for next season, Messi is signed through 2028, he seems like a lock to win his second consecutive MLS MVP award, and the team is on the brink of winning the league championship.
Stars flock to see this team because of Messi; Alcaraz was there Saturday night, as were some members of the U.S. women’s national soccer team.
“Everyone in the world knows who Lionel Messi is. … I think everyone thought he would come in here and do exactly what he’s done,” said forward Lindsay Horan, whose Messi fandom goes back many years.
Messi got struck along the left side of his head in the ninth minute and was briefly shaken up, remaining down near the center circle for a few seconds before eventually getting to his feet. He got tripped with Miami on the attack about two minutes later, then took a direct kick from about 30 yards out. He played it into the box, but Silvetti’s header was easily caught by NYCFC goalie Matt Freese.
Miami’s next chance came a minute later. This one was cashed in as a long pass from Busquets was controlled by Allende, who easily beat Freese from 12 yards out for a 1-0 lead.
Allende struck again on a header off a long pass from Alba in the 23rd minute, making it 2-0. And after Messi set Silvetti up for the 3-1 lead, what essentially was a 25-minute countdown to a celebration was underway.
“This is a very satisfying result, but the work continues,” Allende said in Spanish. “There is still work to do, but happy with what we have accomplished.”
Vancouver 3, San Diego 1
SAN DIEGO — Brian White scored twice in the first half, and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat San Diego FC to win their first Western Conference title.
The Whitecaps, in their first season with Jesper Sorensen as coach, beat a team playing its first season, with San Diego — coached by Mikey Varas — debuting this year as an expansion franchise to push the MLS ranks to 30 clubs.
White staked Vancouver to a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute, and the Whitecaps took a two-goal lead three minutes later on an own goal by San Diego keeper Pablo Sisniega
Andrés Cubas and Ali Ahmed collected assists on White’s first netter this postseason.
Ahmed sent a shot on goal that Sisniega saved, but Manu Duah tried to clear it and instead sent the ball off Sisniega’s back and into the net for the 2-0 lead.
White again used assists from Cubas and Ahmed to score two minutes into stoppage time for a three-goal advantage at halftime.
White has five career goals in 12 playoff appearances. Cubas collected his first two postseason assists in his 10th appearance. All three of Ahmed’s assists in nine career playoff appearances have come this year.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano subbed in to begin the second half for San Diego and used an assist from Jeppe Tverskov to score in the 60th minute when his shot deflected over the head of Yohei Takaoka to cut it to 3-1. It was Lozano’s first goal in his first MLS postseason. Tverskov earned his second assist in his first postseason.
San Diego was forced to play a man down from the 79th minute on after Sisniega picked up a red card for a foul on Ryan Gauld.
Takaoka finished with three saves in his 10th postseason start in the last three seasons for the Whitecaps. He allowed 12 goals through his first nine.
Pablo Sisniega saved four shots in his third postseason start for San Diego. He had clean sheets in his first two.
San Diego became the second expansion team to advance to an MLS conference final, joining the 1998 Chicago Fire. Chicago went on to beat two-time reigning champion D.C. United 2-0 to win the MLS Cup before 50,000 fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
San Diego beat Vancouver 5-3 on the road and drew 1-1 with the Whitecaps at home during the regular season.