Inter Miami faces must-win game at 9 a.m. Monday vs. NYCFC. Here are all the details
Frustrated after valiant efforts that resulted in four losses, each by a single goal, Inter Miami players enter their Monday morning game against New York City FC with a double dose of motivation.
They are desperate to finally record the first win in club history and keep alive their hopes of advancing in the MLS is Back Tournament – slim as they may be.
Heading into its final group game in Orlando (9 a.m., ESPN), winless Inter Miami sits in third place in Group A with zero points, ahead of winless NYCFC because of a better goal differential through the first two group-stage games. Philadelphia and Orlando City already clinched spots in the Round of 16 by winning their first two matches.
The top two teams from each of the six groups advance, plus the best four third-place teams. Through the first two group games, Miami ranks last among the six third-place teams with two losses. Kansas City and Cincinnati each have a win, D.C. United has two ties, and Houston and Seattle each have one tie.
For Miami to survive, it would have to beat NYCFC, preferably by a large margin, and then wait until Wednesday for the results of the other games.
“We can only control what we can control – and that’s getting three points,” said midfielder Lee Nguyen. “Whatever results happen after that, the chips will fall where they fall, but as long as we get three points, we give ourselves a chance to go to the next stage.”
Coach Diego Alonso said, “we wish the movie had a different start,” but he is pleased with his team’s performances thus far and remains optimistic.
“We go into the game with a lot of hope and excitement of earning our first three points, as we feel we deserve much more than what we’ve gotten,” said Alonso. “We have to keep pushing on, getting better so we can earn that first victory. Like in all things in life, we have to keep chasing our dreams.”
Alonso feels Inter Miami was worthy of winning at least two of its four games.
“In none of the four games were we clearly dominated. The only game where the opponent was superior was LAFC, they deserved to win. But we played very well and had chances to score more than one goal. The rest of the three games – at least in two of them – I felt we were worthy of points. I felt we played better than D.C. and Philadelphia, and we were even with Orlando. Our game against Philadelphia was our best so far.”
With a 9 a.m. kickoff, the team has been waking up extra early and training at 8 a.m. the past few days to get acclimated.
“We have to get adjusted to playing a game at that time,” Alonso said. “We are used to training in the morning, but not playing a game that early. We are facing a big challenge.”
Inter Miami concentration lapses in key moments have led to opponents’ goals, and that is something they aim to correct against New York.
“In certain moments of those games, we have a lack of communication which leads to not only one mistake, but at least two, three or four,” said midfielder Victor Ulloa. “If we can clean that up, I think we will be in good shape to start getting good results.”
Nguyen, a 33-year-old MLS veteran, has added energy and smart passes off the bench the past few games and could see more minutes on Monday.
“We are very happy with what Lee brings the team,” Alonso said. “We know he has more to give. We believe in him and we are looking, each time we have an opportunity, to give him the chance to play and help our team.”
In its first two games NYCFC lost 1-0 to Philadelphia and 3-1 to Orlando. The team lost to Columbus Crew SC 1-0 and Toronto FC 1-0 in its first two matches of the regular season in March.
More was expected of NYCFC this season after it finished first in the Eastern Conference in 2019 and reached the conference semifinals of the MLS Cup playoffs.
The team was led by Brazilian forward Héber Araújo dos Santos and Argentine midfielder Maximiliano Moralez. Héber led the team with 15 goals in 22 regular season appearances while Moralez led MLS with 20 assists.
Inter Miami fans who want to listen to Monday’s game can find an English broadcast on the team app and a Spanish broadcast on WQBA (1140 AM).
In other league news from the MLS tournament Orlando bubble, 1,114 players, coaches and staff were tested for COVID-19 from July 16-17 and produced zero new positives.