FORT LAUDERDALE - Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF carry a four-trophy streak and 101 goals from the Argentine superstar into Sunday’s Eastern Conference showdown at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field in Columbus, where the defending MLS Cup champions face a Crew side that may finally be hitting its stride.
Miami arrived at Matchday 28 fresh off a 2-0 victory over Cruz Azul that secured the 2026 Michelob ULTRA Campeones Cup - the club’s fourth consecutive trophy - in new head coach Kily González’s first match. Messi scored his 100th Inter Miami goal in that final before assisting Casemiro for the clincher, then added No. 101 in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with San Diego FC. The Herons are now chasing history: no MLS club has repeated as Cup champions since the LA Galaxy won back-to-back titles in 2011-12.
Columbus punched their ticket to the US Open Cup final with a 2-1 semifinal victory over Orlando City, then followed with a 2-0 league win at CF Montréal. Summer designated-player signings Brais Méndez and Santiago Rodríguez have provided the attacking spark behind the Crew’s recent surge.
The weekend’s Florida angle runs deeper than Sunday night. Orlando City, sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference, travel to Subaru Park to face a Philadelphia Union side that has been the conference’s hottest team since the FIFA World Cup break. Philadelphia are unbeaten in 11 straight matches at 9W-0L-2D under interim head coach Ryan Richter, including a stunning 4-3 comeback victory at Sporting Kansas City after trailing by three goals.
Driving that run is 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan, who has scored six goals in his last six matches. His 12 assists already represent the most ever recorded by a teenager in a single MLS season. Sullivan will miss the Orlando match, however, after being called into his first USMNT camp alongside fellow Philadelphia homegrowns Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. Quinn Sullivan, Milan Iloski and Bruno Damiani are expected to fill the void.
Orlando dropped a 4-2 decision at New England last weekend and will be without 19-year-old forward Justin Ellis, also called up for his first USMNT camp. Summer signing Antoine Griezmann, who arrived from Atlético Madrid and has been the Lions’ attacking catalyst in the second half of the season, is listed as questionable. Club legend Martín Ojeda, who has posted 12 goals and 2 assists this season, is expected to shoulder the offensive load.
In the weekend’s third marquee match, Charlotte FC host Chicago Fire FC at fourth place with 43 points, four ahead of fifth-place Chicago. Charlotte are unbeaten in eight straight at 5W-0L-3D, with summer signing Allan Saint-Maximin producing 1 goal and 5 assists across his first eight league appearances, including the 71st-minute winner in last weekend’s 2-1 victory at D.C. United. Chicago, without Robert Lewandowski who is away on international duty with Poland, will lean on two-time MLS All-Star Philip Zinckernagel, who leads the visitors with 15 goal contributions on the season at 5 goals and 10 assists.
All three matches carry direct playoff seeding implications, with the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs approaching and home-field advantage in Round One still up for grabs across the Eastern Conference standings.