Five things you should hope to see out of the start of the MLS Cup playoffs

October 22, 2024

The 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs begin Tuesday night with two games in the Wild Card Round, where 18 Major League Soccer teams will battle to be the only club left alive after MLS Cup on Dec. 7.

As we gear up for the football playoffs, here are some storylines to keep an eye on if you plan on tuning in.

Who is playing who?

eastern conference

Winner of 1 Inter Miami vs. 8 CF Montreal/9 atlanta united
4 Orlando City vs. 5 Charlotte FC
3 FC Cincinnati vs. 6 NYCFC
2 Columbus Crew vs. 7 New York Red Bulls

western conference

1 LAFC vs. 8 Vancouver Whitecaps/9 Portland Timbers Winner
4 Seattle Sounders vs. 5 Houston Dynamo
3 Real Salt Lake vs. 6 Minnesota United
2 LA Galaxy vs. 7 Colorado Rapids

Note: All MLS Cup Playoff games are available through MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Were Messi and Miami really made for this?

Inter Miami set an MLS points record and won the Supporters' Shield for the first time, awarded to clubs with the league's best regular season record. I mean, you have to be a shoe-in to win it all, right? Well, not exactly. They are certainly favorites to win the title, but they will have to overcome the pressure of being Shield holders, as it is usually difficult for those who win the Supporters' Shield to win MLS Cup.

Since 2004, four Supporters' Shield winners have won the MLS Cup: LAFC (2022), Toronto FC (2017), LA Galaxy (2011), and Columbus Crew (2008). Only. They are the only Fall Shield winners to reach the finals within that period.

And, let's be honest, every team wants to be the team that beats Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the rest of Inter Miami.

Vancouver's opportunity could be in motocross.

The Vancouver Whitecaps are hosting a wild-card game against the Portland Timbers, but it's being held in a strange location: Providence Park. Due to BC Place hosting a pre-scheduled motocross event, BC Place was unavailable and Vancouver had to cede home field advantage to their Cascadian rivals.

FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship in Afyonkarahisar — Imagine being forced into the playoffs from your home arena at a motocross event. At this point, that would be the Vancouver Whitecaps.

I hope it doesn't bite them because they already had to go back to the playoffs. The Whitecaps haven't won since Sept. 14 (an eight-game winless streak) and now even lose the right to host the crucial first game.

Conversely, the Timbers are in their own funk having won only one of their last six games, but if they lose this game on the road due to Motocross being away from home, Vancouver will look back on it with deep regret. Dew.

Once again, LAFC is emerging at the right time.

The Los Angeles Football Club is heating up again. They finished the season with six straight wins and cornered their Los Angeles Galaxy rivals for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles Football Club v FC Cincinnati — LAFC's French Connection wants to bring another trophy to Hollywood.

They have scored at least two goals in five of their last six games and could be hitting their stride at the right time. This would allow them to hold vital home-field advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs and potentially host another Finals game if either Miami or Columbus lose.

Charlotte is built to soar.

One of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference is Charlotte FC, who have won their last five games with a 4-0-1 record and have moved into the fifth seed. They hope to continue playing against Orlando City, which they won 2-0 on September 18th and tied 2-2 against Charlotte on June 19th.

Charlotte has desperately wanted to make the playoffs and bring a winner to the city, and under first-year head coach Dean Smith, they feel they finally have the combination on the field to make it happen. . If they want to continue winning their first trophy, they need to stay enthusiastic against a very good Orlando team.

Los Angeles Galaxy v San Jose Earthquakes — John McCarthy wants to keep the Galaxy bottle closed.

Who will be the hot keeper who carries the team on his shoulders?

In the MLS Cup playoffs, there's always one goalie who decides to pose for a Halloween brick wall. Goal scorers are what get a team into the highlight show, but featured goalies can lead a team to glory on a regular basis.

Whether it's a player who makes a ton of saves like LA Galaxy's John McCarthy or NYCFC's Matt Freeze, or someone who can stop penalties like Atlanta United's Brad Guzan or Orlando City's Pedro Gallese. Regardless of whether the team lifts the trophy or not, they will be able to praise their goalkeeper for his accomplishments. Keep the iron trap above the goal locked.