Overview
- Kickoff is 6 p.m. ET at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, with streaming on Apple TV via MLS Season Pass.
- Messi led MLS with 29 goals and 19 assists in the regular season and has six goals and six assists in four playoff matches, the most postseason contributions on record.
- Inter Miami reached its first Eastern Conference Final after consecutive 4-0 wins over Nashville and FC Cincinnati.
- Coach Javier Mascherano is keeping his starting XI private after recently choosing 19-year-old Mateo Silvetti over Luis Suárez, a call that paid off with Silvetti scoring and assisting in the semifinal.
- NYCFC advanced with road victories over Charlotte and top-seeded Philadelphia despite losing leading scorer Alonso Martínez to a season-ending knee injury, with coach Pascal Jansen stressing a 'bulletproof' mindset.