Sunday Night Soccer Preview - New England vs Inter Miami | SI FC

Sunday night soccer preview presented by our friend at Continental Tire, New England Revolution, Inter Miami. Inter Miami coming from a defeat at the Harrison Stadium, Sports Illustrated Stadium against New York Red Bull. But now I have a question for you Luca, you know who is the top scorer in the Eastern Conference? Leo. Leo, let's see what he's done a couple of weeks ago. Messi as the whole stadium backs up, top of the box, still Messi, takes it a second time, Messi shooting! Intercepted by Miami, Suarez to play it ahead, here comes Lionel Messi. Messi, working on Junior Alonso, looking for a second, Messi! We are no longer impressed. I'm impressed? Yeah, speak for yourself, I'm impressed. What on earth is this guy? Seriously, like... What do you think you've run out of words to describe him? He just does something else and he... Oh my goodness, man. Oh my goodness. Fifth place in the Ballon d'Or, by the way, too, at 39 years old, playing in MLS. Fifth place. He's a phenomenon. He's a... yeah. And now they need him because, I mean, they're playing New England Revolution and a win that will get them to the second place, which gives you a better bracket. So it's a crucial, crucial game. And of course, not the best outcome from them. The away game in New York against Red Bull, but what do we expect from them? Look, obviously it's a tough place to go, New York, but I think in that game you're looking into Miami, you probably expect them to bounce back. There's a lot on the line to finish second for a better playoff route, like you said, Ale. For me, I'm never going to bet against, you know, Messi and Inter Miami. I think they have the strongest team in my opinion. And now they're facing New England Revolution and they're one of the youngsters, Peter Miller. What do we expect? You know, I mean, of course we have Kevin Sullivan, Julian Hall in New York. He's one of the... Next, probably, Golden Generation. I think you just said it yourself in terms of what we can expect. It's another really talented young American player coming through the ranks and proving why MLS is really starting to become a top development league for young players. And, yeah, I want to watch out for him for sure, both at club and country. What's the key, guys, of the game? Do you think that... I mean, because what we saw with Miami, it's like, OK, give the ball to Messi and something's going to happen. As boring as it is, that's the key. Yeah, I mean, it's like the problem here is when the defensive line sometimes really looks shaky, Luca. Yeah, the defence isn't the best, but like you said, when you have Leo on the pitch, you always have a good chance. As long as he's on form, it's a great chance of winning. But naturally, the defence has been leaking a lot of goals this season. Nashville on top of the Eastern Conference, on the other side we have a great season from St. Louis. Where do we position Inter Miami if we look at the MLS playoff? In terms of like how good are they compared to the rest? Yeah, and my point is do they have a real chance to win it? They have a chance, of course they have a chance. I wouldn't say they have zero chance. When you have Messi, you have a chance, but to be honest with you, They're not the favourites for me. They're not, even with Messi. I think the rest of the team this season and the way they play isn't enough to... At the moment, it's not enough to put them above those on their side. They have to prove that they can improve their performances. Because right now, it does feel like if Messi isn't bailing this team out, there's not much else going for them. Yeah, I would agree. I think the overall squad isn't the strongest. In the MLS, you look at the defence, it's been weak this season, but actually with Messi you always have a chance. So they'd be in and around being one of the better teams, but you probably wouldn't say they're number one. Now, a tricky question. Of course, as we know, the MLS are reshaping the football calendar after the end of this year. They're going to have a spring season and then they're going to adjust to the European calendar. Do you think if they win the league, Messi is going to retire? It's a good question. I think Messi's... We know he's on the way out. He's already said goodbye to the national team with everything that happened after the World Cup. I think Messi's going to end it on his own terms. I think Messi could carry on playing for quite a few years there. You've seen he's the top scorer in the Eastern Conference. He's making a mockery of the league, if I'm being completely honest. He's obviously still, by far and away, the best player in that league and one of the best players in the world, even at 39. But yeah, I could see him retiring if he was to win the league. You know, he's completed everything in football. He's living a very peaceful life out there, playing with his friends. He's a very family-orientated man, so I think it would be a good time for him to say goodbye to football. Yeah, I mean, it really depends on what he wants from the game. Because this is a guy that feasibly could score 1,000 goals, right? That's not out of sight for him. Does he want that? That's the big question. Does he care? Is that an ambition for him to end his career? Because if it is, then he's going to continue on. I don't know if he chases that record like a Cristiano aspires to and that's no problem, right? That's Cristiano part of his his mentality is he wants to chase the records and that's fine. I don't know if Messi's wired the same way. I think Messi's a guy who will play until he doesn't find joy in the game anymore. And I do think there are a lot of signs that are kind of pointing towards him exiting left stage at the end of the season. We are not in Messi's mind so our recommendation is watch him playing on Apple TV. Inter Miami, New England, you have Miller, so enjoy the MLS. Thank you very much, Lies. Thank you very much, Luca. Thank you, Ale. Enjoy your Serie A weekend, no? You're going to watch Juventus. Juventus-Napoli, I'm not massively confident, but hopefully they don't let me down. Last time I went to Juventus-Napoli, we won 3-0. Fingers crossed. And now you have Il Gigante di Brema. Vote them all to who scored. The pitch, we'll tell the truth. The pitch, as always. It's gonna tell the truth. See you next week. Ciao.