Just In; The Inter Miam player who will defeat Lionel Messi to win the Supporters’ Shield is named by an MLS expert.
Due to the Copa America and an ankle injury sustained during the championship game, the forward has missed 11 games for the Herons. Messi is not included in Argentina’s roster for their September FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
But with Messi getting close to starting training again, Inter Miami will have their star attacker back in the lineup for the last games of the regular MLS season. It will be crucial for the 37-year-old to remain healthy for the playoffs.
For Inter Miami, there may be a player who is even more crucial than Messi.
David Martinez’s acquisition might help Inter Miami win the Supporters’ Shield, according to expert Matt Doyle on MLS Extratime. The defender would provide the Herons the cover they’ve needed all summer.
Regarding Inter Miami’s prospects for the Supporters Shield, Doyle stated: “This is something we’ve seen a lot in this league over the previous seven, eight years with the teams that truly want the Shield, they go after it in May, June, and July and they create a little bit of a buffer there. The Revs accomplished this feat in 2021 when they broke the record.
The fact that they entered the gates slowly and then shot through the late spring and summer makes that perhaps the best illustration of that. That was the point at which Miami was expected to lose. Messi, Copa America, Suarez, and Mati Rojas all left at that point, but they still managed to go nine and one without Messi and have been outstanding ever since.
“As long as David Martinez doesn’t receive any more foolish red cards, I think they’re going to play their best soccer of the season in the closing minutes.”