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Not Gonna Lie, I’m Slightly Concerned About Lionel Messi and Inter Miami Stealing the Supporters’ Shield from the Union
Published:
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami put four past New York City FC on Wednesday night at Citi Field. Yes, the Mets’ home stadium, because they don’t have a stadium of their own. The entire crowd was pro-Messi because NYC FC is a fake team with no fans:
I’ll explain the situation for four-for-four Philly casuals, but first, here’s the Supporters’ Shield table as of 9/25/25:
| Club | Points | PPG | games played |
| 1. Philadelphia Union | 60 | 1.94 | 31 |
| 2. FC Cincinnati | 58 | 1.87 | 31 |
| 3. San Diego FC | 57 | 1.84 | 31 |
| 4. Vancouver Whitecaps | 56 | 1.87 | 30 |
| 5. Inter Miami | 55 | 1.9 | 29 |
| 6. Minnesota FC | 54 | 1.74 | 31 |
| 7. NYC and Charlotte | 53 | 1.71 | 31 |
The Union are five points in front of Miami but have played two more games. So if both teams win every game remaining on the schedule, Philly finishes with 69 points and Miami 70. The Shield would go to Lionel Messi and friends for the second year in a row.
It’s a disparity created from Miami’s participation in multiple spring and summer tournaments, like the FIFA Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup. They were also in the CONCACAF Champions Cup while the Union only played in the U.S. Open Cup. Miami’s schedule was really congested, and they’ve played 47 games across all competitions while Philly has only played 35. The Union have been able to manage their workload with much more time off than Miami, which is one of the reasons they’re sitting in first place with three games left to play.
Now, to the real question –
Can one or both teams really win out?
It’s unlikely. That would mean the U win four in a row to end the season, and while they went 13-games unbeaten in the spring and into the summer, that run was broken up with draws. Their longest win streak this year is three games. They have to go down to D.C. this weekend to play a horrid United team, but they close at home to NYC and then at Charlotte, who are two above-average quality playoff teams. That Charlotte game will be played on turf, on the road, and against a team jockeying for playoff positioning.
Miami, on the other hand, plays in Toronto this weekend to complete a road/road short-rest trip. Their season ends with three home games against mediocre teams in Chicago, New England, and Atlanta, before the finale in Nashville. They are currently on a three-game win streak and putting five more on the list would mean they’d claim the Shield with an eight-game win streak.
That would be incredible if it happens. Miami did win five in a row earlier in the season, but only five times in MLS history has a team put together a single-season winning streak of eight or more games.
Problem is, they’ve got Lionel Messi and the Union don’t. If the Miami defense holds up down the stretch, they’ve got more than enough firepower up front, so it’s probably going to get dicey for the other Shield contenders, who need to be perfect. Of course, the Union need to handle their own business first, but I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t a little concerned with Miami’s current form. Going up to a rainy NYC and pounding that team on a baseball field is a quality display of mettle on their end.
But we DOOP, and let the chips fall where they may.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com