Only one participant is still missing
©IMAGO
With his second hat-trick in just a few days, Lionel Messi led his club Inter Miami CF to a historic record in the MLS. Also thanks to the brilliant performance of the eight-time world footballer, the team from Florida won against New England Revolution 6:2 (2:2) on the last match day of the regular season and increased their points account to 74 points.
Miami thus set a league record: never before has a team scored so many points in an MLS season. The previous record was held by New England, which scored a total of 73 points in 2021.
Inter Miami and Messi are allowed to take part in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup
Miami had already been declared the winner of the Supporter’s Shield, which traditionally honors the best team of the regular season. The team led by co-owner David Beckham thus secured participation in the 2025 Club World Cup; FIFA officially announced their participation shortly after the game.
The new Club World Cup from 2025 – This is how the field of participants is made up
The tournament will take place next summer in the USA and now has 31 out of 32 confirmed participants. The last open place goes to the winner of the Copa Libertadores, where the semi-finals include the already qualified River Plate from Argentina, the Brazilian clubs Atlético Mineiro and Botafogo and CA Peñarol from Uruguay.
However, Miami is not yet the official champion; the title will only be awarded in the subsequent MLS playoffs. Here Messi and Co. will meet the winner of the duel between CF Montréal and Atlanta United in the first round.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi also scored three times against Bolivia
Messi was only substituted on against New England after 57 minutes when the score was 2-2. Previously, the Uruguayan star striker Luis Suárez had equalized a 0-2 deficit from Miami’s perspective through Luca Langoni and Dylan Borrero. After Benja Cremaschi’s opening goal (58th), the 37-year-old Messi made the decision with a flawless hat trick within eleven minutes (78th, 81st, 89th).
It was the Argentine world champion’s second hat-trick within a week. On Tuesday, Messi also scored three times in Albiceleste’s 6-0 win over Bolivia in World Cup qualifying.
