Lionel Messi targets MLS Playoffs semifinals: All possible scenarios for Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC Game 3

This Saturday, the series between Inter Miami and Nashville SC will be decided. After two games, each team has claimed one win, setting up a decisive third and final chapter at Chase Stadium. Lionel Messi and his teammates will be looking to reach the MLS Playoffs semifinals for the first time in the club’s history.

In Game 1, the Herons took a valuable lead at home with a 3–1 win, highlighted by a brace from Messi. That result left them just one victory away from advancing, but things didn’t go as planned last week in Tennessee, where they fell 2–1.

The unusual format of the first round of the MLS Playoffs makes goal difference irrelevant. In other words, only the result matters—whether it’s a blowout, a narrow win, or a shootout victory after a draw in regulation.

Across the two games, Inter Miami have scored four goals and Nashville SC three. In most competitions around the world—such as the UEFA Champions League—that would have been enough to advance. But MLS rules are different, which is why the series is tied at one win apiece heading into Saturday’s decisive matchup at Chase Stadium.

What happens if Inter Miami beat Nashville SC?

If they win this Saturday in Miami, the Herons will earn their second victory of the series and secure a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals. As in the previous matches, goal difference will not matter—any win will be enough.

Reaching the next round would mark a historic achievement for Inter Miami, who have never advanced to the MLS Playoffs semifinals since joining the league in 2020. The team has twice been eliminated in the opening round, once in the play-in, and on two other occasions failed to reach the postseason altogether.

What happens if Inter Miami draw against Nashville SC?

The best-of-three format in this stage of the playoffs ensures that every game produces a winner. In the first two matches, Inter Miami and Nashville each earned one victory in regulation. But if either game had ended in a draw, a penalty shootout would have been required to determine the winner.

The same rule applies this Saturday. Game 3 will definitively decide the series and determine which team advances to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Therefore, if the score is level at the final whistle, the match will go to penalties to determine whether Inter Miami or Nashville SC move on.

What happens if Inter Miami lose to Nashville SC?

If Inter Miami lose to Nashville SC this Saturday, they will be eliminated from the Eastern Conference Playoffs and their title hopes will end. It would mirror what happened in the 2024 season, when they were defeated in Game 3 by Atlanta United.

Should the Herons fall short in their pursuit of the MLS semifinals, Lionel Messi would face an unfamiliar situation in his illustrious career—ending 2025 without a single trophy, both at the club level with Inter Miami and internationally with Argentina.