Nashville on the brink of Supporters’ Shield as Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami run out of road

Nashville SC are closing in on the Supporters’ Shield, and Inter Miami’s hopes of stopping them, even with Lionel Messi in the form of his life, are all but gone. With four games left in the MLS regular season, the Tennesseans are one result away from being crowned, while Miami can only look on.

Nashville missed a chance to clinch the trophy on Oct. 17, when they drew 1-1 at San Jose and delayed their celebrations. Even so, they have 67 points, 12 more than second-place Inter Miami, and they can seal the Shield with a win, or even a draw, in any of their four remaining matches.

Miami, for their part, did what they could by beating Atlanta United 3-1 to reach 55 points. However, they can no longer fight for the title. A perfect finish would take the defending MLS Cup champions to 67 points at most, only level with Nashville, and the first tiebreaker in the standings is total wins. Miami have 15 victories, and even with four more they would reach 19, while Nashville already have 20.

That leaves Messi’s remarkable season without the trophy that once looked within reach. The Argentine star scored twice against Atlanta to reach 25 goals this year, and he has scored or assisted in each of his last 12 MLS matches.

Inter Miami prepare to defend their MLS Cup title

While the Supporters’ Shield is out of reach, Inter Miami are already looking ahead to the playoffs, where they will defend the MLS Cup they won in 2025.

As things stand in the Eastern Conference table, the defending champions are second with 55 points, which would give them a first-round matchup against seventh-placed Orlando City and their star signing Antoine Griezmann.

The pairing would be a best-of-three series, a new format for 2026, with the first game at Miami’s stadium. Orlando have 41 points and are five points clear of the eighth-place group, so both sides still have standings to protect. The final matchups will not be set until the regular season ends on Nov. 7.