FC Cincinnati looks to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to Columbus Crew while hosting LIonel Messi and a hot Inter Miami FC team.
Under Pat Noonan, FC Cincinnati has been good at bouncing back from tough results.
The Orange and Blue took their sixth loss of the Major League Soccer season Saturday, squandering an early 2-0 lead to the Columbus Crew and losing 4-2.
That was their sixth loss in MLS play against 13 wins and three draws, but the team has not lost twice in a row this season. In their next match after a loss this season, FC Cincinnati has three wins and two draws. The two draws came after conceding goals in the final minutes against Atlanta and Dallas.
The team’s skills at bouncing back will be sternly tested July 16, when Cincinnati hosts Lionel Messi and Inter Miami FC 7:30 p.m. at TQL Stadium.
“We have a lot of experience on this team to get through these types of moments,” said defender Matt Miazga. “We don't lose much, but when we do, we're able to turn it around really quickly and that's our plan on Wednesday as well. We have to let it hurt for a moment, but there were a lot of positives to take from Saturday and we can keep progressing as a team.”
The Inter Miami game is crucial in the MLS table
Miami is 11-3-5 for 38 points, and has won five straight in MLS play. The teams will meet twice in the next two weeks, as Cincinnati travels there July 26. Cincy will fly to Utah to play Real Salt Lake on Saturday, while Miami plays at the New York Red Bulls.
Miami’s recent participation in the Club World Cup left them with three games in hand on Cincinnati and most other teams in the Eastern Conference.
Entering the July 16 game, Miami is fifth in the East with 38 points in 19 games, but leading the conference in points per game (2.0), a shade ahead of first-place Philadelphia (1.95), who has 43 points in 22 matches. Cincy is second with 42 points (1.91), and Nashville and Columbus have 41 (1.86).
Those three remaining makeup games could earn Miami nine points in the table, which puts extra emphasis on the pair of upcoming matches Cincy has with their Florida foes. Worst case, if Miami wins both games, the Orange and Blue could be looking up at them in the standings when they leave Miami July 26. If so, they could have a difficult time pulling ahead of them the rest of the way.
Conversely, a win over Miami and a draw, or even two wins, could springboard Cincy with a lot of momentum into the final quarter of the regular season.
But first things first, as the team’s emphasis is on being focused and playing as a unit for the full 90 minutes Wednesday, which Miazga and Noonan said the team lapsed on at times against Columbus.
“It was disappointing,” Miazga said July 14. “We had a tough video session today where we analyzed a lot of mistakes we've done in the game, as well as good moments because there were a lot of good moments. We let it slip and that's the reality: We let it slip away from us, and we got to bounce back, so the good thing is there’s opportunity on Wednesday. We don't have to wait a whole week.”
Will Lionel Messi sit out the Cincinnati game? Unlikely
Messi, the Argentine who turned 38 on June 24, leads the team with 16 goals, which is also tied for league leadership. He has two goals apiece in five consecutive MLS games, which is a league record, and his 11 goals over his last six appearances ties an MLS record.
He has never scored a goal in three matches against Cincinnati, and the Orange and Blue have won three straight MLS matches against Miami at TQL Stadium, not counting Miami’s win in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals in 2023. That is the only time Messi has played at TQL Stadium, as he did not suit up in Cincy’s 6-1 win last year on July 6.
Fan interest in seeing Messi is palpable. Tickets on SeatGeek are ranging from $100 to $200 for the match, including over $122 in The Bailey.
The matchup at TQL Stadium will be Miami’s eighth game in 33 days since their first game in the FIFA Club World Cup June 14. Miami played four games in that tournament, claiming one win and two draws in group play, then losing to eventual runner-up Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 in the round of 16. Miami played a league makeup game July 9 against New England to add to its compressed schedule.
Counting the Club World Cup, Messi has played in 90-plus minutes in 15 straight matches for Miami since April 30. He also played in two FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Argentina in early June but didn’t play the full 90 either time.
Messi hasn’t become one of the greatest to ever play the game without being exceptionally fit, but he is still 38 years old and has been working in exceptionally hot conditions at times this summer.
Javier Mascherano, Inter Miami’s first-year head coach, acknowledged after Saturday’s win over Nashville that Messi will need to sit out a game at some point. But he will leave that up to his superstar, especially since he is healthy and in top form.
Tuesday morning, before the team left for Cincinnati, Mascherano gave no indication to Miami media that Messi would sit out Wednesday night.
“Obviously, at some point we will have to give him a rest,” Mascherano said in the Miami Herald on Sunday. “We talk to him every day, he feels good, and whenever we feel it’s the time to give him a break, we will. As for his performance, there are no words. It is incredible what he keeps doing, breaking records every three days. I have said it a million times, he is the flag bearer of this team, he marks our path, he’s our leader. He’s the one who shows his teammates how we have to maintain our form right now and it’s a blessing for me to be alongside him in this stage of his career.”
Miami is a dangerous offensive team with or without Messi
Messi has other headline-making stars that he has also played with for FC Barcelona: Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. Suarez has five goals and scored twice in a 2-0 win over Cincy last year in Florida. Tadeo Allende has seven and Telasco Segovia five.
Despite only playing 19 games, Miami has more goals scored (44) than anyone in the Eastern Conference and second overall in MLS to San Diego (46).
“I would say, unfortunately, in this scenario it's a player that nobody has had the answer to stopping, ever, and I say 'the player', but, how does Messi get the ball in dangerous spots?” Noonan said. “How does Busquets find him? How does Alba find those two? How does Suarez move off of it? Again, I'm naming guys that rightfully deserve to be talked about the way they are is because they're elite. They play at a very high level and it can't just be about 'how do you stop those four?' because those four are going to find the open man if you're only concerned about trying to stop them. It always has to be a collective.”
Miazga agreed that his team needs to be cohesive.
“The reality is we're playing one of, if not the greatest players that ever played,” Miazga said. “So, we have to be mindful of where he is and what he does, but at the same time, we're playing at home. We have to focus on ourselves and push our game forward and if we do that, we'll minimize them, and that's the most important thing.”
Cincinnati has a strong offense of its own
Cincinnati midfielder Evander is on a heater of his own, having scored at least one goal in four consecutive games, and he has 13 overall, tied for third in the MLS rankings behind Messi and Nashville’s Sam Surridge.
A goal Wednesday night would make him the first player in FC Cincinnati history to score a goal in five straight matches. Lucho Acosta scored in four straight matches twice, and Brandon Vazquez once.
Miami’s defense limited a potent Nashville team to one goal in a 2-1 win Saturday. But overall, Miami has been leaky at times on its side of the pitch, allowing 30 goals for the season and posting only three shutouts in MLS play, none since April. Noonan is expecting their best performance around their net.
“I think the pieces around them right now are also performing at a high level. That's why their team looks so strong. And so, it'll be a good challenge for us,” Noonan said. “It has to be 90 minutes of concentration and courage - both sides of the ball - to understand how to play and manage a game. So, I know the guys are looking forward to it. We want to get past the frustration of what we just experienced and try to use that as a lesson to be better on Wednesday.”
Injury updates
Noonan announced that defender Nick Hagglund would be available for the Miami game, which if he plays would mark his first appearance since fracturing ribs and collapsing a lung May 25 at Atlanta.
"He’s back,” Noonan said. “He's been around enough, even with his absence with the injury on field, he's been present. And his energy, his leadership, has been felt the entire period of time that he's not able to be on the field with his teammates. But Nick's been Nick, which is always impactful in a positive way for our group.”
Noonan said that Yuya Kubo remains day-to-day with his calf injury. Kubo has played one game since May 17, going June 25 at Montreal but has been out since.
Noonan said a couple of other players took minor knocks Saturday against Columbus and will be monitored heading into gametime.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati will look to bounce back against Messi and Inter Miami
Category: General Sports
