Can Inter Miami make MLS playoffs? Lionel Messi has 8 games left to lead rise up 2023 standings

When Lionel Messi arrived in South Florida, his new club Inter Miami sat bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, known as one of the worst teams in Major League Soccer.

Now, just weeks later, talk has shifted in a seismic manner, with the conversation now whether they can complete one of the most impressive charges up the table and secure a playoff berth.

With just eight games remaining, Inter Miami is well positioned to complete that run, but still have plenty of work to do if it hopes to complete the task.

Amidst a crowded bottom half of the Eastern Conference standings, still looking up at five clubs between them and a playoff spot, here is what Inter Miami must do to secure a postseason berth and put themselves in a place to make a run at the league championship — an unthinkable task just two months ago.

MORE: Odds to win MLS Cup as Lionel Messi hopes to lead Inter Miami from worst to first

MLS Eastern Conference table, standings

NOTE: The first tiebreaker in Major League Soccer is not goal differential, but instead total number of wins, while goal differential is the second overall tiebreaker.

Table updated as of Friday, September 15

Pos.	Team	GP	Pts	W-D-L	GD
1.	FC Cincinnati	27	57	17-6-4	+14
2.	New England	27	48	13-9-5	+14
3.	Orlando City	27	47	13-8-6	+10
4.	Philadelphia	26	46	14-4-8	+16
5.	Columbus Crew	27	45	13-6-8	+17
6.	Atlanta United	28	42	12-9-8	+8
7.	Nashville SC	27	40	11-7-9	+5
8.	FC Montreal	27	35	11-2-13	-10
9.	D.C. United	28	34	9-7-12	-1
—-	———————	—	—	——	—
10.	Chicago Fire	27	32	8-8-11	-10
11.	Charlotte FC	26	31	7-10-9	-9
12.	NYCFC	28	30	6-12-10	-8
13.	NY Red Bulls	27	29	7-8-12	-9
14.	Inter Miami	26	28	8-4-14	-9
15.	Toronto FC	27	22	4-10-13	-16

How can Inter Miami make MLS playoffs?

In order to make the playoffs, Inter Miami must finish at least ninth in the Eastern Conference standings.

The currently sit just six points back of the final playoff spot with eight games remaining in their regular season schedule.

The eight remaining matches provides them a maximum of 24 possible points remaining with which to put pressure on their playoff rivals, but they would need some help from those around them as well to make up ground. In that regard, Inter Miami also hold at least one, sometimes two, game(s) in hand on the rest of the clubs ahead of them.

If they squeak into the playoffs in one of the final two places, they would be subject to the new Wild Card round which features essentially a play-in game before the other seven playoff teams enter the fray. Should their late-season charge see them all the way up to seventh or better, however, they would earn a bye past that treacherous first round and slide straight into the first round proper.

Incredibly, Inter Miami currently has the 2nd-best betting odds to win the MLS Cup at Bet MGM. In Canada, Sports Interaction has Inter Miami as the betting favorite.

Inter Miami remaining MLS schedule

Inter Miami’s remaining schedule in MLS play is a jam-packed one, as the club must make up league games postponed to accommodate for their deep runs in the Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup tournaments.

While it presents a daunting task for the Inter Miami coaching staff to keep the players fit for duty while consistently taking the field twice a week, it also presents an opportunity as well. Inter Miami still have remaining matches against the likes of Atlanta United, NYCFC, Charlotte FC (2x), and the Chicago Fire, all of whom they sit behind in the playoff race.

Additionally, they have recently taken points off Nashville SC and the New York Red Bulls, who they are also chasing in the Eastern Conference standings.

The club must also navigate around the U.S. Open Cup final which takes place Wednesday, September 27 at home against Houston Dynamo, further adding to the congested fixture list.

2023 MLS playoff schedule

• Regular season Decision Day: Oct. 21
• Wild card round: Oct. 25-26
• First round: Oct. 28 – Nov. 12
• Conference semifinals: Nov. 25-26
• Conference finals: Dec. 2-3
• Final: Dec. 9