America’s Major League Soccer (MLS), while not at the stature of Europe’s largest leagues, continues to produce high-end talent and a competitive atmosphere. League-wide stars such as Cucho Hernández, Denis Bouanga, Riqui Puig, and of course, Lionel Messi, are all leading their teams towards the ultimate goal of winning their franchise an MLS Cup. With just about 7-8 games remaining in the regular season, here’s a few clubs you should look out for as the MLS Cup Playoffs come ever closer. 

Columbus Crew

It’s simple to believe that the league’s reigning champions are making a run for the cup once more. To understand the magnificence of the Crew, you need to point your eyes toward its bench boss, Wilfried Nancy. 

Since becoming the Crew’s head coach in 2022, Nancy has secured a 2023 MLS Cup, a Concacaf Champions Cup Final appearance, and a 2024 Leagues Cup (a tournament involving clubs from the MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX). In under two years, Nancy has turned Columbus into a formidable juggernaut with his attractive brand of soccer. Columbus has an unreal record of 30-3-12 (win-loss-draw) when hosting at Lower.com Field with Wilfried Nancy at the helm. 

The Crew have spent top dollar for their best goal scorers Cucho Hernández and Diego Rossi. Both forwards have been the team’s engine, scoring 38 goals in all competitions this season combined, and there is no sign of that number faltering. The Columbus Crew currently sit 3rd in the Eastern Conference with 49 points. 

LA Galaxy

The league’s most decorated team of all time is back! After finishing 13th of 14 teams in the Western Conference a year ago, the Galaxy now find themselves in first place, accumulating 52 points, and destroying their point total (36) of last year. 

No team had a better transfer window in the offseason than the Galaxy, bringing in 2022 MLS Cup MVP goalkeeper John McCarthy, Ghanaian International Joseph Paintsil, and star youngster Gabriel Pec. Add those guys to a team that already had Riqui Puig, one of Major League Soccer’s most talented midfielders, and you have a club solidifying themselves atop the west. 

Paintsil and Pec have added much-needed goal scoring that the Galaxy were missing in previous seasons, with Paintsil scoring 8 goals thus far and the 23-year-old Pec having a team-high 21 goal contributions this season. 

The Galaxy recently signed Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus back in August, whose experience could play a major role in LA’s hopes of adding to their record of five MLS Cup titles. 

Inter Miami

Lionel. Messi. Enough said! While having one of the sport’s greatest players in history, Inter Miami went from the most vulnerable team in the league to the most feared. 

Messi’s masterful skills, ball control, and soccer IQ seem to overwhelm opposing defensive fronts with coaches having to build a gameplan with the main focus of slowing down the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup Champion. Since breaking the internet last summer, Messi has contributed 45 goal contributions while also helping Inter Miami capture its first trophy, winning the inaugural Leagues Cup tournament. 

Inter Miami has fished for more former teammates of Messi from his playing days with La Liga side, FC Barcelona, which includes fullback Jordi Alba, defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets, and Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer Luis Suarez. All have helped reestablish what some may call the recreation of “prime Barcelona”. 

Despite losing Messi to injury in July during this year’s Copa América Final, Inter Miami remains the league’s top point-getter and is the Supporters Shield front-runner with 59 points (most points in MLS regular season play). With Messi’s return on the horizon, and Luis Suarez scoring 16 goals, putting himself firmly in the golden boot race, Inter Miami may have its best shot at winning its first MLS Cup. 

Honorable Mention: LAFC

Winning their only MLS Cup in 2022, the one team that has been in the way of another trophy has been Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew, defeating LAFC in both the 2024 MLS Cup and Leagues Cup Final. 

The city of Los Angeles has a knack for attracting world-class talent, hence, why the club always happens to compete for trophies. It starts with Denis Bouanga, who won the 2023 golden boot with 20 goals and remains well in the mix to be this season’s top scorer as well. 

French newcomers Oliver Giroud and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will hope to make the difference for an LAFC side that needs to get back over the hump. LAFC remains 2nd behind their rivals the LA Galaxy in the Western Conference. 

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