Inter Miami 2026 Season Preview

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·21 de janeiro de 2026

Inter Miami 2026 Season Preview

This article was written after recording The Designated Pundits‘ Inter Miami preview for the 2026 MLS Season with special guest Dan from “The Battered Herons.” You can find that video on Spotify below.

2025 Recap

While Inter Miami finished 2025 as MLS Cup Champions, they only won 1 out of the 4 trophies they competed for. This left fans with mixed emotions; happy for the team’s first title, but looking forward to 2026.

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While they blew away the competition with 81 goals, they also allowed 55 goals against, which is a noncompetitive number for MLS defenses. Improvement there would have seen Miami move up considerably in the standings.

Lionel Messi won the Golden Boot (most goals) with a 29 goal and 16 assist season. Second wasn’t Luis Suarez, but instead Tadeo Allende with 11 goals. Suarez was a close third with 10 goals and 10 assists, while Telasco Segovia scored 8, good enough for fourth most.

Transactions

Inter Miami has a pair of retirements, with Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets calling it quits at season’s end. Other losses seem minor- mostly MLS veterans making way for new signings.

The major incoming singings include German Berterame coming in as a new striker and MLS star Dayne St. Clair becoming the club’s new keeper. They also brought in Micael from Palmeiras at CB and Sergio Reguilon on a new look backline.

Most clubs would be paying these players DP price tags. Inter Miami, with creative accounting and the “Messi Discount” are still supposedly financially solid.

Depth Chart

Inter Miami played a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 most of the season, and that’s what we expect again. The difference is if you prefer to see Messi listed as a #10 or as a second striker- I even dreamt this up as a 4-2-4 in my own head.

Interesting changes will impact the midfield. Rodrigo DePaul should have more freedom to be a box-to-box type of CM, while David Ayala will have first licks at the other midfield spot.

As far as the fullbacks, we think with a better backline they will be more defensive minded (certainly more than Jordi Alba was) and get caught out of position less often. Miami’s success late last season was an indication of more focus on defense.

Questions

Which player outside the projected 11 has the best chance at winning a starting job? Ian Fray. Miami fans seem to like him, and Dan thinks he should already be considered above Facundo Mura.
What are realistic expectations for 2026? MLS Cup or CCC, with CONCACAF Champions Cup being the top priority.
What are some storylines to follow throughout the season? The wings- does Allende step up (I loved Allende, but some Miami fans have a very negative opinion of him) and can Silvetti be the guy he was brought in to be?
What styles do Miami match up well against? Teams with a significant talent gap, teams that try to absorb too much pressure
What styles will Miami struggle against? Teams that take Messi out of the game (I call this “The Belichick”)
Which player improves in 2026? Silvetti. A larger sample size should do him favors, and he will have every opportunity to succeed.
Which player regresses in 2026? Dayne St. Clair. While he may play very well, he may see more shots than ever before. Even if he stands on his head, this could lead to higher goal totals than he has allowed.

Hear more, and follow along as I preview all 30 MLS teams before kickoff of the 2026 season!

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