Inter Miami will look to extend the decorated career of striker Gonzalo Higuain when they visit New York City FC in the first round of the 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs on Monday night.
In Europe, Higuain won three league titles with Real Madrid and three more with Juventus, and with the latter he also finished runners-up once in the UEFA Champions League. Internationally, he helped Argentina to second place in the 2014 World Cup and twice in the Copa America.
Now he’s attempting one more feat, a deep playoff run with Eastern Conference sixth seed Miami (14-14-6, 48 points) after announcing he will retire at the end of the season.
Higuain has been exceptional down the stretch, scoring 14 of his team-leading 16 goals in his last 16 appearances, including seven in his last six.
Miami won four in a row to clinch the club’s second playoff berth since entering the league in 2020. They finished with a home loss to CF Montreal on the season’s final day.
“We’re massively excited,” Miami coach Phil Neville said. “It was a great week last week for the whole of the football club. But I think what’s really important now is to stress that we’ve achieved nothing yet. We’ve not climbed any mountains yet. We’ve just probably got to stage one of climbing a mountain. There’s another three, four, five stages to go.”
Miami faces the defending MLS Cup champions in NYCFC (16-11-7, 55 points).
New York City won three in a row to close out the season and earn the East’s third seed after it appeared at one point they might finish as low as fifth.
Heber and Talles Magno have combined to score 15 goals to make up for the departure of team-leading scorer Valentin Castellanos on a transfer to Girona in Spain. And NYCFC have tightened things defensively, conceding three goals in their last five matches.
Midfielder Alfredo Morales will miss Monday with a calf injury, interim coach Nick Cushing said this week. But Magno and defender Tayvon Gray could return after leaving last Sunday’s season finale early.
Cushing believes the game is as much about mentality as availability.
“It’s about intensity,” Cushing said. “I think I’ll know in the locker room. When you look at the guys, you can see how hungry and how much energy, and how much desire and determination the guys have, and I’ve seen that this week in the preparation.”
While NYCFC played 10 of their 17 MLS games at Yankee Stadium this season, Monday’s game is set for Citi Field in Queens, where the club has played four times in 2022. The game originally was scheduled for Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., home of the New York Red Bulls.
–Field Level Media
