Inter Miami head coach Guillermo Hoyos don talk say im side current form na 100% because of di players demself. Di Herons dey second for Eastern Conference after five wins for dia last seven games, including dia last three straight wins.
Dem defeat Portland Timbers 2-0 last time out, with Lionel Messi score di opener before assist German Berterame for di second goal. Dat win be dia first for Nu Stadium. Before dat, Miami don beat Toronto FC 4-2 and FC Cincinnati 5-3, while dia last defeat na 4-3 against rivals Orlando City for seven-goal thriller.
Miami fit enter World Cup break for top spot as dem go host bottom side Philadelphia Union on Sunday. Hoyos full of praise for im side ahead of di test against Philadelphia, say all credit go to dem for dia current form.
“I get my own way of looking at am, and e really come from my experience as a player too,” Hoyos tok. “Di players na di ones wey really make things happen, and dem don do some wonderful things wey bring us to where we dey today.
“Dat na wetin truly make us very happy. Di whole staff – physios, doctors, trainers and everyone wey dey work behind di scenes – know say 100% of di credit belong to di players because dem na di ones wey dey perform for field.
“Dem na di ones wey put demsef for display, and on top of dat, we get di added bonus of having great players wey always want to improve. So naturally, I tink things become much easier.”
Although dis fixture see di reigning MLS Cup champions take on di Supporters’ Shield holders, di Union don struggle to find any rhythm for 2026. Dem don win just once for di league all season, while dem dey winless for seven games (D4 L3) after 1-1 draw with Columbus Crew last time out.
Players to watch: For Inter Miami, Lionel Messi don score goal for all four of im career matches against Philadelphia for all competitions (five goals). Na one of four teams wey im don score for each of im first four matches against. Di only opponent Messi score for each of im first five matches against na Eibar (six straight) from 2014 to 2017.
For Philadelphia Union, Ben Bender don dey involved for each of di Union last three goals (one goal, two assists), including record secondary assist for Milan Iloski goal last time out. Bender no dey involved for goal for any of im first 12 Union appearances before record three for im last two games.
Match prediction na Inter Miami win. Miami dey unbeaten for five meetings with Philadelphia for all competitions since Messi join di club for summer of 2023 (W4 D1). Before Messi arrival, di Union don lose only two of eight matches against Miami (W4 D2). Miami don win three straight matches after winning only three of dia previous 10 for all competitions (D6 L1). For regular-season play, Miami no don record winning streak of four or more consecutive matches since between May and July 2025 (five straight). Di Union na just di fifth team for MLS history to collect seven or fewer points from dia first 14 matches of a season, though two of di previous four do so last year.
Do you have a news tip for NNN? Please email us at editor @ nnn.ng