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• Martino looking to Suarez's influence with Messi involvement still unsure

  Miami head coach Gerardo Martino is hoping Luis Suarez's influence can inspire the team to victory once again when they welcome Philadelphia Union to Chase Stadium.

  The Herons have already clinched an MLS playoff place and recorded an impressive 4-1 victory over Chicago Fire last time out.

  Suarez scored twice in his last two matches, propelling Miami to 59 points on top of the Eastern Conference, and Martino has been impressed with how the Uruguayan has led the line.

  "Luis was probably the best player on the field [against Chicago], but I don't want to focus only on the goals because that is normal for him," he said.

  "I prefer to focus on his game as a whole, the ball circulation and all the passes to midfielders and, because of that, we can play in other parts of the field. He did that very well."

  Miami have been without talisman Lionel Messi since MLS action returned due to an ankle injury he sustained in the Copa America final, but Julian Gressel believes he could be back soon.

  "It's nice to see [Messi] back out there," Gressel told the Player/Manager podcast. "If you can add a guy like that after what we've done over the past two months, it's certainly going to be an interesting kind of finish to the end here."

  Meanwhile, Philadelphia are 11th in the standings but got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory over New York Red Bulls last time out.

  Head coach Jim Curtin was pleased to grind out the win but believes there are still improvements to be made.

  "We were all disappointed with losing to a very strong Columbus team, but I had a good response [against New York RB]," Curtin said.

  "I think big picture wise, if you look at the first 15 minutes of [the New York] game, that's us at our best. We have it in us, and now the challenge is to sustain it for all 90."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Inter Miami – Luis Suarez

  Since the return of MLS action following the Leagues Cup break, Suarez has been running defences riot, scoring braces against both Cincinnati and Chicago Fire.

  Against the Fire last weekend, he had the most shots (nine), shots on target (five), big chances (three) and touches in the opposition box (10), proving a constant threat in just under 80 minutes.

  Philadelphia Union – Mikael Uhre

  Mikael Uhre returned to the scoresheet against the New York Red Bulls last time out, netting his seventh goal of the season, the joint-second-highest tally in the team this season.

  He is also known for his creative ability though, as his assist for Tai Baribo was his fifth of the campaign, with only Kai Wagner playing on more.

  MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN

  Miami have recorded wins in each of their last two matches against the Union in all competitions. The Herons had won just two of their first eight all-time matches against Philadelphia (D2 L4).

  Miami are just the second team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to record 15 wins in a span of 19 matches in a single regular season (after Seattle Sounders in 2018). No team in the post-shootout era has won 16 times in a span of 20 matches within a single regular season.

  Meanwhile, Philadelphia snapped a four-match regular-season road losing streak with a 2-0 win at the Red Bulls on August 31. Those four losses are the Union's only road defeats of the regular season in 2024 (W4 D5).

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Inter Miami – 51.8%

  Draw – 24.6%

  Philadelphia Union – 23.6%

• McClaren basks in first win as Reggae Boyz edge Honduras to keep quarterfinal hopes alive

  Steve McClaren is savouring his first victory since taking the reins as Jamaica’s senior Reggae Boyz head coach after they secured a 2-1 win over Honduras in hostile territory, a scoreline that kept their Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal hopes alive.

  The hard-fought League A battle in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday saw McClaren's men step up under immense pressure, especially following their opening draw against Cuba, which meant they had to rebound to improve their chances of finishing in the top two.

  A 49th-minute own goal by Denil Maldonado and Michail Antonio’s 76th-minute penalty got the job done for the Boyz, who moved to the top of the Group B standings on four points, the same as Nicaragua, who were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Cuba. Honduras, who had their goal from David Ruiz in the 50th minute, were relegated to third on three points, with Cuba (two points), French Guiana (one point), and Trinidad and Tobago (one point) rounding out the group.

  McClaren, who took charge of the team ahead of the tournament, credited the victory to the team’s blend of youth and experience.

  “We had Premier League players out there, Ethan Pinnock, Antonio, and others, but we also had some new players coming on. We gave an opportunity to Norman Campbell, and yeah, he persisted and got us the first goal, then introduced Kaheim Dixon. So we had on the field a really nice blend of personalities of the older guys, looking after the younger guys,” McClaren said in a post-match press conference.

  

  “At the end of the day, football is about what you do in one box and what you do in the other. A lot goes on in the middle, where we can have an influence, but we in our box defended for our lives, and we were very clinical in their box with our opportunities, and that was good,” he added. 

  The atmosphere in Honduras was fierce, with the home crowd making their presence felt. Yet, the Reggae Boyz displayed resilience, overcoming the intimidating environment, as they applied pressure in patches and unlocked Honduras’ defence on a number of occasions.

  McClaren highlighted the significance of the win, as he again stressed that the draw against Cuba only intensified the pressure going into the match.

  “I think after the Cuba result, in which we played so well and played for more, but couldn't score goals, added the pressure for us coming here. I think we had to win. We definitely didn't want to lose the game; otherwise, it would have left us in a bad situation. So it was imperative we came here and put in a good performance, which we did,” McClaren stated.

  

  “I thought we were controlling; we were very brave in possession; we built from the back, and I was so impressed with that. It's difficult to come away and play football like that. We were always dangerous on transition, and we did well to survive, so credit to my players for the work. They were hard to beat, they boast an unbelievable team spirit, and we had good players coming off the bench and finishing Job,” the Englishman noted.

  Having ended the window on a high, McClaren and his Reggae Boyz will now shift their focus to their next fixture away to Nicaragua on October 10, before they face Honduras again in a rematch on October 14 at the National Stadium.

  McClaren expressed confidence that the team will continue to grow from strength to strength as they aim for a spot in the quarterfinals and, by extension, the next Concacaf Gold Cup.

  “In another three, four weeks, we're still to play two difficult games, one about a mile away to Nicaragua, and then we host Honduras, so we have to take what we've done the last ten days and build on it. Like I said to the players, I can't fault their attitudes, but together, we can play better football,” McClaren declared as his eyes are firmly set on the 2026 World Cup.

• Southgate in no hurry to return to football after England departure

  Gareth Southgate says he is keeping an open mind about what comes next in his career but is in no hurry to rush back into football.

  Southgate stepped down as England manager in July, shortly after England's second consecutive European Championship final defeat.

  The 54-year-old was in charge of the Three Lions for eight years, leading the team through four major tournaments, while only Walter Winterbottom (139) and Alf Ramsey (113) managed more games for the national team than Southgate (102).

  England are still searching for a new permanent manager, with interim head coach Lee Carsley impressing in his first two matches, leading the team to consecutive 2-0 wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the Nations League.

  Southgate has been linked with a move to Manchester United as the pressure piles on Erik ten Hag and with a position at UEFA.

  However, the former England manager says he is not expecting to step back into football any time soon.

  "I've got lots of opportunities, I'm very open-minded to what's next," he told Sky News.

  "That might be in football, that might be outside of football. I'm just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there.

  "I think at the moment people know that I need to get my energy back."

  Southgate led England to their first major tournament final since 1966 at Euro 2020 and helped the team reach their first final on foreign soil in Germany over the summer.

  England also became the first team in history to lose consecutive Euros finals, with Southgate the only manager to ever lose two such matches.

  However, his 14 wins at major tournaments are the most of any manager in England's history, and he is proud of the work he did during his time in charge.

  "I think it was probably the right time for change," he added.

  "I don't think you can have regrets. We made decisions with the information we had at the time to try and produce a winning team. I gave the job everything I had.

  "We raised expectations and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map."