Nick Cushing is "excited" for New York City FC to welcome Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to Yankee Stadium and is looking forward to the challenge.
NYCFC are currently on an eight-match winless streak in MLS, with their last win in the competition coming back on July 4 against CF Montreal on home soil.
They were on the end of a heavy 5-1 thrashing at home in their last outing to Philadelphia Union.
Cushing's side have slipped to sixth in the Eastern Conference but are only three points behind Orlando City in fourth, and the head coach knows that a big performance against Miami would be the boost they need.
"The team is very excited for the game. Obviously, knowing that there's going to be a capacity crowd is something that is really unique," Cushing told GOAL.
"It's a one-off occasion, in the sense of knowing that the atmosphere is going to be amazing. It is going to be a difficult game, but the team is really motivated for the challenge.
"I think for the team as a whole, to put ourselves against the best team in the league, against players of this calibre, and it's a huge opportunity to show the progression we've made as a team."
Meanwhile, Miami hold an eight-point lead at the top of the table but saw their five-match winning streak ended by a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United last time out.
Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba started on the bench, while Sergio Busquets was suspended, as the young players were given a chance to shine.
The former three were brought on but could not help Miami snatch a win, and assistant coach Javi Morales was impressed by how the rotated side handled the game.
"It was a tough game, a tough stadium. We had a good performance, came away with a point," Morales said.
"It's not easy after not playing a lot to be thrown on the field from one day to the next and in that stadium. I think the young players did a good job."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
NYCFC – Alonso Martinez
Nine of Alonso Martinez's 12 goals this regular season have been scored at home, including netting New York City FC's lone goal on Wednesday.
The only two NYCFC players to score 10 home goals in a single MLS campaign are David Villa (three times) and Valentin Castellanos (twice).
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Messi has played eight times for club and country in the New York City area, totaling seven goals in those appearances, but all those matches were played in northern New Jersey. The Argentine has never appeared in a match in New York state.
Leonardo Campana's strike in midweek was his 30th for Miami, making him the club's all-time leading scorer – Messi is just three goals off equaling that record.
MATCH PREDICTION: INTER MIAMI WIN
New York have lost only one of their 10 all-time meetings with Miami (W7 D2), though each of the last two meetings have ended in draws. NYCFC have won all four of their home matches against Miami, keeping clean sheets in all four wins.
However, New York have recorded one win in their last 12 matches in all competitions (D7 L3), with that lone victory coming over Tigres of Liga MX. NYCFC have not defeated an MLS opponent since a 2-0 win over CF Montreal on July 3.
Meanwhile, Miami have collected 63 points through 29 matches this season, equaling the third-most points at this stage of a season in MLS history. The only team to collect 66 points through 30 matches of a season was New England in their points record-setting 2021 campaign.
And though they do not have the best record against NYCFC, their recent form speaks for itself as they are unbeaten in their last six MLS outings.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYCFC – 31.3%
Draw – 25.2%
Inter Miami – 43.5%
Carsley did not apply for full-time England job, wants 'no regrets'
Lee Carsley revealed he did not formally apply to become the next England manager and wants "no regrets" over his time as interim boss.
Gareth Southgate left his position as England manager following their Euro 2024 final defeat in July, with the Football Association (FA) turning to Carsley for the Nations League fixtures.
He has won two of his three games so far, following up back-to-back wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday.
With the return trip against Finland in Helsinki next up for the Three Lions, Carsley admitted prior to the game that he did not apply for the job during the application process earlier this year.
"No, I didn't apply for it," he told talkSPORT. "Because hopefully… I have been doing the U21s, and I am really happy with my job.
"I am an employee of the FA, and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
"I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team's got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
"There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning, and we deserve the best one that's out there."
Carsley was aiming to become the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in 2008, before Greece claimed their first-ever win over the Three Lions.
The 50-year-old selected an experimental line-up against Greece, fielding five attacking players, but no recognised striker, leaving the side unbalanced,
Harry Kane missed that game with a knock but is expected to return for the trip to Helsinki, having scored twice when they met them in September.
There was widespread criticism of the team after the full-time whistle, but Carsley says he did not want to play it safe during his time as interim boss.
"I think the reaction [to the loss against Greece] is fair enough. You have to respect people's opinions. We didn't perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [against Finland]," Carsley said in his press conference.
"I think it's something that I'll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
"I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn't want to have any regrets.
"It's important we do try something different at times. I think I'll be a better coach for that."
Salah, Van Dijk released early in boost for Liverpool ahead of Chelsea clash
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool earlier than expected, along with Virgil van Dijk, after he was released from international duty by Egypt on Saturday.
The 32-year-old was on the scoresheet as Egypt defeated Mauritania 2-0 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday, and was also expected to feature in the return fixture on Tuesday.
However, in a boost for the Reds, who face fourth-placed Chelsea in the Premier League on October 20, Salah will head back to Merseyside having played just once for his country.
"The technical staff of Egypt's senior football team led by manager Hossam Hassan held a meeting with Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.
"It was agreed during the meeting to rest the player from the upcoming match."
Poland 1-3 Portugal: Silva and Ronaldo on target as visitors stay perfect in Nations League
Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half goals ensured Portugal maintained their perfect Nations League record with a 3-1 victory over Poland.
The pair had put the visitors in control before Piotr Zielinski provided Poland with some late hope, only for Jan Bednarek's own goal to put the result beyond them.
The Selecao started brightly, with Ronaldo striking the underside of the bar before Bruno Fernandes saw a whipped effort palmed away from the top corner.
Silva found the opening 26 minutes in though – Fernandes nodded the ball down to the Manchester City man, who met it sweetly first time on the volley.
Rafael Leao raced in behind to hit a low shot across goal only to hit the far post shortly after, but Ronaldo was on hand to stretch out a leg and turn it home.
With 12 minutes of normal time remaining, Zielinski played a one-two with an off-balance Kacper Urbanski, before rifling a powerful effort past Diogo Costa.
But that proved nothing more than a consolation as Bednarek tried to stop Diogo Jota from reaching Nuno Mendes' cross, only to inadvertently turn it into his own net.
Data Debrief: No stopping Portugal
Portugal have made a brilliant start to the latest Nations League campaign, and are so far the only team in League A with a 100% record after three games.
Ronaldo has now scored in all three of their matches so far, getting his goal in this game with his only shot on target (three shots overall), as he generated 1.43 expected goals (xG).
However, Fernandes also played his part, having more shots than anyone else on the field (five). He has also now contributed to goals in his last three Nations League appearances (one goal, two assists).
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