Inter Miami is heading into a pivotal match over the weekend against 2019 MLS Cup finalists Toronto FC. With just two matches remaining in the regular season, every game is crucial in the Club’s push to advance to the playoffs. World Cup-winning French midfielder Blaise Matuidi analyzed the upcoming match and the team’s improvement in the latter stages of the regular season since his arrival in August.
“There are a lot of good things happening. We are still in the running, we are still fighting for our spot in the playoffs. When I first got here, we were going through a difficult moment as a team, but we really turned that around and are in control of our destiny at this point,” he said.
“Now we have to enjoy the moment because we aren’t far from the playoffs. We have to fight until the end and I think we’ll be there after the last game. One game at a time, we have to fight. First against Toronto and then we will focus on our final game,” added the all-action midfielder.
Matuidi will look to summon his prior experience when facing high stakes matches, such as the 2018 World Cup final with the French National Team, to manage Inter Miami’s last two regular season fixtures and lead the team to the playoffs alongside his teammates.
“It is an experience which is similar. Ultimately, we all want to win to be able to qualify, so I will take that experience with me into the match,” he stated. “We have to play this game as if it was a final, we have to go for it and play at the top of our abilities. We also have to stay calm mentally and not put additional pressure on ourselves. We have to stick to our game so that we can deliver the desired result.”
Meanwhile, manager Diego Alonso praised Matuidi’s role and his positive influence as an experienced player within Inter Miami’s inaugural roster.
“I think the arrival of players like Blaise [Matuidi] and Gonzalo [Higuaín], players with a lot of experience, can help us on the field but also off it. So, before the possibility of bringing in a player of that caliber, we always look at their professionalism and personality. We’re a team that’s growing and the players with more experience have to help us with professionalism, how to behave both on and off the field, so that’s one of the ways this team can grow. We’re happy with Blaise for what he’s done on and off the field,” highlighted the Uruguayan tactician.
Alonso also confirmed that Inter Miami will have a number of key absences against Toronto, as Leandro González Pirez and Andrés Reyes will be serving a one-game suspension and Nicolás Figal is sidelined with a muscular injury, but expressed his confidence in the ability of the players who will take their place.
“We’ll face the match with positivity. It’s happened to us before, a similar situation. I remember the Red Bulls match when something similar happened and we gave confidence to the guys who played and they did really well. In this case it will be similar, we have to try to get the best out of every player,” he said.
“Sunday is a very important match. It will be against a tough team. We have players missing, but we also know we have other players who can step up and fill those roles,” added Matuidi. “We will just have to play as a team to make sure that we get the result that we want.”
