As Inter Miami approaches MLS Decision Day presented by AT&T this Sunday, the team’s hopes of clinching a spot in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs remain alive. Despite the fact that qualification won’t entirely be in the team’s hands, there is only one thought in the minds of every Inter Miami member as the Club’s final regular season match in its inaugural campaign, which is against FC Cincinnati, looms: winning.
“We will only be focusing on ourselves. We can’t have an influence on anything external, or on the other matches, what we can do is win our match and that is our focus,” said manager Diego Alonso. “We are convinced that if we win, we will qualify. There’s no room for us to draw or for any other circumstance, we simply have to win.”
“We know the only thing we need to do is win our game. Anything short of that won’t be good enough. We don’t totally control our destiny, we do need a couple of favors elsewhere, but we just need to focus on ourselves and try to get ourselves in the best position possible. That’s by taking care of our own business here at home against Cincinnati,” claimed Scottish winger Lewis Morgan.
Alonso also emphasized the team’s positive spirit as the driving force behind its improvement and being in contention for a playoff spot, while Morgan insisted the pressure on the team is positive ahead of the pivotal fixture over the weekend against a tough opponent.
“I always say that dreamers never achieve their dreams, they surpass them. So we always stay positive knowing that we are capable of big things and we will fight for our dreams. That positive mindset has brought us here where we have opportunities to qualify for playoffs, when maybe three or four months ago the scenario was different,” stated the Uruguayan tactician. “The match won’t be easy, but we have to keep pushing, keep insisting and get the best out of ourselves to be able to win.”
“We have a massive game at the weekend, and we welcome all the pressure that’s going to be put on us because hopefully we can use that as a positive and help us strive on to get a positive result. We’ve got pressure from ourselves internally, pressure from outside and the fans and we will want to make them proud too. The teams around us all have tough games too. All we can do is control our own fate and our own destiny by winning our game and the rest will take care of itself,” added Morgan. “They’re not going to come here and roll over and give us the three points, so we expect a tough matchup against a good team."
Meanwhile, striker Gonzalo Higuaín hopes Inter Miami can draw on the experience of the leaders within the team to be able to get the result the Club needs on Sunday.
“I had experience in many important matches before, which I hope can help out this weekend as we play for a spot in the playoffs. Beyond my experience, the team has vast experience from other members: [Blaise] Matuidi is a World Cup winner. [Rodolfo] Pizarro has been a champion in Mexico, Wil Trapp has played in decisive instances with Columbus, Diego Alonso has been champion in Mexico as a manager. Hopefully, between us we can form a solid base and we can clinch the qualification. Our dream is intact and we will go out in search of it,” he concluded.
