The last time Charlotte FC visited Inter Miami CF, they suffered a 4-0 defeat against Lionel Messi and Co. in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.
A lot has changed in the two months since that mid-August night in South Florida.
While Charlotte are fighting for their first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs berth, the Herons have little more than pride to play for in Wednesday’s (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) rematch at DRV PNK Stadium, having already been eliminated from postseason contention.
Add to that Messi’s unavailability due to national-team commitments with Argentina, and The Crown are feeling pretty good about their chances.
“We want to give Miami a very strong game, we want to make our supporters proud and give them everything that we have got,” head coach Christian Lattanzio told reporters before the first of two straight matches against the Herons – they’ll meet again Oct. 21 in Charlotte for Decision Day – to end their regular season.
“We would love to go as far as possible to reach our goal … and we will give our best to make that happen.”
According to Lattanzio, Charlotte have been at their best of late, winning their last two games against Toronto FC and Chicago Fire FC by a combined scoreline of 5-0. As a result, the second-year club controls their playoff destiny while starting the week 12th in the Eastern Conference table with 39 points (9W-11L-12D).
“In the last few games, I think we’ve played our best football towards the end of the season,” the Italian manager stated.
These improved performances have coincided with the recent play of Karol Swiderski, who’s scored in three straight club games, posting 4g/1a in that span. But the Designated Player is a question mark for Wednesday night, after going the full 90 minutes and scoring Poland’s lone goal in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Moldova in Euro 2024 qualifiers.
“I think he’ll take part in the game. I don’t know yet how,” Lattanzio said of Swiderski, Charlotte’s top scorer this season with 12 goals. “We will decide that together.”
Even with no Messi to worry about, The Crown know they have to put in a stellar performance against a dangerous Miami team. Only the top nine teams per conference reach playoffs.
“There’s nothing we can do about the technical level that they have,” Lattanzio said. “… We know what we want to do. And even if the opposition knows: the better we execute, the better we play.”
