With the second edition of the Leagues Cup now over, the business end of Major League Soccer's 2024 season is suddenly upon us.
Last weekend, the Columbus Crew outlasted 46 other top-flight American, Canadian and Mexican clubs to win the tournament, beating LAFC in a rematch of last year's MLS title game. The high-flying Crew ought to be the favorites to repeat as the domestic league's champs — a testament to the stylish, safe-is-death ethos coach Wilfried Nancy's squad embodies.
But the bookies' pick to win MLS Cup on Dec. 7 is still Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Makes sense. Messi returned to training on Wednesday for the first time since mid-July, when he led Argentina to its second consecutive Copa América title.
The GOAT has been gone from the Herons' lineup since before then; Messi's last MLS appearance came back on June 1, before he joined his national team for the Albiceleste's pre-Copa friendlies. Yet the stacked Herons have proven to be worthy front-runners even without Messi, going 7-1 even with his fellow former Barcelona stars Jordi Alba , Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez all missing games because of injury or, in Suarez's case, international duty.
LAFC and the rival LA Galaxy are top contenders for the Phillip F. Anschutz Trophy, too. So is Ohio's other club, FC Cincinnati , winners of the Supporters Shield as regular season champs in 2023. Yet the manufactured parity of MLS and its forgiving playoff format means off-the-radar sides are more than capable of making a deep run. This phenomenon extends to international play: a couple of months ago, few would've predicted the Colorado Rapids and Philadelphia Union reaching the Leagues Cup final four.
Now the attention turns inward. Match Day 29's full slate of games is highlighted by Sunday's nationally televised bout between the Galaxy and St. Louis City (2:45 p.m. ET, FOX/FOX Deportes and the FOX Sports App).
A year after claiming the Western Conference title as an expansion team, the former has fallen back to earth in Year 2. St. Louis sits second to last in the overall standings with eight games remaining. The only one of MLS's 29 teams that has accumulated fewer points is the San Jose Earthquakes .
The Galaxy know what a difference a year can make in MLS. The record five-time league title winners have made the playoffs just twice in the last seven seasons. But they stuck with fourth-year coach Gregg Vanney last winter and have been rewarded handsomely for that patience; for now at least, Los Angeles ' original MLS squad sits all alone atop the West.
The Union have punched above their weight for a decade under local product Jim Curtin, and while Philly's abysmal start to 2024 may cost them a playoff spot for the first time since 2017, they won two straight before that Leagues Cup run. The 2022 MLS Cup runner-up won't be an easy out if they eke their way in.
It's no secret that MLS struggles to compete for eyeballs every fall, as the storied and richer European soccer circuits and the traditional North American sports leagues, not least the NFL, kick off.
But there's drama aplenty, and MLS stretch run is always intriguing for those who really care — a number that is growing steadily every year. The 2024 MLS campaign is on pace to become the most attended ever, besting the record set just 10 months ago.
MLS is also quietly improving the quality of its on-field product every season, even if it still lags behind Europe's Big Five. MLS sent more players to the last World Cup than any league besides England's Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A and France's Ligue 1.
It lured Messi last summer and Suarez six months later. Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud , who helped France win the 2018 World Cup and return to the final four years later in Qatar, joined LAFC this year.
FC Cincinnati outbid a UEFA Champions League participant for U.S. national team defender Miles Robinson , Robinson confirmed to FOX Sports in January.
And just last week, Orlando City locked up Nebraska-born forward Duncan McGuire on a long-term deal worth around $1.4 million per season – a previously unheard of figure for a player with just one USMNT cap.
"I think it says a lot about MLS," McGuire said in a phone interview when asked about the Lions' financial commitment. "You can see with all the new players coming into the league that it's growing very quickly. This is a place where players want to be, and I think it's only going get better."
MLS still has lots of room for improvement, to be sure. San Diego will become its 30th franchise in 2025, and the hope is that MLS commissioner Don Garber — who just celebrated his 25h anniversary in the job — will further cement his legacy by convincing the league's owners to drastically loosen the purse strings as the U.S., Canada and Mexico -hosted 2026 World Cup approaches, and finally set MLS on a course to truly rival Europe's best on the field.
In the meantime, there's plenty for fans of the league to look forward to.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. He was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports before joining FOX Sports in 2021, and he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ ByDougMcIntyre .
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