Where playoff-bound Inter Miami gets production with Lionel Messi out

With a win over FC Cincinnati on Saturday, its seventh straight in Major League Soccer play, Inter Miami became the first team to qualify for the postseason.

It's hardly surprising Miami booked another spot in the playoffs. What is surprising is how it has performed so well without its star forward, Lionel Messi.

Of Miami's 26 MLS games, Messi has played in only 12, missing the rest due to injuries, travel concerns and the Copa America.

Here are the players who have carried the load in Messi's absence and might help lead Miami to its first MLS title.

Drake Callender | Goalkeeper

When asked who might be MLS' best active goalkeeper, most pundits default to the usual suspects: Columbus' Patrick Schulte, LAFC's Hugo Lloris and Portland's Maxime Crepeau.

But Miami's Callender absolutely deserves to be included in the conversation. He has made 81 saves in MLS this season , far more than Schulte, Lloris or Crepeau, and has one of the highest pass accuracy percentages of any starting keeper in the league.

Callender is one of the few Miami starters who precedes the arrival of Messi. He has more than earned his continued spot in the lineup.

Diego Gomez | Midfielder

Messi isn't the only hyped South American attacker in Miami's front line.

21-year-old Paraguayan prospect Gomez, who joined Miami last summer, is one of the team's more consistent and exciting offensive options. He has scored three goals in 2024 and assisted six others, and his performances have earned him interest from Premier League side Brighton Hove & Albion.

Yannick Bright | Midfielder

Bright came to Miami via the college SuperDraft. The Italian-born midfielder made a name for himself as a starting midfielder with the University of New Hampshire Wildcats before joining Miami on a professional contract in March.

Bright is an excellent ball mover in the center of the midfield, racking up 86% pass accuracy during his 15 games, but his true strength comes from his ability to generate fouls in important areas. Bright has been fouled 15 times this season. Only Miami's Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez, Marcelo Weigandt and Messi have been fouled more.

Luis Suarez | Forward

He's not a scrappy depth player, but few men have stepped up more for Miami in Messi's absence than his old FC Barcelona teammate, Suarez.

There were many concerns about him when he joined Miami — he had a serious knee injury and was not expected to handle the MLS schedule well — but Suarez has put those concerns to bed. His goals-per-90-minutes ratio is one of the highest in the league at 0.93. The only regular starter ahead of him in that metric is Messi.

Miami returns to MLS action Saturday at 8:30 p.m. against the Chicago Fire. Messi may be available to play.