Inter Miami jockeying for playoff spot heading into Friday night game at Toronto FC

Three games left. Eight teams jockeying for the final playoff spots. Inter Miami fans have begun pulling out their calculators and trying to figure out all the permutations.

But coach Phil Neville said Miami’s playoff quest really comes down to this: “If we win our games, we’ll be in the playoffs.”

Heading into its final road game Friday night against Toronto FC, Inter Miami is clinging to the seventh and final playoff spot in the East. The last two games are at home, Oct. 5 against Orlando City and Oct. 9 against CF Montreal.

Miami had built momentum after back-to-back wins over the Columbus Crew and D.C. United but has not played in 12 days because of the FIFA international break. The break also included an ankle injury to right back DeAndre Yedlin, who went down while playing for the U.S. national team against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in Murcia, Spain.

He flew directly to Toronto and is “50-50” for Friday’s game, Neville said.

If Yedlin can’t play, Neville’s options are: Victor Ulloa, Christopher McVey, Ryan Sailor and Harvey Neville, the coach’s son, who joined the roster a few weeks ago after receiving his green card.

“We’ve got to attack the next three games and go for nine points,” Neville said. “I firmly believe and you’ve got to believe the teams around us will win their last two or three. We have to match, or better, those score lines. If we don’t do our job, it won’t matter what other teams do.”

Toronto is eliminated from the playoff race but will be motivated to win at home.

Last time they played, at DRV PNK Stadium on Aug. 20, Miami won 2-1 and did a good job against Italian duo Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.

“We handled them OK, and they still produced moments of brilliance,” Neville said. “That goal by Insigne, not many players in the league that can score a goal of that quality and technique. You can keep those players quiet, but the moment you switch off, they can punish you.”

Former Toronto playmaker Alejandro Pozuelo will be making his first trip back to BMO Field since being traded in July.

In four seasons with Toronto, Pozuelo scored 30 goals in 100 games, and was the league MVP in 2020. The Spaniard has made a big impact with Inter Miami, scoring two goals with six assists in 11 games. He also has been instrumental in Gonzalo Higuian’s resurgence.

“I’m happy to go back to Toronto, my home for three and a half years, to see friends and play there and hopefully we can get the three points,” Pozuelo said. “They are out of the race and for us it is a very important game.”

Neville said he expects Pozuelo to play well against his former team.

“He’s excited to go back, a club that he loved playing for, club where he had brilliant success,” Neville said. “He’s got nothing to prove up there. His main motivation is to bring success to Inter Miami and take us to the playoffs. I’m sure he’ll get a great ovation.”

The Miami attack will rely on the trio of Pozuelo and forwards Higuain and Leo Campana, who have 23 goals between them.

“Pozuelo, Gonzalo and I playing together adds a lot, especially because of the quality and experience Gonzalo and Pozuelo have,” Campana said. “We have very good chemistry. I am thrilled and privileged to be able to play alongside them.”

Left back Brek Shea and winger Coco Jean are back from injury and available for the final three games.

Neville reminded his players that they have been underdogs all season and should use that as motivation.

“In the preseason projections everyone had us down 13th, 12, 11. From Day One everyone’s written us off,” he said. “There was no expectation from outside this football club. We turned around 19 players in the offseason and already these players performed miracles in their spirit and what they’ve delivered. We have three more chances to perform more miracles.”

Neville opened his news conference with comments about Hurricane Ian.

“On behalf of Inter Miami, our thoughts and prayers go out to people affected by some of the most horrific weather conditions I have ever seen,” he said. “We’ve all been glued to the news. People up in Naples, Sarasota, Tampa Bay, some of the scenes and destruction has been upsetting and worrisome, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who are suffering. It really puts football and life into perspective that there’s devastation 200 miles away from us.”