Believe it or not, Atlanta United’s 2024 season has once again lived to see another day. Another two matchdays, to be precise, as the Five Stripes again survived the brink of elimination in Tuesday’s Wild Card match to advance to Round One, where they face a Best-of-3 series with the new single season points record holders- Inter Miami.
What might be the wildest season in Atlanta United’s history just keeps getting wilder. Atlanta will play their third match in a third different location tonight- all in less than a week. The Five Stripes ride in on a three match win streak, and have gone their last six road matches without losing, all incredible feats for a team that seemingly flipped a switch at the last possible moment to make something memorable out of a season that was previously headed straight for the memory hole. In return, they’ve been matched with the top seed in the East, an MLS Cup Playoff debut series for Messi and Friends.
Atlanta United are no strangers to Inter Miami by now. They shouldn’t even be all that scared, considering they’ve gotten results from the league’s spotlight club in both prior meetings this year, a win on the road and a draw in the Benz. The Five Stripes can play to the level of their opponent (up OR down) and have now shown the grit to play with survival on the line in three consecutive matches. Tired legs will undoubtedly show against a team given a week to rest, but the Best-of-3 format means a loss isn’t the end all here. Keep in mind the return to the Benz in eight days’ time for Game 2, a last hurrah at home for this team in of the most anticipated matches lined up in a while.
Atlanta won’t need much motivating to play the Supporters’ Shield champions. They haven’t needed much this entire week, in fact. Playing with a nothing to lose, all-in style, this team has found a form that hasn’t been seen all year, and despite everything else has given the fanbase a reason to rally. Be excited, have nothing to lose, and enjoy these moments for what they are. The magic may not be out just yet.
Tonight’s first match in the Round One series will stream free on Apple TV, with kickoff scheduled for a later 8:45 PM down in South Florida, and will also air on DirecTV Channel 662. Radio coverage for this evening is provided in English this time on Star 94.1 and in Spanish on La Mejor.
As we gear up for kickoff, check out our match preview and lineup prediction, including the injury report (spoiler: Pedro Amador is healthy), then take it back here and into the match thread using the comments below to discuss all the action around a massive start to a massive playoff matchup.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
Inter Miami’s Lineup:
How to Watch:
Venue: Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Kickoff Time: Friday, October 25th; 8:45 PM ET
Available TV/Streaming: Apple TV (Free), DirecTV Channel 622
Available Radio: Star 94.1, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM
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Maybe we are closer than it seems. There’s a core here to build on.
Despite everything – that was nothing to be ashamed of . On the road vs the best team Captain Guz gets us as far as our talent could get us
Got the effort and the result I expected. We played hard, but just aren’t good enough yet. The effort though is a very good sign about the culture in the clubhouse.
It’s been a pleasure to watch Guzan come back from such a horrible injury and play the way he has at the end of his career. Total respect and admiration!
100%
I just think Brad Guzan is the best keeper in MLS right now. That’s all.
Why is a dude totally open at the top of the box ?
Not just any dude…
Well… That’s why they are who they are…
Crazy how Brad went from knee injury and one of his worst seasons to superman.
Muyumba is a hacking machine
I have no idea what’s happening – xande in for Alexei ?
we need fresh legs. this is Miranchuk’s 3rd game in 6 days, so playing 225 min plus all the injury time in 6 days is a lot even for pro players.
He was looking slow so I get the sub but Xande ? I haven’t seen that dude in weeks
so he should be fresh then 🙂
So, literally grabbing Fortune and tossing him aside is not a foul?
Fortune is wearing blue , not pink therefore … no foul
we are still not in an ideal situation. we only have one more substitution window left due to two separate injury subs…curious how we are going to use the subs. i guess we could sub someone on at the start of the 2nd half and still have the sub window for later in the 2nd half
Pedro; you BEAUTY. What an ASSIST. If Messi made that assist, everyone would be talking about it for years. But Pedro, we will be talking about that when we lift MLS Cup!
For all the ho-hum reaction to his signing, he’s been a gem!
Agreed. Best signing in years. Couple more like that and we could be dangerous.
We keep possession and do THAT
AHHHHHHHHHHHH
Saba time !
SABA!
Seriously ?! This is nuts – two injury subs already ?
Not good. Looks like Brooks could be done for a while if it’s a clavicle.
already using 2 subs before halftime is quite possibly the worst match of the year
As if it couldn’t get any worse. Stian. Dang
at this point all we can do is hold on for halftime and then regroup
We should be down by three goals but Old Man Guz and the Pist have something to say about that
Post
Wait, lowkey, I think Brad should be keeper of the year.
I guess Valentino did not want to give Matt Edwards baptism by fire for his MLS playoff debut
And against Messi.
Crap – Hernandez already out and now Brooks out
Looks like Brooks my have broken his collarbone…
Only took 90 secs to confirm these are most assuredly the last two games (3 if we are lucky) this season. We made progress towards the end of the season, but we aren’t a complete team yet. Hopeful for next season to be a true contender. Still, Vamos ATL!
Bright side, we get a home game regardless. So we get to see Messi live again
If you can afford the ticket
Think it was just auto-purchased for stm?
Thanks Bartok
Alright, let’s go to Atlanta, win that game, and park the bus in the third game.
Here we go lads. Let’s do this
No Hernandez ?
I’m watching this 99% as an Atlanta United fans and 1% for entertainment.
Off to buy my weekend football (European and American kind) beer
Absolutely no way MLS will let us eliminate Miami. Expect a red card and dodgy penalty tonight.
Messi’s League, Sucker!