Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player Award are up for grabs on Decision Day — the final day of the 2025 regular season on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Lionel Messi is expected to play with Inter Miami in the MLS regular-season finale on the road against Nashville SC at 6 p.m. ET inside Geodis Park in Nashville. Messi posted on his Instagram story early Saturday, confirming he will play in the match.
Messi leads MLS with 26 goals, followed by LAFC’s Denis Bouanga with 24 and Nashville’s Sam Surridge with 23. Messi also has 18 assists, tied with San Diego’s Andres Dreyer for the league high. Messi’s 44 total goal contributions lead MLS, and are five shy of Carlos Vela’s single-season record of 49 with LAFC in 2019.
Messi is joined by Dreyer, Bouanga, Cincinnati’s Evander and Surridge in the 2025 MVP race.
“I think there’s no doubt about it,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said about Messi’s MVP case this season. “I think that measuring Leo solely by the statistics – which we could do, and he is the best – I think he goes beyond the statistics. It’s what he shows on the court, the importance he has within the team and what he does to entertain everyone who has the chance to see him.”
Stay tuned here as USA TODAY Sports provides live updates of the Nashville vs. Inter Miami match. Here’s what you need to know before kickoff:
Is Messi playing today in Nashville?
Messi’s status as a starter will be confirmed when Inter Miami announces its starting lineup about an hour before kickoff.
When is the Nashville vs. Inter Miami match?
The match begins at 6 p.m. ET (7 p.m. in Argentina) at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
How to watch Nashville vs. Inter Miami match on TV, live stream?
The match will be available via MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Watch Decision Day on MLS Season Pass
Nashville vs. Inter Miami betting odds, according to BETMGM
Nashville: +135
Draw: +275
Inter Miami: +160
Over/under: 3.5 goals
Nashville vs. Inter Miami prediction
–Nashville 3, Inter Miami 3: This isn’t an attractive result, but it certainly will hit the over. I see Lionel Messi and Sam Surridge teeing off as much as possible in this matchup, to chase down the Golden Boot. This will be a match where penalty shots will certainly be given to both players in the race. – Safid Deen, Lionel Messi reporter
MLS playoff picture will be settled on Decision Day
Inter Miami could improve to second place in the MLS Eastern Conference with a victory, but would need Cincinnati to falter at home against Montreal to move up in the standings. Cincinnati and Inter Miami are tied with 62 points in the East, but Cincinnati has the tiebreaking edge in the win column (19 vs. 18).
The Philadelphia Union (66 points) have already won the MLS Supporters’ Shield, the regular-season title that Inter Miami won last season.
Inter Miami already has secured home-field advantage for at least the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Nashville, which won the U.S. Open Cup on Oct. 1, enters the match in sixth place with 54 points.
MLS Cup playoffs calendar
Messi and Inter Miami already clinched a berth in the MLS Cup playoffs. Here are key playoff dates to know:
Oct. 22: Wild-card matches (single-elimination matches)
Oct. 24-Nov. 9: Round 1 (best-of-three series)
Nov. 22-23: Conference semifinals (single-elimination matches)
Nov. 29-30: Conference finals (single-elimination matches)
Dec. 6: MLS Cup (single winner-take-all match)