New York City FC to play Inter Miami in Eastern Conference Final

After beating heavily-favored Philadelphia Union 1-0 in the Eastern Conference Semifinal last night, New York City FC announced the date and time of their Eastern Conference Final matchup with Inter Miami CF: The two will play on Saturday, November 29, at Chase Stadium in Ft Lauderdale, FL.

Miami, which finished the season in 3rd Place in the East, have hosting rights over New York City, which finished in 5th Place. In fact, New York City were the lowest-seeded team to advance from Round One, beating 4th Place Charlotte FC in the best-of-three series with two away wins. They followed that up with another away win last night, handing top-seeded Philadelphia their first home loss since March 16, and just their second home loss all year.

NYCFC stun Philadelphia at Subaru Park, book spot in Eastern Conference Final

Maxi Moralez reprised the role of playoff hero, Matt Freese made multiple match-saving stops, and a depleted New York City FC squad pulled off a major road upset against the Supporters’ Shield winners.

Hudson River BlueAndrew Leigh

Now, New York City will try to log yet another playoff upset when they face a heavily-favored Inter Miami, headlined by Lionel Messi. The Argentine had one goal and three assists in yesterday’s 4-0 away win over FC Cincinnati, which gives him an astonishing 13 goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games.

Miami’s home record during the Major League Soccer season was 11W-3D-3L, with the most recent loss coming in Chicago Fire’s surprise 5-3 win on September 30. Since then, Miami logged four consecutive victories at home, including a 4-0 win over Nashville SC in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

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New York City FC brought the game to Philadelphia Union, scoring first then bunkering down to keep calm in a chaotic second half — and keep the hosts off the scoresheet to win this Eastern Conference Semifinal.

Hudson River BlueMatthew Mangam

But New York City’s away form is just as imposing. The team have a road record of 7W-0D-1L since adding Nico Ferández Mercau to a Designated Player Contract over the summer. Not only did NYCFC beat heavily-favored Philadelphia and Charlotte in the postseason, they also defeated playoff-bound teams such as Cincinnati and Nashville.

Still, NYCFC will enter this match once again as the underdogs, as the team will be without striker Alonso Martínez and midfielder Andrés Perea, both of whom suffered season-ending injuries in recent weeks, and will be facing a full-strength Inter Miami.

In other words, it will be a familiar scenario for NYCFC, a team that made it this far by defying the odds and beating tough opponents on the road.

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Hudson River BlueJohn Baney

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