FC Cincinnati can clinch a berth in the Audi 2026 MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night, Oct. 28, when the Orange and Blue play Inter Miami CF at Nu Stadium in Miami, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. ET, according to FC Cincinnati’s matchday preview.
Cincinnati clinches with a win at Inter Miami combined with a Columbus Crew loss at FC Dallas, according to a clinching scenario shared by FC Cincinnati Communications on Oct. 27 and included in the club’s preview. A berth would be Cincinnati’s fifth straight appearance in the MLS Cup Playoffs — a run only four MLS clubs have matched over that stretch, according to the club.
Cincinnati enters the match in eighth place in the Eastern Conference on 42 points, four points clear of the playoff line, with wins in its last two matches, according to the club’s preview. Wednesday’s game is the final road match of the regular season, and the first of a closing stretch of three matches in which Cincinnati also hosts Philadelphia Union on Halloween and Nashville SC on Decision Day at TQL Stadium.
“Players are going to have to be ready because we’re going to need the fresh legs,” FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan said Tuesday ahead of the team’s departure for South Florida, in comments published in the club’s matchday preview. “We know the challenges that we’re going to face with Miami and how strong a group they have — so, now, how do you take momentum but be able to shift your focus to what is in front of you and not what you’ve just accomplished?”
Inter Miami enters at 15-6-10 with 55 points, third in the Eastern Conference, its playoff spot already confirmed and its seeding still to settle, according to the club’s preview. Miami leads the Eastern Conference with 73 goals, and Lionel Messi leads MLS with 25 goals and is tied for the league lead in assists with Cincinnati’s Evander at 15, according to FC Cincinnati. Evander contributed to both goals in Cincinnati’s 2-0 win at D.C. United on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Wednesday is Cincinnati’s first match at Inter Miami’s new Nu Stadium, which opened in April, and its first visit to a new MLS venue since May 16 at San Diego FC, according to the club. Cincinnati is 1-3-2 all-time away to Inter Miami, with its lone road win a 1-0 result in October 2023, and Miami is 6-2-6 at home this season and unbeaten there since Aug. 22, according to the club’s preview.
“What we’ll try to do is have a good overall team performance,” Noonan said in the club’s preview. “From a mentality perspective for players it’s, how can you respect your opponent but not be overwhelmed by it? I don’t want to oversimplify it, but if you’re overwhelmed by it, you don’t stand a chance.” The match streams on Apple TV, with English radio on Fox Sports 1360 and Spanish radio on La Mega 101.5 FM, according to the club.
Photo: Hayden Schiff, CC BY