United States men’s national team (USMNT) great Landon Donovan is a bona fide American soccer great, having won the Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup six times. And, he has stated that Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami will fail to retain the MLS Cup at the end of this year.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami Receives Harsh 2026 MLS Cup Prediction
During the recent episode of the ‘Unfiltered Soccer’ podcast, Donovan and USMNT icon Tim Howard offered their predictions for the 2026 MLS season. The former attacker insisted Los Angeles FC (LAFC) will triumph over Philadelphia Union in the upcoming MLS Cup final. The ex-Los Angeles Galaxy attacker also backed LAFC to win the Supporters’ Shield.
LAFC, coached by Marc Dos Santos, started their new league campaign in style on Feb. 21. They eased past Inter Miami at the LA Memorial Coliseum, scoring three unanswered goals to register a commanding 3-0 win over the reigning MLS Cup winners in the opener.
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David Martinez, Denis Bouanga, and Nathan Ordaz each bagged a goal for LAFC in the win over the Messi-captained side. On the other hand, LAFC talisman Heung-min Son provided the assist for his side’s opening goal before being taken off in the 89th minute.
Under Dos Santos, LAFC have yet to taste defeat in three matches. They opened their 2026 season with a 6-1 win at Honduran club Real España on Feb. 18 and beat them again 1-0 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup first round second leg clash on Feb. 24.
Despite his domestic prediction, Donovan also suggested that Inter Miami will win their first CONCACAF Champions Cup this year. He also tipped San Diego FC winger Anders Dreyer to win the MLS MVP award over Messi after the end of the playoffs this December.
Meanwhile, Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano heaped praise on LAFC last Saturday while also highlighting how Donovan’s favorites were good at their counter-attacks.
“They beat us fair and square, that’s the reality. My initial analysis is that the result is somewhat misleading, as there wasn’t that much difference in the game itself. Los Angeles clearly made the difference in terms of transitions; they hurt us a lot,” Mascherano said.
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“We know we have to improve, we have to keep insisting on the positive things we’ve done. You will never hear me make individual assessments of players, especially after a defeat. I am the only one responsible,” the Inter Miami boss further told reporters.
LAFC will next take on the Houston Dynamo in an away league contest on Saturday, Feb. 28.
