Inter Miami Secures Home Field Advantage for MLS Cup Final Against All Odds
Inter Miami will welcome the Vancouver Whitecaps for the MLS Cup championship match on Saturday, even though they hold a lower playoff seed position in the tournament bracket.
Although Vancouver secured the Western Conference's No. 2 position while Miami claimed the Eastern Conference's No. 3 spot, the Herons obtained home field privileges by accumulating more points during the regular season Supporters' Shield campaign. Conference rankings only influence home advantage determination leading up to the MLS Cup championship game.
The Herons collected 65 points across their 34-game campaign, finishing behind only the Supporters' Shield champions Philadelphia Union and FC Cincinnati.
Vancouver compiled a franchise-best 63-point campaign, sufficient to match San Diego FC atop the Western Conference standings, but fell short of first place due to the total victories tiebreaker. Consequently, the Herons will welcome the championship at Chase Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 6.
Miami and Vancouver haven't clashed in MLS competition this year, though they battled in a two-game series during the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals. Vancouver claimed both matches 2–0 and 3–1 respectively to eliminate the Herons.
How Many Games is the MLS Cup Final?
The MLS Cup title will be determined through a single contest. If the squads remain deadlocked following 90 minutes, the championship would feature two 15-minute overtime periods before a penalty shootout if the additional time fails to determine a victor.
While MLS Cup has consistently been a single-game finale since its debut in 1996, the venue selection methods have evolved. From the initial MLS Cup through 2012, the league staged the contest at a pre-selected neutral location. Since that time, home field advantage has been awarded to the top-ranked remaining team in the Supporters' Shield standings.
Throughout MLS history, teams competing on their home ground have triumphed 12 out of 16 occasions, tilting the advantage toward Inter Miami.
If Vancouver emerges victorious, they would become the fourth organization in MLS history to capture both the U.S. Open Cup or Canadian Championship and MLS Cup within the same campaign.