NASL: How would Miami FC do in MLS?
Taking on the first division
So how would the team translate into a full season in MLS? The Open Cup is a fun tournament, and teams outside of MLS have struggled to keep up with the widening gap between the leagues. That’s part of what makes Miami’s rise so intriguing. They aren’t moving on with fluke goals or penalty kicks after parking the bus for 90 minutes, they are coming out to play against their MLS opponents and looking like the stronger side.
The top five Eastern Conference MLS teams have been eliminated from the Open Cup (with Toronto being the Canadian champions), and four of them have lost to either Miami or FC Cincinnati. The one-off nature of the tournament makes it difficult to judge the translation of talent.
Cincinnati is currently in just seventh place in the USL Eastern Conference but has looked like a completely different team in their Open Cup upsets. They handled the Crew before weathering a Fire-storm from Chicago and then winning on penalty kicks. They would likely struggle to keep up in MLS play over the course of a season.
Miami is a bit different. Their team is deep with professional talent from around the world, and they certainly have looked the part in their small sample size. Miami and FCC will now meet in cup play for another crack at an MLS side, where that winner will go to the final. So let’s dive into The Miami FC roster and see how they would handle a full season in MLS.