Red Bulls Need Upset of Messi’s Miami to Keep Playoff Hopes

With three games left in the 2026 regular season, Red Bull New York sit ninth in the Eastern Conference on 36 points, and the schedule is not kind. The Red Bulls close out against Nashville SC, the New England Revolution and Inter Miami, the top three teams in the East. First up is Miami and Lionel Messi at Sports Illustrated Stadium on Saturday night.

For a preview, amNY spoke with MLS analyst and former Portland Timbers fullback Keith Costigan. Messi leads the league with 25 goals and 15 assists, and no one has found a way to shut him down over a long career. Costigan’s advice is to start well before the ball reaches him. “I do think you have to make it uncomfortable for him. You have to get numbers around him and deny that space,” he told amNY. If New York can cut off the service and keep Messi from receiving the ball in dangerous spots, he said, they give themselves a chance.

The middle of the field figures to decide a lot. With Messi drifting through the center and Casemiro able to step forward from center-back, Miami’s midfield is bolstered. Red Bull counter with Adri Mehmeti and Ronald Donkor, who Costigan said can cause problems for Rodrigo De Paul and the rest of Miami’s midfield. He expects New York to play quick and direct, and pointed to the first meeting between the teams, a 2-2 draw. “Inter Miami had their moments going forward, but the Red Bulls made it uncomfortable for them,” he said. Many of Miami’s key players are aging while New York have leaned on youth, which could favor a high-tempo approach.

At the other end, Inter Miami have conceded 51 goals this season, and Costigan sees Julian Hall as the key to taking advantage. He called Hall one of the best young strikers in MLS and said the forward has to be a willing runner in behind. Casemiro reads the game well, Costigan said, but if Hall gets him on the turn and runs off his shoulder, covering that much space makes him “a little bit more normal as a player.” Costigan added that the wingers need to do the same.

The playoff picture is tight. Toronto, Columbus, NYCFC and D.C. United are all within three points of New York. Costigan said the Red Bulls are seven points off the tally of last season’s teams that missed out, so even two wins and a draw over the final three games might not be enough. He pointed to the losses to D.C. and Toronto as the ones that hurt, games New York should have won, and called Saturday “almost a must-win.” His read: “If you want to be in the playoffs, you have to take care of business at home.”

In a crowded East, there is still plenty to play for. For Red Bull, any playoff run starts Saturday night against Messi and Inter Miami.