Inter Miami CF defender Noah Allen insists the team enters the MLS Cup playoffs with high expectations, emphasizing that anything less than lifting the trophy would be considered a failure.
"Yeah [it's a failure for if Inter Miami don't win MLS Cup]. We have high expectations for ourselves," Allen said.
"I feel like we have the highest standard in ourselves and we want to win every trophy possible. Yeah, we want to win."
Inter Miami concluded the MLS regular season in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 65 points, drawing Nashville SC for the best-of-three Round One playoff series.
The Herons will host Nashville on Friday night at Chase Stadium for the first match, and secured home-field advantage for the potential third game due to table placement.
"I'm very excited about the playoffs. I have confidence in my team; we have the best of all time, and well, we're really excited," Rodrigo De Paul said.
"But football doesn't always win the best or the one who deserves it most. We have to keep that percentage of luck as low as possible, and whatever work it takes, give everything we have to do our best so that the playoffs go our way."
Inter Miami are familiar with their round one opponent, concluding the regular-season campaign with a 5-2 triumph over Nashville on Oct. 18. Now the team will prepare for at least two more games against the same rival.
Lionel Messi, who scored a hat trick against Nashville in the final game to secure the 2025 MLS Golden Boot, missed Tuesday's training session due to minor back discomfort. However, sources told ESPN that the Argentina forward is expected to return to training on Wednesday ahead of the round one series and play an integral part in the first match at Chase Stadium.
Inter Miami were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2024 which has motivated them for this year's post-season.
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"I feel like we have a good relationship between each other and I feel like we play good football with the ball. We keep a lot of possession and I just feel like we have to have that confidence that we are the best team in the league," Allen said.
"Yeah, it's not a sense of urgency. There's not a panic or anything. It's more of a motivation, right? And especially the guys that were here last year, I think everyone remembers it.
"And I think it's been a message around the whole offense that everyone can understand is that it's difficult, right?
"It's not traditional, some players may agree, some players may not agree, but we have to do it. We have to win two games."