Mic'd Up: The Apple TV analyst breaks down Inter Miami’s MLS Cup win, explains why Messi still decides everything, backs MLS’s move to a fall-spring calendar, and tips LA Galaxy to rebound in 2026.
Bradley Wright-Phillips got it wrong. He will be the first to admit it. The New York Red Bulls legend tried to get clever with the MLS Cup. He saw the Vancouver Whitecaps throughout the season and said they would beat Inter Miami in the final.
"Vancouver are probably, on their day, the best team in the league. I'm talking about every position. They're so flipping good, man. I actually had them as favorites to win, like an idiot," the former New York Red Bulls star says to GOAL, before pausing.
"But it doesn't matter against Miami."
That turned out to be a pretty succinct summary of the final, which Miami won 3-1. Vancouver played better. But Lionel Messi is Lionel Messi, and he makes a difference pretty much every time.
"Watching him play the last two games of the season, that's the quietest I've seen him still. He still had a very big impact. That is the difference between him and the rest of us mere mortals. He can quickly go by two players, get his head up, and play the perfect ball in for an assist," he says
But for Wright Phillips, who works for Apple TV as an analyst and has been a stalwart of the American soccer scene for nearly 15 years, there's more to think about. Most of it is in the future. MLS announced a switch to a fall-spring calendar. He loves it.
"It just makes sense. I think we're going to hear what the rest of the world is saying in terms of the transfer window. It gives us here in America the chance to get those big players, to compete with the rest of Europe and the rest of the world," he adds.
And then there's next season to think about – already. Every year, MLS shifts. Sure, Miami and Vancouver will be around. But LA Galaxy, he thinks, will be back to their best after a rotten campaign.
Wright-Phillips looked back at the MLS Cup final and made some far-too-early predictions for the 2026 season in another edition of Mic'd Up, GOAL’s recurring feature that brings the perspective of analysts, announcers, and other voices on the state of soccer in the U.S. and beyond.
- AFP
ON MLS CUP
GOAL: What'd you think of the MLS Cup final?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: The final was a spectacle. It was brilliant, the setup, the occasion, the two teams. The potential of it was unbelievable, to be the biggest game in MLS Cup history. Yeah, just what was surrounding. I thought both teams deserved to get to the final. Normally, when you get an MLS Cup, it's one team that's kind of stumbled through the playoffs, played really defensively. They could have finished ninth in the East and got to the final [through their defense]. Both teams, for me, were good and strong and deserved to be there.
And it's obviously Alba and Busquets' last game. You get Messi versus Muller. So that part was amazing. I thought the actual match itself wasn't great. You're in the final. You don't want to lose. MLS Cup is on the line. So I thought that showed on the pitch, and it just turned into a fight, almost. But I enjoyed it. It was good to see Messi and Co. roll their sleeves up and really see the nasty side of them. I think it became a game of whoever could take their chances. I always say when you play against Inter Miami, it doesn't matter what they're playing like, if you don't score two or more goals, you're probably not winning that game. Vancouver had some chances and didn't take them. When you're playing against Messi and these superstars, they're gonna punish you.
GOAL: Is it fair to say that Vancouver might have been better on the day?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: Vancouver were a better team. They were a better football team than [Inter Miami]. I said this on the shows before the final. They're a better football team. Vancouver are probably, on their day, the best team in the league. I'm talking about every position. They're so flipping good, man. I actually had them as favorites to win, like an idiot. For an hour, in the middle of that game. But it doesn't matter against Miami.
GOAL: Javier Mascherano talked about the "efficiency" of Leo Messi to win it. What did you make of his performance?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: I think that's quite a nice way of summing it up. The perfect word is efficiency. Messi, for the last two games, wasn't that good. But he has an impact on the game. He needs to get the ball in a certain area. He'll do a bit of magic, play a ball in, and end up leaving the game with two assists. Watching him play the last two games of the season, that's the quietest I've seen him still. He still had a very big impact. That is the difference between him and the rest of us mere mortals. He can quickly go by two players, get his head up, and play the perfect ball in for an assist. I don't think he was good in terms of, like, a whole 90-minute game.
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- Getty Images Sport
ON CHANGES IN MLS
GOAL: Looking ahead, though. Fall-Spring calendar: what do you make of that? Is that the kind of thing you wish you'd had? Or did you not think about it?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: No, I wish we did have that. Coming from England and playing in England last part of my career, I always enjoyed, like, a summer break. When I would go home through MLS seasons, I would have to go at Christmas. It was cold. Family members are still working or quite busy, you know? But for summer, it's a better time, especially for my kids as well. They're off school. They can hang out for a bit longer.
And for the league, it just makes sense. I think we're going to hear what the rest of the world is saying in terms of the transfer window. It gives us here in America the chance to get those big players to compete with the rest of Europe and the rest of the world. It makes sense. And also international breaks. We're losing players due to FIFA windows. It doesn't make sense. In big games in the season, you need your best players. There are a lot of advantages to it, and I definitely welcome it.
GOAL: What other changes would you like to see?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: I think when I first came over, the salary cap. But I'm so used to all of this stuff. The league is improving all the time, and I don't think there needs to be a rush in anything. I think it's going at a great pace. I've said before, the league is 30 years old. How quick has this thing moved? It's probably a top 10 league in the world. Some people would argue higher. So I think it's going in the right direction. I just think you have to keep developing the players in the academies. But just as important are the coaches. Yeah, this year, we saw some first-time MLS coaches in the MLS Cup.
I think we've got to get away from just reverting to legends all the time. And respect, there are still some legends that will do a great coaching job. But I think MLS has gone away from just saying, "Okay, let's just go and get him. Let's just go and get him." I don't want to name names, because still, some of them are very good, but I think we know where I'm going. You need to see Jesper Sorensens get into a final, even Javier Mascherano. He's got a super team, but it's not easy to coach those players.
I remember Inter Miami just looking like the Harlem Globetrotters during the first quarter of the season. They were fun to watch, but they were terrible defensively. They had no structure, just heavily reliant on Leo Messi and Luis Suarez. But when you watch them towards the end of the season, they almost sacrifice some football, drop Suarez, and they were a team that looked structured, difficult to beat. The final was a perfect example of that. It wasn't pretty, but they're hard to beat. They're going to fight, and then they have those game changers when they need them. The coaching for me is levels above where it's ever been.
- Getty Images
ON WHO WILL TAKE A STEP FORWARD NEXT SEASON
GOAL: Who's the team that's going to take the biggest step forward next year?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: I'm leaving out all the teams that I think are good. So the teams that you saw end the season well: the San Diegos, Inter Miamis, LAFC, I'm leaving those out. But I'll say LA Galaxy. I think LA Galaxy was terrible last year, under the level that we're used to seeing them at. But I think they'll have a good transfer window. They got Riqui Puig coming back. I think we see them competing again.
- Getty Images Sport
ON WHO WILL TAKE A STEP BACK
GOAL: So who goes the opposite way? Or who overperformed a little?
WRIGHT-PHILLIPS: I always worry about, and they never live up to expectations, is Austin. They came into the league with a bang, and because of that, there's always a big expectation. But I still don't think they figured out a true identity over there. I don't think they figured out what they really want to be yet. I don't think they've got the right DPs in to me. They just don't convince me. And I thought last year they just a bit, they kind of just about figured it out towards the end of the season, but it wasn't good enough.
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