Inter Miami CF host Atlanta United on Saturday night for a win-or-go-home Game 3, determining who advances from their Round One Best-of-3 Series in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs.
How to watch & stream
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When
Where
Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Miami and Atlanta have traded 2-1 victories, forcing a Game 3 to settle who meets Orlando City SC or Charlotte FC in an Eastern Conference Semifinal after the November international window.
If a Round One match is tied after regulation time (90 minutes), no extra time will be played. There will immediately be a penalty kick shootout to decide the winner.
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Seed: Eastern Conference No. 1
Regular season: 74 points (22W-4L-8D)
Inter Miami looked like the side many expected in Game 1, riding goals from Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba to a 2-1 home victory. If not for eight saves by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan, the score would have been far more lopsided.
But the Herons lost some venom in Game 2, suffering a 2-1 road defeat after failing to extend the lead afforded by David Martínez’s opportunistic strike. They were also without midfielder Sergio Busquets (illness), shifting Lionel Messi into more of a playmaker role.
Now, the Supporters’ Shield winners and single-season points record-holders are 90 minutes away from a shock postseason elimination. How will Messi & Co. respond, knowing their dream of winning MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 7 hangs in the balance?
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Seed: Eastern Conference No. 9
Regular season: 40 points (10W-14L-10D)
Are Atlanta about to complete the greatest upset in Audi MLS Cup Playoffs history?
At the very least, the Five Stripes are surging after Xande Silva delivered an all-time postseason moment in Game 2. His 94th-minute strike capped a 2-1 comeback victory, ensuring this Cinderella-esque run gets at least one more chapter.
Atlanta are still widely perceived as the underdog. After all, they finished the regular season 34 points below Inter Miami and needed a Decision Day miracle to make the playoffs.
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Then again, Atlanta are 2W-1L-1D against Inter Miami this year. Maybe they’ve cracked the code on Tata Martino’s star-studded group.
This spring marks five years since LifeLink of Georgia and Piedmont Atlanta Hospital partnered to create a space dedicated to families of loved ones going through the organ donation process.
While thousands of Georgians are still waiting, the Donor Care Unit at Piedmont Atlanta is recognizing a milestone as they march on to save and extend more lives.
More than a thousand names are on the ‘Tree of Life’ wall of LifeLink of Georgia’s offices. Their names are marked to remember the more than 3700 life-saving organ donation gifts through the unit in 2025 alone. It’s a milestone that would not exist without families like Kruchtens.
Jed and Veronica Kruchen of Forsyth County did not need much convincing. Their son Finley, a 6-foot-4 varsity football player at Denmark High School, died in October 2024 after suffering a pulmonary embolism. He was 17.
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“His favorite book was ‘The Giving Tree’ growing up,” Jed Kruchten said. “We both looked at each other… of course, that’s what he would want to do. There’s zero cost, and you help save lives. Why wouldn’t you do it?”
Finley donated a kidney and his heart to a 55-year-old man. A 15-year-old girl received his other kidney. He gave the gift of sight to another person and dozens more were helped through tissue donation.
“One life. One body. What you have can help 70 people,” Jed said.
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CBS News Atlanta
Three months after Finley died, Jed and Veronica launched the LL74 Finley Kruchten Foundation, giving scholarships to students. Two years in, applicants are still writing about Finley by name.
“He was described this year as legendary,” Veronica said.
Finley’s final days were spent inside the Donor Care Unit – one of only a handful in the country.
It does not look like a traditional intensive care unit by design. Inside, it has six ICU beds, private family rooms, and quiet spaces built for the hardest conversations.
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“Everybody shows up, whether it’s LifeLink or Piedmont Atlanta team members, with that intent, that compassion, solely based on honoring our donors and honoring the donor families,” said Hope Weed, executive director of LifeLink of Georgia.
Still, the need is great. More than 3 thousand Georgians are currently on the national transplant waiting list. Nationally, that number exceeds 109 thousand.
“There’s only 36% of Georgians that are signed up,” Weed said. “That’s why we always encourage people to learn more about organ donation. Registered donors are key.”
Georgians can register as organ donors in about 60 seconds at
mystorycontinues.com through LifeLink’s platform. Residents can also designate their donor status when renewing a driver’s license or hunting and fishing license. And to learn more about Riley’s story, visit their foundation’s website at LL74.org.
Well, that was straight up awful. Absolutely atrocious by Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup, a.k.a. the one significant chance they’ve had at a trophy in years. The team stayed down in the central Florida city after the 1-1 draw on Saturday in league play, but unfortunately all hopes that they’d improve in a more meaningful match were answered in the first 15 minutes. Here are the final whistle thoughts from the Mickey Mouse city after a terrible 4-1 loss.
Tactical changes
I won’t sit here and act like the tactical changes that Tata Martino made are entirely at fault. They certainly didn’t help, but they were exacerbated by an unwillingness of players to do their jobs, whether because they were confused or they were incapable.
Players on the backline were thoroughly out of position, as were players in the midfield. The amount of space between Atlanta’s “center backs” and the deepest-lying midfield players when Atlanta was in the attack was quite literally an acre. Orlando was able to hit on 1v1’s against Jayden Hibbert, even a 2v1 at one moment, all evening long. It was truly a tactical mismatch for the Five Stripes and one to which the players never adjusted.
Players
If you’re not going to commit to playing the entire game, you don’t need to be here. I don’t care if your position is water boy, if you aren’t putting 110% in the defense and the attack, you have to go. It’s one thing to make mistakes, it’s another entirely to sit around and watch someone go up for a free header in your own box or witness your entire defense get hammered while you and 5 other players watch from the attacking half.
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There are a drastic set of moves that need to be made in the summer and one can only hope Chris Henderson, Mauricio Culebro, and the rest of the front office can make them happen. This tactical change just showed that the team appears incredibly one-dimensional and can only be at their best when they don’t have to change much of anything.
I’d love to dive more into how bad this one was but honestly, those two points basically sum up the entire season so far. Fans have an absolute right to be sickened by how bad Atlanta United played in this match. Barring Jay Fortune, Cooper Sanchez, and Saba, I struggle to find a player that showed much heart in this one. Forget playing well, because no one did that, but the spirit and the desire to play for the badge over the chest was missing tonight. Cancel the flight for the players and make the drive back up I-75 from Orlando, since that’s what the three fans who made the trek down there have to do.
A new report says Atlanta is faring better than most other host cities. About half the city’s hotels in the survey say booking pace is in line with or ahead of expectations.
About 213,000 hotels in downtown, like the Moxy Atlanta Downtown, Midtown and Buckhead are booked for during the approximately 30 days of matches during this summer’s World Cup, according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)
Hotel bookings for the World Cup this summer are looking soft among host cities, but a new report suggests Atlanta is outperforming most ofits U.S. peers.
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The American Hotel & Lodging Association surveyed hoteliers across the 11U.S.markets that will host World Cup matches. In its report, the AHLA broadly said the “anticipated economic lift may fall short of expectations,” with 80% of survey respondents saying that hotel bookings are tracking below initial forecasts.
htiw htiw saw lacipyt gnidnert rieht eht eht naht yevrus dias stnednopser ecap ro ro fo fo fo enin enil si ni tsoh gniraf ,snoitatcepxe dnamed s’ytic .seitic gnikoob retteb daeha evoba a enuJ .yluJ tuB atnaltA tuobA %05
htiw lliw lliw emoclew ot eht eht naht reccos tes .lanifimes yalp no htnom .sehctam sehctam hctam ssel si gnidulcni ni ni tsoh labolg tsrif ,tneve thgie gnirud ,yawa dna osla a a dlroW ehT ocixeM enuJ puC seitiC adanaC atnaltA atnaltA .51
— naht stluser detsop eno ytic retteb ylnO .imaiM atnaltA
ylevitagen“ hcihw lacipyt gniliart eht eht eht eht reccos .syas dias stnednopser troper ecap ro fo fo tsom ,tekram ti si si si ”detcapmi letoh tsoh snoitatcepxe smialc latipac gnikoob woleb dna a ,iruossiM sasnaK sasnaK enuJ .yluJ s’ytiC ,ytiC ,aciremA tsomlA %09
deifilpma“ hcihw hcihw asiv ”.ytniatrecnu levart eht hcus reccos dias moor troper desaeler detum seussi lanoitanretni gnidulcni ni letoh evah gninrevog lacitilopoeg .dnamed ,snrecnoc seitic setic redaorb gnikoob ydob ,skcolb sreirrab sa dna osla ssorca .S.U ehT tI AFIF ,atnaltA
raw stekcit eht egrus .gniraos gnidnes enalp fo ,elihwnaem ni ni sah leuf detaerc ,stsoc tsoc a ehT ,narI
The American Hotel & Lodging Association recently released a report that compared the hotel booking expectations across the 11 U.S. World Cup host cities. (Courtesy of AHLA)
How many Atlanta hotel rooms are booked for World Cup?
eht eht taht gninnaps dias smoor won ,sehctam .stekram letoh stsoh gnirud ,nwotnwod syad dekoob era yletamixorppa dna dlroW srotisiV ehT nwotdiM puC noitnevnoC uaeruB daehkcuB atnaltA atnaltA 03 000,312 ;pma&
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sgnihT“ er’yehT“ ew levart .rehtegot ot ot ot ”,stekcit kniht rieht rieht eht eht gnitrats gnitrats gnitrats ”.flehs ees dias smoor tnecer yllaer tnediserp elpoep ,seitinutroppo ffo fo kool .weivretni ni letoh gnitteg gnimoc emoc ta era era era dna dna a mailliW ,etaP I OEC ,BVCA
wodniw lacipyt stekcit gniht eht taht taht naht retrohs .dias ,dias detluser desaeler .sesahp ecap fo egral si si ni ni letoh eh sah sah sah rof ,stneve ,sgnikoob gnikoob detceffa a tahT etaP enO AFIF
s’tI“ AFIF“ uoy ,tey levart ot ot ,stekcit stekcit yeht rieht taht taht llits llits os os .dias ”,snalp elpoep deifiton deen ekam tsuj si t’nevah evah gniog teg ”.ecneirepxe gnitubirtsid tnereffid neeb era dna a etaP
Why are Atlanta’s hotel bookings outperforming other World Cup cities?
nehw saw ot eht eht taht emos gniees dias smoor denruter mrofreptuo rehto tekram ssel ti si ni letoh letoh eh ytic seitic sgnikoob dekoob seveileb esuaceb detceffa .ecnavda dlroW etaP AFIF puC atnaltA
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eht ,sredlohekats ,ffats nosrepsekops tes .dias smoor moor ylsuoiverp snoitazinagro lanoitarepo no .srebmun aidem sti ti letoh letoh dah rof tneve werd ,resolc sgnikoob desab ecnadnetta edisa sa dna detsujda a AFIF tuB
saw ot eht emos rellams ereves ,dias smoor denruter egatnecrep fo ton gninaem .tekram ni tcapmi letoh ,seitic kcab sa sa a ehT etaP AFIF atnaltA
The West Peachtree Plaza hotel in downtown Atlanta is among the many hotels benefiting from the World Cup in town this summer. (Courtesy of Westin Peachtree Plaza)
htiw ,levart ot ot eht eht eht taht dias gnidnopser gniyalp no gnitekram lanoitanretni gnidulcni ni ni sdniwdaeh t’nevah morf desucof setairtapxe stroffe seirtnuoc ,erofeb neeb gnitcartta dna osla dlroW edreV .natsikebzU .S.U eH puC epaC atnaltA ,BVCA
eW“ ot esoht ereht .dias noissap fo tol si gniog ”,snaf gnitcepxe eb era tsgnoma a etaP
toN“ ew ew ”,asiv ot ot esoht eht taht taht llits tovip no deen gnitekram ,yllanoitanretni ni yvaeh eh teg sklof sucof t’nod gniod did tub t’nera era dna osla ydaerla .dedda seitivitca a a detinU setatS
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,srotisiv eht naht .dias smoor ssel lanoitanretni ni letoh eh dekoob era fO ,atnaltA %02
ruO“ s’tI“ srotisiv ot ot eseht .dias ydaer si taerg gniog rof ”.ecneirepxe ”,emoc ytic eb lla yletulosba a etaP
What could be the economic impact?
sraey .srotisiv ot sdnasuoht eht eht eht eht eht gnitrops ecnis fo fo s’ti si ni sderdnuh evah rof tneve detamitse yrtnuoc ytic gnirb tseggib detiawa dna ssorca dlroW cipmylO sreiletoH semaG roF .puC lainnetneC ,atnaltA 6991
tey raw rednu yletamitlu levart levart eht eht eht .noitautis ton hcum erom s’ti lanoitanretni ni tcapmi noitargimmi woh denethgieh sah yllaicepse tnemecrofne cimonoce .dnamed dluoc raelc gnignellahc ,gnirb dima detceffa a dlroW pmurT tnediserP elddiM ,tsaE dlanoD puC tuB dnoyeB
lliw“ htiw stekcit esoht eht eht eht eht detroper gnihcaer .yecirp no tsom sehctam tsael egats-puorg rof rof lanif evisnepxe ”,reve tneve larutluc tsepaehc eb gnigareva ta era dna osla dlroW stekciT ehT yadnoM tsimonocE puC 002$ .000,2$
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eht ylhguor troper fo noillim ni ni tcapmi evah detamitse cimonoce dluoc na a dlroW ehT orteM .aigroeG puC rebmahC atnaltA 4202 005$
Mercedes-Benz Stadium — pictured decorated for the College Football Playoff championship game in January 2025 — will host eight World Cup games this summer. (Hyosub Shin/AJC 2025)
htiw elohw ohw ot .stekcit yeht ereht eht ygolonhcet dias ,noiger redivorp elpoep fi evah rof tcepxe stneve yllaicepse t’nod tsoob era a dlroW sucinarG sevitucexE puC
… sihT“ htiw hctaw yrt ot ot ot eht eht taht taht taht lufsseccus ”,ygetarts sevres smees dias tnediser tnediser yllaer yllaer seitrap seitrap rehto ,snoitazinagro fo fo gnitekram reganam lacol esufni gnidulcni aedi tsoh tsoh lareneg ecneirepxe noisivid noitanitsed gnitaerc ynapmoc .seitic eb dna dna lla a a dlroW .S.U sucinarG ,snoitanitseD puC ,eocsoB atnaltA madA
lliw hctaw tuohguorht eht eht etals derettacs dennalp seitrap rehto fo .ortem si si gnidulcni gnitsoh evah ,stneve ,strecnoc seitic .snoitarbelec ta era dna dna dna a etatS ,kraP cipmylO nI lavitseF mraF naF AFIF rutaceD lainnetneC ,atnaltA atnaltA anerA gnomA
uoY“ eW“ tnaw ot ot ot tekcit eht eht erus .dias stnediser trap fo ekam ereh evah evah evah leef ”,ecneirepxe ”.tnemeticxe t’nod a a a dlroW etaP puC
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How many short-term rentals are booked?
eht eht taht mret-trohs dias slatner fo ni stsoh .semag gnirud syad ytic dekoob era yletamixorppa tuoba dlroW puC atnaltA atnaltA BVCA 000,05 03
