MIAMI — Inter Miami CF beat Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia Union 6-4 in the final game before the FIFA World Cup break Sunday night.

It was the same starting XI for Miami from its 2-0 victory against the Portland Timbers last weekend.

It was not an ideal start for the Herons, as they conceded just three minutes into the match after a Philadelphia throw-in. Milan Iloski scored his sixth goal of the season.

Philadelphia continued to apply constant pressure on Miami after the opening goal.

That pressure led to an early penalty for Philadelphia after Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair fouled Iloski on a fast break.

St. Clair was booked with a yellow card right before Iloski netted his second goal of the match.

Miami responded three minutes later with a goal of its own, thanks to striker Germán Berterame. The assist came from none other than Lionel Messi.

After 15 minutes of nonstop action, Philadelphia led 2-1.

Miami’s defense was nonexistent, as it conceded a third first-half goal to the Eastern Conference’s last-place club.

Bruno Damiani scored his first goal of the season for Philadelphia.

Twenty minutes into the match, there had already been four goals and three yellow cards — a complete contrast to Miami’s win against Portland last week.

After a cooling break, Miami pulled one back to make it 3-2 thanks to a wonderful goal by Luis Suárez.

He controlled the ball with his chest and volleyed it in front of goal.

Only 10 minutes later, Miami found its equalizing goal, making it an astonishing 3-3 before halftime.

Berterame bagged his second goal of the game, giving him his first career brace for Miami. Messi recorded his second assist of the match.

Not even five minutes later, Messi was fouled on the edge of the 6-yard box, but the referee played advantage for Miami, allowing Suárez to score his second goal of the game and complete the comeback to make it 4-3.

After the opening 45 minutes, the fourth official indicated nine minutes of stoppage time.

Deep into stoppage time, Miami committed a handball, giving Philadelphia a chance to tie the match at 4-4.

Iloski, who had already converted a penalty earlier in the game, calmly scored his third goal of the match, tying the game heading into halftime.

It marked the second hat trick Miami has conceded at Nu Stadium, the first coming from Orlando City’s Martín Ojeda.

The first half felt like a basketball game, featuring a record eight goals before halftime, the highest-scoring half in MLS history.

Neither team made changes to start the second half, with both sides searching for a winner.

After the extremely fast-paced first half, the game slowed considerably, with both teams playing more cautiously.

As rain began pouring down, Miami won a free kick deep in Philadelphia’s half.

Messi took the shot, but it narrowly missed the far-right post.

Miami had a huge chance to take the lead, but Ian Fray’s shot hit the post.

To everyone’s surprise, Messi was taken out of the game for Mateo Silvetti after signaling to the bench that he needed a substitution.

There could be an injury concern right before the World Cup.

In the 81st minute, Miami found itself on the break and scored the go-ahead goal after Berterame laid the ball off for Suárez in front of goal. The strike completed Suárez’s hat trick and put Miami ahead 5-4.

It was his first MLS hat trick since 2024.

After 90 minutes, eight minutes of stoppage time were added.

On another fast break, Miami scored an incredible sixth goal to secure all three points. Rodrigo De Paul scored his first goal of the match.

There were 10 total goals in the match, the most in MLS this season.

Miami heads into the FIFA World Cup break with two straight wins at Nu Stadium.

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