Updated scenarios, teams qualified and clubs eliminated

We’re nearly through September and the 2024 MLS playoff races are taking shape, as teams jockey for position and make their final postseason push with just a few weeks remaining in the regular season campaign. Four teams have already clinched with others soon to follow.

As with the new UEFA Champions League format, which takes a page out of the MLS playbook, higher seeding matters. That’s because the higher seed earns home-field advantage in every round of the playoffs, and it can potentially set up more favorable matchups against lower seeds in the early rounds.

In addition to the playoff race, there’s a Supporters’ Shield trophy that is also handed out to the team with the best record during the regular season. That looks like it will come down to Inter Miami or one of the two Los Angeles teams with defending champions Columbus dropping points of late.

The first tiebreaker in the MLS table is different from other leagues and competitions, because it is (1) total wins, incentivizing teams to go out and chase victory in every match. After that, it goes to (2) goal differential and (3) goals scored, which are more in line with the international game. Those are followed by six other tiebreakers as outlined in league’s rules.

At GIVEMESPORT, we’re tracking the MLS playoff picture until the final bracket is set.

MLS Playoff Scenarios for Teams to Clinch

Up to seven more teams can join the other qualified sides in the playoffs

We have four teams that have already clinched an MLS playoff berth and seven more can follow this weekend.

After Inter Miami secured their place in the postseason on August 24, three more teams joined them on September 14, with FC Cincinnati, the Columbus Crew and the LA Galaxy securing places in the postseason.

These are the seven teams that can join that group this weekend.

LAFC Playoff Scenarios

• LAFC win
• LAFC draw AND Austin FC loss/draw

Colorado Rapids Playoff Scenarios

• Colorado win
• Colorado draw AND Austin FC loss/draw AND FC Dallas loss/draw
• Austin FC loss AND FC Dallas loss/draw

Real Salt Lake Playoff Scenarios

• Real Salt Lake win/draw
• Austin FC loss/draw

Orlando City Playoff Scenarios

• Orlando win AND Toronto loss
• Orlando win AND Philadelphia loss/draw AND Atlanta loss/draw
• Orlando win AND D.C. loss/draw AND Nashville loss/draw AND New England loss/draw

NY Red Bulls Playoff Scenarios

• New York win AND Philadelphia loss AND Toronto loss
• New York win AND Philadelphia loss AND Montréal loss/draw
• New York win AND Toronto loss AND Montréal loss/draw
• New York win AND D.C. loss AND New England loss/draw AND Nashville loss/draw AND Montréal loss/draw
• New York win AND D.C. loss AND New England loss/draw AND Nashville loss/draw AND Toronto loss
• New York win AND New England draw AND Nashville loss/draw AND Toronto loss

Houston Dynamo Playoff Scenarios

• Houston win AND FC Dallas loss/draw

Vancouver Whitecaps Playoff Scenarios

• Vancouver win AND Austin FC loss/draw AND FC Dallas loss/draw

Teams Qualified for MLS Playoffs 2024

Four teams are into the postseason tournament to this point

There are still four more weeks to go before the end of the MLS regular season and there will be verdicts and scenarios every matchday from now until Decision Day on October 19.

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami became the first team to secure a place as one of the 18 qualified teams, which will include the two wild card qualifiers in each conference. The field is quickly filling out.

Teams Eliminated from MLS Playoffs 2024

Sporting KC and St. Louis could join San Jose out of contention

There will be a total of 11 teams (six in East and five in West) that will not be playing any more soccer after the end of the regular season on October 19. This is a list that teams will be hoping not to make … at least as close as possible to Decision Day.

With a league-low 17 points, the San Jose Earthquakes were the first team to suffer early elimination in the Western Conference, with their loss in Vancouver on Sept. 14 signifying that they can no longer catch the teams in the final wild card spots even if they win all of their remaining matches.

Sporting Kansas City and St. Louis City could join them on September 21 if the following scenarios unfold:

Sporting Kansas City Elimination Scenarios

St. Louis City Elimination Scenarios

• St. Louis loss AND Minnesota win/draw
• St. Louis draw AND Minnesota win

If The MLS Playoffs Started Today…

The potential first-round matchups would include heavyweight showdowns

The updated standings in each conference would produce some compelling first-round matchups if the seedings held true with only four to six matches left to play for each team.

There’s an eye-catching FC Cincinnati vs. New York City FC potential first-round match, and LAFC possibly locking horns with the Vancouver Whitecaps in a rematch of their 2023 playoff series.

Eastern Conference First Round (Best-of-Three) if the playoffs started today:

• No. 1 Inter Miami vs. No. 8 Toronto FC or No. 9 Philadelphia
• No. 2 FC Cincinnati vs. No. 7 NYCFC
• No. 3 Columbus Crew vs. No. 6 Charlotte FC
• No. 4 Orlando City vs. No. 5 NY Red Bulls

Western Conference First Round (Best-of-Three) if the playoffs started today:

• No. 1 LA Galaxy vs. No. 8 Portland Timbers or No. 9 Minnesota United
• No. 2 Real Salt Lake vs. No. 7 Houston Dynamo
• No. 3 LAFC vs. No. 6 Vancouver Whitecaps
• No. 4 Colorado Rapids vs. No. 5 Seattle Sounders

The MLS playoffs start out with the single-elimination wild card matches between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in each conference. Then the postseason proceeds to a best-of-three conference quarterfinal series (first team to win two matches advances), followed by single-elimination knockout rounds from the conference semis all the way to MLS Cup.

The team with the best regular season record hosts two matches in the best-of-three conference quarterfinals, and every match in the subsequent rounds.

• Wed, Oct. 23: Wild Card matches (No. 8 vs. No. 9 in East & West)
• Sat., Oct. 26 to Sun, Nov. 10: Conference quarterfinals (best-of-three series)
• Sat, Nov. 23 to Sun, Nov. 24: Conference semifinals
• Sat, Nov. 30 to Sun, Dec. 1: Conference finals
• Sat, Dec. 7: MLS Cup 2024

Eastern Conference Playoff Race

Inter Miami have pulled away for the No. 1 seed

While Tata Martino (photo above) and Inter Miami have the No. 1 seed in their grasp, the teams in the middle of the standings are now bunched up, and playoff seedings are likely to change plenty over the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the wild-card places are also up for grabs with up to six teams in the running for the two spots. Even the slumping, last-place New England Revolution are only five points out with five matches to go.

*Standings updated through September 21

• Q = Qualified for playoffs
• E = Eliminated from playoffs
• WC = Wild card places

Western Conference Playoff Race

Austin and Dallas in a last-ditch chase of the wild card spots

While Real Salt Lake and LAFC will hope to make a push for the No. 1 seed with games in hand over first-place LA Galaxy, the seeds below them will also undergo some shuffling with five teams within four points.

Elsewhere in the playoff race, there’s a four-point gap between the final wild-card spot and the Texan clubs pursuing it, so Austin FC and FC Dallas will need to keep winning in order not to lose touch.

*Standings updated through September 21

• Q = Qualified for playoffs
• E = Eliminated from playoffs
• WC = Wild card places