Why Philadelphia could be Messi's toughest MLS challenge yet

Philadelphia coach Jim Curtin relishes a challenge. He has built a team that performs better against strong opposition than it does against peers and bottom feeders, and that bodes well for Philadelphia's tournament success.

"Once the whistle blows, our guys are going to give it their best," Curtin said of the Miami match. "We'll be brave. And in this building, I'll just say—anything can happen at [home] at Subaru Park. We've been pretty damn good over the last 50 games."

Philadelphia's cheeky secret is its ball concession coupled with a high press. It's not a team that wants to control the midfield and pass. It is perfectly content to allow the opponents to do that. While they're pinging the ball back and forth and tiring themselves out, Philadelphia positions its players to block opposition midfielders and force passes in the direction it wants. 

And once that happens, Philly pounces — and thanks to its frighteningly quick counterattacks — often scores.

When playing Miami, Philadelphia won't be particularly concerned with Messi, who signed with Inter Miami last month. Instead, it'll be watching midfield lynchpin Sergio Busquets. All of Miami's attacks start with Busquets, and if Philadelphia can force him into specific patterns, it can increase the likelihood of grabbing a quick goal against the run of play.

Philadelphia wants Busquets to find attacking midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi. This might sound crazy on the surface — Cremaschi is one of the best young talents in MLS — but Philadelphia knows his weakness. He's one of the worst turnover offenders in the league, having given up the ball to the opposition 44 times this season.

For Philadelphia, a team that thrives on encouraging and capitalizing upon opposition mistakes, turnovers are crucial. When they happen, Philadelphia gets its chance to pounce.

There's only one way for Miami — or anyone, for that matter — to cope with this strategy: don't make many mistakes. Messi and friends have played relatively error-free in their Leagues Cup performances thus far, but they must be nearly perfect to keep Philadelphia from snatching the spot in the final.