The statistic that shows why MLS belongs to Latinos

The Major League Soccer Conference Finals are about to begin with four teams fighting for two tickets to the 2025 MLS Cup. In the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami will host New York City FC at Chase Stadium, while in the Western Conference, San Diego FC will face Vancouver Whitecaps at Snapdragon Stadium.

But the surprising thing about these teams goes beyond sports, as their teams have a backbone made up of players from Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Panama, Peru and other Latin American countries, with 37 players among the four finalist teams.

Which Latin American players will play in the MLS Conference Finals?

Latin players dominate the MLS Conference Finals with 37 players in total, six from San Diego FC, six from Vancouver Whitecaps, eight from New York City and Inter Miami is the team with the most Latin American talent with 18 players.

This is the full list of Latino players who are one step away from the MLS Cup:

1. Rocco Rios Novo – Inter Miami – Argentina
2. Oscar Ustari – Inter Miami – Argentina
3. Gonzalo Lujan – Inter Miami – Argentina
4. Maximiliano Falcon – Inter Miami – Uruguay
5. Tomas Aviles – Inter Miami – Argentina
6. Marcelo Weigandt – Inter Miami – Argentina
7. Israel Boatwright – Inter Miami – Dominican Republic
8. David Ruiz – Inter Miami – Honduras
9. Rodrigo De Paul – Inter Miami – Argentina
10. Luis Suarez – Inter Miami – Uruguay
11. Telasco Segovia – Inter Miami – Venezuela
12. Baltasar Rodriguez – Inter Miami – Argentina
13. Lionel Messi – Inter Miami – Argentina
14. Fafà Picault – Inter Miami – Haiti
15. Mateo Silvetti – Inter Miami – Argentina
16. Allen Obando – Inter Miami – Ecuador
17. Tadeo Allende – Inter Miami – Argentina
18. Tomas Romero – New York City FC – El Salvador
19. Thiago Martins – New York City FC – Brazil
20. Raul Gustavo – New York City FC – Brazil
21. Maxi Moralez – New York City FC – Argentina
22. Julian Fernandez – New York City FC – Argentina
23. Alonso Martinez – New York City FC – Costa Rica
24. Agustin Ojeda – New York City FC – Argentina
25. Zidane Yañez – New York City FC – Chile
26. Pablo Sisniega – San Diego FC – Mexico
27. Andres Reyes – San Diego FC – Colombia
28. Franco Negri – San Diego FC – Argentina
29. Anibal Godoy – San Diego FC – Panama
30. Tomas Angel – San Diego FC – Colombia
31. Hirving Lozano – San Diego FC – Mexico
32. Mathias Laborda – Vancouver Whitecaps – Uruguay
33. Edier Ocampo – Vancouver Whitecaps – Colombia
34. Andres Cubas – Vancouver Whitecaps – Paraguay
35. Kenji Cabrera – Vancouver Whitecaps – Peru
36. Daniel Rios – Vancouver Whitecaps – Mexico
37. Nelson Pierre – Vancouver Whitecaps – Haiti

This Saturday, November 29, will be crucial in the aspirations of all these players to reach the MLS Cup, starting in Florida at 6:00 p.m. in the Eastern Conference between Inter Miami and New York City FC. Hours later, at 9:00 p.m. the Western Final will be played between San Diego and Vancouver Whitecaps.