Inter Miami vs Nashville SC score, result, highlights as Messi stars amidst injury concerns in CONCACAF Champions Cup

Kyle Bonn

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Inter Miami vs Nashville SC score, result, highlights as Messi stars amidst injury concerns in CONCACAF Champions Cup image

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Lionel Messi's first foray into North American continental club football hung in the balance, but alongside his buddy Luis Suarez, the Argentine delivered the goods yet again.

Messi scored a goal and assisted another as Inter Miami clobbered Nashville SC 3-1 to advance to the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals 5-3 on aggregate. After a 2-2 first leg draw which required a second-half comeback, this match was far less dramatic thanks to Inter Miami's two aging superstars.

Nashville looked wholly unprepared to attack Tata Martino's 5-3-2, as new signing Federico Redondo kept control of the midfield and Inter Miami forced everything Nashville could muster out wide. With a 2-0 lead at the halftime break, Inter Miami were well and truly through to the next round.

The visitors looked much improved after the break as Gary Smith brought Sam Surridge off the bench, but Inter Miami weathered the storm and even grabbed a third as Robert Taylor found the back of the net to seal the scoreline. Inter Miami will meet either FC Cincinnati or Monterrey in the next round, also to be played across two legs.

There will, however, be concern for Messi's fitness, which will be a storyline all season long. The Argentine was hauled off the pitch in the 50th minute, and while he didn't appear to be carrying an injury, it was a highly unusual moment to make a change, coming just five minutes after halftime. Messi had already been rested on the weekend in Inter Miami's league defeat to CF Montreal, so he should have been fully fit, but even if the plan was for him to play just a half, wasting a sub window in the 50th minute is nonsensical when there's a free window available at the halftime break.

MORE: A full look at the results, schedule, and bracket for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

The Sporting News followed the Inter Miami vs Nashville SC match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happened.

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC final score

  Score Aggregate Goal scorers
Inter Miami 3 5 Suarez (8'),
Messi (23'),
Taylor (63')
Nashville SC 1 3 Surridge (90+3')

Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET / 5:15 p.m. PT
Location: Chase Stadium (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
Referee: Drew Fischer (CAN)

Starting lineups:

Inter Miami (5-3-2, right to left): 1. Callender (GK) — 24. Gressel, 6. Aviles, 27. Kryvtsov Allen, 78'), 21. Freire, 18. Alba – 55. Redondo, 5. Busquets, 20. D. Gomez (D. Ruiz, 86') — 10. Messi (Taylor, 50'), 9. Suarez (Campana, 86').

Nashville SC (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Willis (GK) — 18. Moore, 3. MacNaughton, 23. Washington (Bauer, 46'), 2. Lovitz — 20. Godoy (Yearwood, 68'), 54. Davis (Anunga, 58') — 19. Muyl (Surridge, 46'), 10. Mukhtar, 14. Shaffelburg — 11. Boyd.

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: Inter Miami 3-1 Nashville SC

Nashville SC were much better in the second half, but were wasteful with their chances, and too mistake-prone at the back to make any of it count. Overall, Inter Miami deservedly advance, even if they'll be frustrated to cough up the clean sheet late.

It's a very quality performance from Inter Miami throughout, but concern will now be for Messi's fitness. His 50th minute substitution doesn't make much sense at all from either a tactical or rest standpoint, as he was given the weekend off against CF Montreal, and planning to bring him off around 50 minutes would be silly as it wastes a sub window when the halftime break does no such thing.

With Nashville SC looking improved out of halftime rendering the 2-0 lead less than a mortal lock, Martino would not think to withdraw Messi at that point unless there was something wrong. We'll find out more in the coming days, with Inter Miami to play at D.C. United on Saturday afternoon.

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC: Second Half

90+3 min: GOAL! NASHVILLE SC! It's far too late to matter on the aggregate score, but Sam Surridge has a tap-in on Dru Yearwood's cross and Nashville SC have their consolation goal.

This too garners a relatively long VAR check, but it survives this time.

86th min: Tata Martino uses his final two subs to protect tonight's two stars, Luis Suarez and Diego Gomez. In their places come Leo Campana and David Ruiz.

83rd min: Chance, Inter Miami! Oh my goodness, Luis Suarez comes so close to a wonder goal, looking to chip Joe Willis from nearly 40 yards out, but it loops just inches wide!

80th min: Chance, Nashville SC! Consolation or comeback for Hany Mukhtar? He finishes off a sliding tap-in at the back post to give Nashville a slim lifeline, but is it too little too late?

There's a **LONG** VAR check for offside...and it's disallowed! He's just leaning off, confirmed on replay. Nashville remain on zero!

76th min: Tyler Boyd rips a speculative shot high and wide. In the aftermath, Serhiy Kryvtsov goes down in pain but looks to be just suffering from cramps. Nashville makes another change as Jacob Shaffelburg, who scored twice in the first leg, is withdrawn.

Eventually, Kryvtsov is replaced by Noah Allen as Tata Martino takes no chances with the aging Ukrainian defender.

70th min: Chance, Inter Miami! Luis Suarez has his wide-open effort saved by Joe Willis! Diego Gomez uses his physicality to hold off a defender and charge forward on the ball from the left, cutting inside before feeding a lateral ball to Suarez all alone at the far post, but Suarez's blast is touched out of play!

68th min: With the game pretty much gone, Gary Smith makes another pair of changes in midfield as Dru Yearwood comes on alongside Brian Anunga.

63rd min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! No Messi, no problem! Robert Taylor finishes off a move up front and puts Inter Miami into the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup!

Great lateral movement from Inter Miami confuses the Nashville back line, and Luis Suarez serves a ball into the area for Taylor who crops up on the penalty spot. The Finland international heads the ball inside the side netting, and Inter Miami have a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead!

54th min: Chance, Nashville! What a save by Drake Callender to keep the two-goal lead! Great ball from Daniel Lovits off a corner, a bit deep but recycled by Sam Surridge, and he makes the point-blank stop amidst the scrum! In the end, the flag goes up, so it wouldn't have counted, but he didn't know that!

50th min: WELL NOW this sure is interesting. Lionel Messi has been substituted off in the 50th minute for Robert Taylor. He doesn't appear to be struggling with an injury at all, but it's very odd to see the Argentine brought off just five minutes after halftime.

It would make a lot more sense for this to be fitness related than it would tactical. A two-goal lead isn't exactly safe, and you want Messi around in the later stages of the match should Nashville indeed work their way back and force extra-time or penalties. We will keep an eye on this.

48th min: Chance, Nashville SC! How has Sam Surridge not scored?? His first touch of the match is a header right on the doorstep as he meets a cross from the left, but he produces weak contact and it's cleared by an Inter Miami defender before even reaching Drake Callender. What a poor effort with a lot of the goal to shoot at!

Kickoff: They're under way for the second half at Chase Stadium as Nashville head coach Gary Smith reacts as we expected, making a pair of changes at the break. Sam Surridge comes on alongside Jack Bauer as Alex Muyl and Taylor Washington are hauled off.

HALFTIME: Inter Miami 2-0 Nashville SC

Those first 45 minutes were completely and utterly dominated by Inter Miami, as Nashville didn't even generate a single quality chance until Daniel Lovitz hit the post from downtown in the 45th minute.

Hany Mukhtar had two measley passes into the final third in that first half, as the Nashville playmaker was invisible. Federico Redondo has been fantastic in possession, and the 5-3-2 of Inter Miami has forced all of Nashville's buildup out wide.

The visitors need a much-improved second half if they are to put together any kind of challenge to this two-goal aggregate deficit. They have no progressive midfielder to lean on as Inter Miami sit back, and no target striker to aim at — Sam Surridge is an option off the bench to solve the latter issue.

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC: First Half

45+2 min: Chance, Nashville! The visitors come close again with the final kick of the half, as a last-gasp chance deflects wide after it deflects off Nashville forward Jacob Shaffelburg!

45th min: Chance, Nashville! Just seconds before the end of the first half, Daniel Lovitz strikes the post with a sensational volley from miles away! A corner is cleared initially by Inter Miami but kept alive by the visitors, and Lovitz decides to have a go from at least 30 yards out with a volley that dips well but strikes the right post. That's so unlucky, as that was a thunderous strike!

41st min: Chance, Inter Miami! Diego Gomez rifles one on net from 25 yards out, and forces Joe Willis to tip it over the crossbar! It looked like the shot was probably sailing just high on its own, but Willis didn't want to take any chances.

Nobody on Nashville stepped to close Gomez down as he dribbled forward, so he figured he'd take the shot himself without much support.

39th min: Inter Miami look less inclined to get forward as regularly as they were before the goals, but they are still controlling possession and keeping Nashville SC completely at bay. Jacob Shaffelburg's speculative cross flies out of play as the frustration continues.

32nd min: Inter Miami have been truly exceptional in possession tonight. Sergio Busquets turns an opponent and wins a foul, and the hosts continue to take the air out of the ball and play keep-away as they protect this 4-2 aggregate lead.

23rd min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! LIONEL MESSI SCORES! Inter Miami look to be in complete control of this match, and by proxy, the Round of 16 tie!

Diego Gomez does brilliantly to cut it back to Messi out top of the six-yard box and the hosts are well and truly in command! Nashville SC coughed up a two-goal lead at home in the first leg, can they turn this around in similar fashion? A comeback seems way off in the distance based on the performance in this opening half-hour.

18th min: Hany Mukhtar tees up Jacob Shaffelburg for a shot that goes just wide of the right post, but the flag goes up to nullify the chance, and replay shows Mukhtar was miles off while trying to come back to the Inter Miami back line. Nothing is working right now for the visitors.

16th min: Nashville SC have been totally and utterly dominated through the early stages of this match. Inter Miami have been good enough for their lead, and are beginning to frustrate the visitors in South Florida. Nashville can't do anything with their small share of attacking possession, and have been overrun in midfield.

8th min: GOAL! INTER MIAMI! It's Lionel Messi to Luis Suarez yet again and Inter Miami take an early lead! Messi feeds the vertical ball just moments before a defender steps in, and Suarez is free on goal, delivering the low cut finish for the early advantage both here in the game and on aggregate!

It's Lukas MacNaughton who Inter Miami pick on two times in a row, first on the Messi miss moments ago and then here as Suarez turns him around with a gorgeous dummy and run.

7th min: Chance, Inter Miami! Lukas MacNaughton coughs it up in possession and Lionel Messi can pounce, charging forward on goal once again with very little resistance, but Messi skies it over the crossbar! You'd expect him to finish that from 14 yards out!

4th min: Lionel Messi goes barreling forward through the Nashville SC midfield and goes down just inches out top of the penalty area. It looked like he was seeking out the contact the whole way, but wins the foul as Anibal Godoy is booked very early in this match.

It's a highly dangerous free-kick chance for Inter Miami and the superstar Messi, but he blasts it straight into the Nashville wall.

Kickoff: They're under way at Chase Stadium! Inter Miami and Nashville SC have 90 minutes to break their CONCACAF Champions Cup deadlock, entering the second leg level at 2-2 on aggregate.

Inter Miami has the slight advantage thanks to their two away goals. The winner gets either FC Cincinnati or Monterrey.

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

15 mins to kickoff: Warmups are almost complete and the match is close to kickoff! Lionel Messi is getting himself ready to play a big role in continental action. After becoming a UEFA Champions League hero, he's targeting North American glory as he nears the final stages of his career.

30 mins to kickoff: Inter Miami sport their own high-quality goalkeeper, as Drake Callender has earned himself another call-up to the U.S. national team for the upcoming March international break. Callender has started the season well, but USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter touched on Callender's locker room presence as an important part of his spot in the national team squad.

With Matt Turner struggling at Nottingham Forest, and no other American goalkeeper in great club form, could Callender push his way into the lineup? So far, Callender has been called into three international camps without seeing the field, which has to be frustrating.

45 mins to kickoff: Nashville SC has a good, ol' fashioned goalkeeper battle between Elliot Panicco and Joe Willis, the latter of whom starts tonight. Panicco was the starter last year against Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final, serving as the Cup goalkeeper, but this time around it's Willis to get the nod in both legs.

Willis started the first two league games of the year, but was replaced by Panicco in the most recent match. In the first leg, Willis became the 245th goalkeeper to be scored on by Lionel Messi, out of 349 goalkeepers faced. Except it wasn't all Messi in the match, as Willis did well on a few other occasions.

1 hour until kickoff: The Inter Miami lineup is in, and just as we expected, Lionel Messi starts in a 5-3-2 formation alongside his good buddy Luis Suarez. There are no surprises from Tata Martino, as Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba also start while Federico Redondo is also in the mix.

Nashville SC have also released their XI, and there are no surprises for Gary Smith either. The only question was who would start next to Lukas MacNaughton at center-back with Walker Zimmerman injured, and that nod has gone to Taylor Washington.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Inter Miami will wear their pink kits tonight, which frees Nashville SC up to wear their yellow kits.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: New Inter Miami signing Federico Redondo got his first start in the first leg of this matchup, and played nearly the full 90 minutes. He impressed in his 66 minutes over the weekend against CF Montreal, and looks to be a real strong option for Tata Martino in an otherwise thin Inter Miami midfield.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: This is not a surprise, as Tata Martino essentially confirmed it in his pre-match press availability, but there's a new report from Diego Monroig of ESPN in Argentina that Lionel Messi will be fit to start today for Inter Miami.

2 hours to kickoff: Nashville clearly have some extra venom in their boots as they look for revenge from last year's Leagues Cup final shootout defeat. That's evident by the spicy studs-up tackle from Lukas MacNaughton in last week's match which which followed through onto Lionel Messi's lower leg.

Messi was lucky to escape injury, but social media was divided over the incident, with some criticizing the placement of MacNaughton's studs while others claimed he was not responsible for the follow-through on a clearance.

MacNaughton was asked about the incident while previewing today's match, and he dodged the question, saying simply, "They're making something out of nothing. I have tackled enough players in my career that it is what it is. If somebody wants to make a fuss about it...it's just another tackle."

Inter Miami vs Nashville SC lineups, team news

Lionel Messi was rested against CF Montreal in the loss last weekend, but Tata Martino confirmed that it was for pre-planned maintenance, and not related to the studs-up tackle from Lukas MacNaughton in the first leg of this continental matchup. Thus, Messi is good to start in this match, as is Luis Suarez.

Inter Miami are without Benjamin Cremaschi and Facundo Farias, with the former recovering from hernia surgery and the latter working through his recovery from an ACL injury. Ian Fray and Franco Negri could both be back from their ACL injuries by the end of the month, but will likely be brought along slowly.

Inter Miami starting lineup (5-3-2): Callender (GK) — Gressel, Aviles, Kryvtsov, Freire, Alba – Redondo, Busquets, D. Gomez — Messi, Suarez.

Inter Miami subs (9): Dos Santos (GK), Jensen, Sailor, Allen, Sunderland, D. Ruiz, Taylor, Borgelin, Campana.

Nashville talisman Hany Mukhtar returned from his early season injury in the first leg, and he will likely play a major role here. However, the visitors were dealt a major blow last week as critical defender Walker Zimmerman went down with a knee injury in the 82nd minute and will miss a number of weeks.

The only other player unavailable for Nashville is Randall Leal, who is recovering from a hip injury.

Nashville SC starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Willis (GK) — Moore, MacNaughton, Washington, Lovitz — Godoy, Davis — Muyl, Mukhtar, Shaffelburg — Boyd.

Nashville SC subs (12): Martino (GK), Panicco (GK), Sejdic, Maher, Kallman, Gaines, Yearwood, Bauer, Anunga, Ajago, Bunbury, Surridge.

How to watch Inter Miami vs Nashville SC

  • TV channel: FS2
  • Streaming: Fubo USA, Fox Sports GO, Fox Sports app & website, ViX

Fox Sports holds the English-language broadcast rights to the CONCACAF Champions Cup in the United States, and has earmarked this match for televising on FS2, which can be streamed on Fubo.

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Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.