Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami to the League Cup final
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have surged past the Philadelphia Union to claim a spot in the League Cup Final on Saturday, August 19 against Nashville.
SportsPulse, USA Today
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are watching their first championship together.
Inter Miami Messi plays in the League Cup final tonight against Nashville FC in… Giudice Park In Nashville, Tennessee.
Inter Miami and Nashville – both MLS expansion teams in 2020 – are fighting for the first title in their short history. But the stakes seem significantly higher due to the global attention Messi has brought to the MLS Championship and League Cup since his arrival.
Messi already has a goal in tonight’s game, his seventh game with Inter Miami.
Messi has been impressive in his first six matches – scoring nine goals, including the winning goal in his debut on July 21, and the penalty-winning equalizer against FC Dallas on August 6.
Does Messi’s obsession continue tonight?
Lionel Messi does it again.
Messi scored the first goal in the League Cup final on the 23rdResearch and development minute.
Flanking four defenders, Messi still found room for his left boot to perform his magic.
Messi has now racked up as many as 10 goals in seven matches in his Inter Miami career.
The goal was also the 37th in a final in Messi’s career.
∎ Robert Taylor missed Inter Miami’s first shot on goal of the game with just 21 minutes remainingstreet minute.
∎ Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman misses a header in the 17th minute with good defense by Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. Nashville missed their first two shots on goal.
∎ Messi was hit by a Nashville player in the opening minutes and it was his longtime teammate Sergio Busquets who came to the defense.
Nashville minority owner Giannis Antetokounmpo scored on the field before the game. But his celebration is the news here.
Antetokounmpo celebrates Cristiano Ronaldo’s “SIU” celebration near midfield after his kick deflects into the net.
We’ll see if Antetokounmpo stabs the bear with his antics during the game.
The League Cup Final between Inter Miami and Nashville kicks off at 9 p.m. and can be streamed live via MLS Season Pass on Camel.
The game will not be broadcast on cable TV.
Here are some game predictions from USA TODAY Sports staff members:
Alicia del Gallo Roman: Messi gets a brace in the first half, Inter Miami win 2-0.
Safid El Din: Messi and Inter Miami score early and often 3-1.
Mike Bream: Nashville wins, 3-1.
Jess Evans: Miami has to lose at some point, right? Nashville wins 2-1.
Sydney Henderson: I would put my money on Messi and Inter Miami. 4-1!
The stars returned once again to Lionel Messi, and tonight’s League Cup final between Inter Miami and Nashville.
NBA star Giannis Antetekounmo of the Milwaukee Bucks is in the Nashville ownership group, and he was on the court before the game.
“This is amazing. It’s an amazing atmosphere,” Antetokounmpo said.
US Men’s National Team alumnus Landon Donovan was also interviewed on the field by Apple TV.
“Seeing, in my opinion, the greatest player ever on our courts, is amazing first and foremost,” said Donovan.
“I didn’t expect him to get out of the gate and be dominant so early, and make everyone around him better. That’s the true mark of a great captain, a great captain, and a great player. He makes everyone better. And it’s been really fun to watch.”
Actress Reese Witherspoon took a picture with Inter Miami owner and soccer legend David Beckham before the match.
Does Messi play tonight? Here are the starting lineups:
Messi is in the starting lineup again for Inter Miami, marking his sixth start in seven matches.
Here are the starting lineups for both teams:
Do you want to see Messi in the final of the League Cup in Nashville?
That could cost a pretty penny, based on the increase in ticket selling prices for Inter Miami games since Messi’s arrival.
Cheapest tickets available just before play: bright seats ($285 USD), StubHub ($397), Ticket Master ($473).
The most expensive: Ticketmaster ($3,748), Vivid Seats ($2,299), StubHub ($1,260).
Yes, that’s per ticket.
Messi scored nine goals in six matches, while Inter Miami scored 21 goals during the League Cup. All six matches before tonight’s final were wins for Inter Miami.
Before Messi, Inter Miami scored 22 goals in 22 MLS matches this season. With their record of 5-3-14 (WDL), Inter Miami sits at the bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference.
“They’re only going to get better,” Philadelphia Union coach Jim Curtin said after losing 4-1 to Inter Miami.
“Their ownership is going to spend like crazy and they’re going to make them the best team in the league, maybe they really are one of the best teams in the league. So yeah, that’s coming and I don’t think anything is stopping that.”
It was supposed to be the toughest test so far for Lionel Messi and Inter Miami.
And they overtook it with flying colors.
Josef Martinez scored three minutes into the game. Messi scored a long goal with his left foot in the 20th minutey minute. Jordi Alba scored just before half-time. David Ruiz, 19, scored 84 goalsy A minute to lead Inter Miami to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union in the League Cup semi-final match on Tuesday night.
How difficult is this challenge for Miami? Philly had only lost one game in their last 41 home games before losing to Inter Miami.
Besides Messi, Inter Miami have signed Messi’s former Barcelona teammates in Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets. They signed Paraguayan international player Diego Gomez. They added 20-year-old Argentine midfielder Facundo Farias and 19-year-old Argentine defender Tomas Aviles.
With the talent influx, Inter Miami hired longtime Messi coach Tata Martino, who coached him with Barcelona and Argentina.
The new additions naturally raised the level of Inter Miami’s game.
“We are inspired, motivated and confident. But we are focused on doing whatever the team needs to do to improve,” Martino said after the victory over Philadelphia.
“We are not confused because we are in the final now. No, we are focused. We want to make Inter a very competitive team. Although we are in the final, we still have a long way to go. If we didn’t have this result, we would complain. But we haven’t With everything so far. No team can put together such a strong team in 30 days or so.”
Nashville SC defeated Liga MX powerhouse CF Monterrey, 2-0, in the semifinals to reach Saturday’s final.
Nashville has made the playoffs in each of its three seasons, and has reached the MLS Conference Semifinals in 2020 and 2021.
Among Nashville’s notable players: Hany Mukhtarthe ruler The best player in the league, has an exciting follow-up to his MVP campaign, currently leading MLS with 13 goals. cannon Walker Zimmerman He is a two-time MLS Defender of the Year and a four-time MLS Player of the Year winner. fellow defender Chuck MooreNewly signed Sam Surridge He scored the first goal in Nashville’s 2-0 victory over Monterrey in the League Cup semi-finals.
Inter Miami and Nashville SC — as well as the winner of the third-place match between Philadelphia Union and CF Monterrey — earn automatic berths for 2024 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup (Formerly known as the CONCACAF Champions League).
However, the winner of the League Cup will gain automatic qualification to the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup Round of 16.
Messi held his first press conference earlier this week, about a month after joining Inter Miami.
While moving to South Florida was an adjustment, Messi said he was happy with the decision he made to join the MLS franchise owned by David Beckham.
“I am happy to enjoy this new stage, and I enjoy the experience of living here in this country,” Messi said.
Gentle and introspective, Messi said his experience in Miami so far has been dramatically different from previous stops in his illustrious career.
“I chose to come here. I wanted to come here. And it’s a decision we made over time. It wasn’t something we decided day to day. We are where we want to be. It’s a decision we made. It makes everything much easier and simpler,” Messi said.
“When I went to Paris, I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave Barcelona. In some ways, it was day-to-day. I had to adjust to a completely different place than I’ve lived all my life. But this is very different from My experience is here.”
Messi played most of his historic career on natural turf, which has sparked some debate about whether he will play on artificial turf in some MLS stadiums.
Messi seemed open to the possibility of playing on grass.
“All my world championships, I’ve always played on grass,” said Messi. “It was a long time ago and it’s been a long time since I’ve played on artificial turf. But I have no problem adapting to grass again.”
- August 19: the time Nashville SC (League Cup Final), 9 p.m. ET
- TBD (originally scheduled for August 20): Vs. Charlotte7:30 p.m. ET
- August 23: the time Cincinnati (US Open Cup Semifinals), 7 p.m. ET
- August 26: the time New York Red Bulls7:30 p.m. ET
- August 30: vs. Nashville SC7:30 p.m. ET
- September 3: the time Los Angeles10:30 p.m. ET
- September 9: vs. Sporting Kansas City7:30 p.m. ET
- September 16th: the time Atlanta United7:30 p.m. ET
- September 20: vs. Toronto F.C7:30 p.m. ET
- Sept. 24: the time Orlando City7:30 p.m. ET
- September 30: vs. New York City F.C7:30 p.m. ET
- October 4th: the time Chicago Fire8:30 p.m. ET
- October 7: vs. Cincinnati7:30 p.m. ET
- October 21st: the time Charlotte6 p.m. ET
except US Open Cup Semi-final match on August 23 (which will be available to stream on CBS Sports Golazo), all other Inter Miami games are available to watch online MLS Season Pass on Camel.
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