Even before Lionel Messi and Inter Miami touched down in Jamaica on Wednesday ahead of their Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 second leg against local club Cavalier FC, the Herons were well on their way to the quarterfinals.
Miami, with Messi watching in street clothes for load management reasons, won the opening match of the two-game, total-goals-wins series 2-0 last week in South Florida. So when Luis Suárez made it 3-0 on aggregate from the penalty spot in the first half of Thursday’s return leg in Kingston, there was really no need for coach Javier Mascherano to summon the 37-year-old Messi from the substitutes’ bench.
But Messi had made the trip to the island nation. And the fans inside a jam-packed National Stadium were desperate to see the GOAT take the field in his first trip to the Caribbean country of around 3 million people.
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They got their wish. Not only did Messi enter the game for the final 35 minutes, the Argentine legend scored Miami’s second goal of the contest and fourth overall in stoppage time to send the masses home happy:
It was Messi’s third goal in five competitive matches this season. Mascherano also held his compatriot out of an MLS regular season trip to Houston earlier this month. The 2022 World Cup winner was an unused sub in last week’s 1-0 win over Charlotte FC.
It remains to be seen if Messi, who won MLS’s MVP award last season, will feature when the Herons return to league play on Sunday in Atlanta. After that, Messi will report to Argentina’s national team ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches at Uruguay on March 21 and four days later at home to chief rival Brazil.
But barring injury, Messi will almost certainly be on the field for Miami when the regional championship resumes next month. The Herons will face fellow MLS side LAFC in the two-leg Champions Cup quarters. The semis will conclude in May, with the highest remaining seed hosting the single-game final on June 1.
Cavalier F.C. vs. Inter Miami | CONCACAF Champions Cup | FOX Soccer
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
Lionel Messi
Inter Miami CF
CONCACAF Champions Cup
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