Three of The Herons’ former Barcelona stars are expected to play at Geodis Park, but another is a major doubt.
At the grand of age of 36, Lionel Messi will play in another new tournament for the first time in his career on Thursday when Inter Miami face Nashville SC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. The winner of the tournament will book their place in the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which the Argentine won three times with Barcelona.
After lifting the first trophy in their short history - the Leagues Cup - in 2023, The Herons have set their sights on more silverware this year, with CONCACAF’s premier club competition high up their list of priorities. The tournament has, however, been completely dominated in recent years by Liga MX clubs, who have won 17 of the last 18 editions. Seattle Sounders were the most recent MLS winners in 2022.
As a result of their Leagues Cup win, Inter Miami enter this year’s competition in the round of 16, where they will face Nashville over two legs. Gerardo “Tata” Martino will be looking for a positive result in Tennessee in Thursday’s first leg, which would set his team up to seal qualification for the quarterfinals at Chase Stadium next Wednesday.
Messi has fond memories of playing on 7 March, which Las Garzas will hope is a good omen. 12 years ago to the day, the Argentina captain put in one of thebest performances of his career for Barcelona against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, scoring five times as the Catalans thrashed the Germans 7-1.
With Inter Miami desperate to start their CONCACAF Champinons Cup campaign on the right foot, Martino is expected to name his strongest possible team. With that in mind, Messi is set to join former Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez and
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