Inter Miami beats Sporting KC 3-1, advances in Champions Cup
The Herons scored three first-half goals on just three shots to eliminate Kansas City in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament.
Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a first-half goal in Inter Miami’s 3-1 Champions Cup win against Kansas City on Tuesday at Chase Stadium. Photo credit: Sam Navarro/Imagin Images.
Lionel Messi’s 19th-minute laser into the back of the net ultimately was all Inter Miami needed to eliminate Sporting KC and advance to the Concacaf Champions Cup, but stoppage time goals from Tadeo Allende and Luis Suarez before halftime gave the Herons a comfortable 4-0 lead on aggregate.
Sporting substitute Memo Rodriguez smashed a rocket of his own off the head of defender Maxi Falcon, who was seeing his first action for the Pink & Black. Goalkeeper Oscar Ustari didn’t have a chance.
The Herons beat Sporting 1-0 in subzero temperatures at Children’s Mercy Park last Wednesday; Tuesday’s win gave Inter Miami a 4-1 win on aggregate.
Inter Miami will face Jamaican side Cavalier FC, which qualified by winning the 2024 Caribbean Cup, in the Round of 16. The tie will be played March 6 in Florida and March 13 in Jamaica.
Sporting Kansas City kept steady pressure on Inter Miami for long portions of the first half, when the Herons’ backline struggled to get the ball out of their defensive third.
Still, the Herons played probably their most complete match of the very young season. Some highlights:
Falcon is as advertised. The highly touted 27-year-old Uruguayan center back, acquired by Miami from Colo Colo in Chile, started the match and made his first appearance in Pink & Black after delays finalizing his transfer and obtaining his visa. Nicknamed “Peluca” — “wig” —because of his massive, shaggy Afro, Falcon showed his quality with a goal-line block to rob Kansas City’s Erik Thommy in the 29th minute, showed physicality in bumping runners off the ball, hustle to intercept passes and fearless determination, at one point lunging to head the ball away as an attacker was swinging his leg to play the ball.
Messi gets some rest. He is the greatest player of all time, but he’s 37 and there are many matches still to be played in 2025. The icon had played every minute of the season’s first two competitive matches and more than expected in five preseason dates. But with a comfortable lead, coach Javier Mascherano sent youngster Benjamin Cremaschi into the match to relieve the Herons’ captain.
Suarez ups his game. Falcon’s countryman Luis Suarez, one of the best strikers of his generation, had been off to a slow start for the second time in two seasons in South Florida but, just like last year when he finished with 25 goals and 12 assists in 37 total matches, the 38-year-old showed signs of finding his form. With no goal contributions in the team’s first two outings, Suarez assisted with a beautiful chest-high pass to Messi for the first goal and, in the third minute of first-half stoppage time used his body to block a defender away from a high bouncing ball on the left side of the box, brought the ball down and fired a shot into the right side of the net. Robert Taylor relieved Suarez in the 80th minute.
Captain Noah Allen. When Messi left the match there were still 25 minutes to play and several veteran teammates on the pitch. The captain didn’t give his armband to Suarez, Jordi Alba or Sergio Busquets; he handed it to 20-year-old center back Noah Allen, who had subbed in for starter Tomas Aviles in the 57th minute. It was a nice gesture by Messi to recognize the hard work and solid performances Allen has turned in for the Pink & Black since converting from wingback under former coach Tata Martino last season.
After playing three matches in seven days — and eight in 40 with preseason games included — the Herons have almost a week off to recover. Inter Miami will visit the Houston Dynamo at 7 p.m. EST Sunday for its second Major League Soccer regular season match. The Herons barely managed a 2-2 draw Saturday against New York City FC at home. Only a 100th-minute goal by Telasco Segovia, after pass from Messi, salvaged a point for the home side.