With an inspired Lionel Messi on Wednesday, Inter Miami took care of business in the return leg against Nashville at Chase Stadium to punch a ticket to the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals.
On Thursday night, the Herons found out Monterrey will be their next opponent in the competition, with the Liga MX giants beating FC Cincinnati 2-1 at Estadio BBVA to progress 3-1 on aggregate.
The first leg of the quarterfinal tie is scheduled for April 3 at 8 PM (ET) in Fort Lauderdale, with Messi and company making the trip to Monterrey a week later (April 10 at 10:30 PM ET).
The outlook for Inter Miami at 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup
The Herons are one of only eight teams still alive in the quest for the regional glory. While they must pass a challenging test against Rayados first, Gerardo Martino’s side can already start to imagine what a potential trip to the final could look like.
In the event they beat Monterrey, Inter Miami would take on the winner of the series between Columbus Crew and Tigres UANL. Of course, this means there’s also a possibility of a Monterrey derby in the semis, but let’s stay with the MLS side for now.
On the other side of the bracket we can find two exciting matches in Pachuca-Herediano and Club América-New England Revolution. That means that any of those teams could be Inter Miami’s opponent in a hypothetical final.
Either way, it’s still a bit soon for Messi’s team to be thinking about the decider. Since the Concachampions is shorter than other competitions, teams that win their first games already have the prize in sight. But let’s hold our horses for now, as the Liga MX opponent seem to be a huge threat to Inter Miami’s aspirations.
This competition is not only meaningful for itself, but it also offers the winners a ticket to the revolutionary 2025 Club World Cup, to be held in the United States with an expanded field of 32 teams.