08-04-2025
Messi, Inter Miami under pressure in must-win Champions Cup game vs. LAFC on Wednesday
Inter Miami is promoting Wednesday night's home game against Los Angeles FC as 'The Comeback Game' and a mighty comeback it will have to be for Lionel Messi and his teammates to advance to the semifinals of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
Miami was held scoreless in a 1-0 loss in Leg 1 of the quarterfinals at LAFC last Wednesday and now must dig itself out a hole in the two-game series.
Complicating matters, this tournament uses aggregate scoring and away goals serves as the tiebreaker, meaning if LAFC scores one goal in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, Inter Miami will need to score at least three to advance (because it scored zero goals on the road). Los Angeles advances with a victory, a tie or even a one-goal loss.
If Miami wins 1-0, the teams would be tied 1-1 on aggregate goals at the end of regulation, in which case they would play two 15-minute periods of extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout.
After going undefeated through its first nine games under new coach Javier Mascherano, including a seven-game win streak, the team hit a speed bump during the past week.
Following the loss to LA, a full-strength Miami team settled for a 1-1 home tie against winless Toronto on Sunday. Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets played the full 90-plus minutes and Luis Suarez played 70 minutes, but Miami fell short in a game it was heavily favored to win, adding to the pressure to win Wednesday.
'Rather than talk about pressure, what I would say is that when I was a player, what gave meaning to this profession were games like this one on Wednesday,' Mascherano said. 'For a coach, it's much easier to prepare for a game like this because, yes, we must get the team ready, but there is no need to provide extra motivation. The scenario itself is the biggest motivation.'
Miami has never advanced past the quarterfinals of this tournament.
'For us to reach the semifinals for the first time would be a historic moment for this club,' Mascherano added. 'So, more than pressure we feel great hope and desire to play a great game, defensively and offensively. There is no better time to have a perfect performance, and I believe we can.'
Defense and goalkeeping will be critical for Inter Miami, and the team will be without Busquets, one of the most respected defensive midfielders of his generation, as he is serving a suspension for accumulation of yellow cards. He acts as an assistant coach on the field and often delivers the pass that leads to scoring opportunities.
Yannick Bright, who evolved from an untested rookie out of the University of New Hampshire last season to one of the team's most reliable midfielders, will have to step up, along with Fede Redondo.
'Obviously, Busi is an important player for us, but Yannick is too, as is Fede, and many other players on our team,' Mascherano said. 'We will replace [Busquets] the best way we can so his loss will be felt as little as possible.'
Asked what he must do to compensate for Busquets' absence, Bright said: 'We all know he is irreplaceable. So, more than me, it's going to take teamwork from everybody to make us miss him a little less. We're ready. Everybody's up to it.'
Mascherano has a difficult choice to make at goalkeeper. Co-captain Drake Callender, the regular starter the past few seasons, was out for an extended period after injuring his right adductor in mid-January while with the U.S. national team in a camp. He got his first start of the season against Toronto and said he is fully fit.
Oscar Ustari played well in Callender's absence and Mascherano said that LAFC's lone goal was not Ustari's fault. The coach explained that Ustari was chosen to start that high-stakes game because Callender had not played in five months.
'Drake's last game was against Atlanta, in November, so we were worried about this because if you put him in and he has not played for a long time, it is difficult, and more for a goalkeeper,' Mascherano said. 'So, we played Drake against Toronto. Oscar is doing very well for us. We have three really good goalkeepers, all very professional, they work well between them and this is really important.'
As always, there are high expectations for Messi to carry Miami's attack. After sitting out the March international break due to an adductor injury, the Argentine captain has played 180-plus minutes over Inter Miami's last two matches. He has six goals in eight games across league games and Champions Cup this season.
'These types of games are the ones that motivate players like [Messi] the most,' Mascherano said.
As for LAFC, which made the Champions Cup finals in 2020 and 2023, the team is in ninth place in the Western Conference standings and coming off a 1-0 loss on the road against Houston. Unlike Mascherano, who started his star players in the weekend league match, Los Angeles coach Steve Cherundolo chose to rest eight starters that faced Miami against Houston.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, forward Denis Bouanga, and center back Eddie Segura were the only three LAFC players who went the full game against Miami and Houston.
LAFC comes into Wednesday's game in Fort Lauderdale with an extra day of rest, as it played Saturday and Miami played Sunday. Mascherano voiced his displeasure about that discrepancy.
L.A. was able to shut out Miami in Leg 1 of the series by clogging the middle and preventing Messi and Suarez from receiving the ball.
'Obviously, they have a lethal attack with Messi, [Luis] Suarez, and [Sergio] Busquets in there dictating play,' said LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead. 'They're as good as it gets in this league. We tried to frustrate them by clogging spaces in the middle. We limited their chances. We have to do that again next week in Miami.'
The winner of this series advances to face either Vancouver Whitecaps or Mexican club Pumas in the semifinals. Those teams tied 1-1 in their first leg last week and play Leg 2 Wednesday night in Mexico City.
▪ How to Watch: Inter Miami vs. LAFC kicks off at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are on sale through TicketMaster and fans can watch the broadcast on FS1 in English and TUDN in Spanish.
