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Immediately after the final whistle of the second leg of Nashville SC's CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 series against Inter Miami, the official Nashville SC account on X posted a graphic with the final score — 1-1 — and underneath it, one word in large yellow-and-blue text.
"WIN."
Fans unfamiliar with the Champions Cup format might be tempted to think of a moral victory akin to the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game, which produced the famous newspaper headline "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29." This wasn't that.
Nashville and Miami did tie at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 18. But the 1-1 scoreline, which came after a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Geodis Park on March 11, meant Nashville eliminated Miami from the Champions Cup and advanced to the quarterfinals due to away goals, which was the first tiebreaker.
MORE: Is Nashville SC vs Inter Miami, Lionel Messi a 'rivalry' yet? If not, it's close
Sure, it might not be technically accurate.
But Nashville finally beat Inter Miami. Nashville finally beat Lionel Messi.
"I'll never be 100% satisfied, but right now, I'm not going to think about that," coach B.J. Callaghan said. "I think we have a group right now in that locker room that has a lot of belief in what we're doing. I think you saw that throughout the night, just a relentless spirit that continued to fight, no matter what was happening on the field. They stuck together the whole time, they were rewarded with the goal, and finished the game strong."
Nashville went into this season with high hopes following a resurgent 2025 campaign that included a club record in goals and a first trophy by winning the U.S. Open Cup. Overcoming Miami, last season's MLS champion, is in some respects an even bigger deal.
Its rivalry with Messi and Inter Miami has always been one-sided. Since August 2023, Nashville has gone just 1-7-4 against the Herons and lost in three separate competitions: the 2023 Leagues Cup final, 2024 Champions Cup round of 16 and the first round of last season's MLS playoffs. Messi in particular has dominated the matchup, with 16 goals against Nashville, his most against any club outside of Spain.
When Messi fired a shot between the legs of defender Jeisson Palacios and into the net in the seventh minute — his 900th career goal — it looked like more of the same.
"They were able to create overloads on the side, they're able to neutralize the press, I thought they were pressing hard on us," Callaghan said. "We had a hard time controlling the ball and laying the ball off to each other. I thought for a long period of time that they were still very aggressive on us, and I was just glad that we were able to raise the level."
Nashville survived having just 40% possession and being outshot 10-5 as goalkeeper Brian Schwake made five saves. It played its way back into the game in the second half and almost equalized in the 67th minute as Cristian Espinoza played Hany Mukhtar free with a pass down the middle, but Mukhtar missed the net despite being 1-on-1 with goalie Dayne St. Clair.
Nashville didn't let itself become demoralized with the missed chance. It came back seven minutes later to get the goal it needed; Espinoza rushing into the box to volley home a rebound after Alex Muyl's initial shot was blocked and an ensuing scrum at the goal line.
"I thought it was a really collective effort," Callaghan said. "The goal that Cristian capitalizes on is, again, much of a team goal and just competing."
Next up is a quarterfinal matchup with Club América in April. But for now, Nashville can savor its latest milestone.
"We have great respect for Miami," Callaghan said. "We've played them a lot of times in some really great games. We want to be a team that advances in big tournaments. We want to be a team that pursues trophies. We want to be a club that does that, and you have to earn your way into each next round. And I thought after two legs, we were able to earn our way."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Nashville SC finally got past Lionel Messi and Inter Miami
Continue reading...
"WIN."
Fans unfamiliar with the Champions Cup format might be tempted to think of a moral victory akin to the 1968 Harvard-Yale football game, which produced the famous newspaper headline "Harvard Beats Yale 29-29." This wasn't that.
Nashville and Miami did tie at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 18. But the 1-1 scoreline, which came after a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Geodis Park on March 11, meant Nashville eliminated Miami from the Champions Cup and advanced to the quarterfinals due to away goals, which was the first tiebreaker.
MORE: Is Nashville SC vs Inter Miami, Lionel Messi a 'rivalry' yet? If not, it's close
Sure, it might not be technically accurate.
But Nashville finally beat Inter Miami. Nashville finally beat Lionel Messi.
"I'll never be 100% satisfied, but right now, I'm not going to think about that," coach B.J. Callaghan said. "I think we have a group right now in that locker room that has a lot of belief in what we're doing. I think you saw that throughout the night, just a relentless spirit that continued to fight, no matter what was happening on the field. They stuck together the whole time, they were rewarded with the goal, and finished the game strong."
Nashville went into this season with high hopes following a resurgent 2025 campaign that included a club record in goals and a first trophy by winning the U.S. Open Cup. Overcoming Miami, last season's MLS champion, is in some respects an even bigger deal.
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Its rivalry with Messi and Inter Miami has always been one-sided. Since August 2023, Nashville has gone just 1-7-4 against the Herons and lost in three separate competitions: the 2023 Leagues Cup final, 2024 Champions Cup round of 16 and the first round of last season's MLS playoffs. Messi in particular has dominated the matchup, with 16 goals against Nashville, his most against any club outside of Spain.
When Messi fired a shot between the legs of defender Jeisson Palacios and into the net in the seventh minute — his 900th career goal — it looked like more of the same.
"They were able to create overloads on the side, they're able to neutralize the press, I thought they were pressing hard on us," Callaghan said. "We had a hard time controlling the ball and laying the ball off to each other. I thought for a long period of time that they were still very aggressive on us, and I was just glad that we were able to raise the level."
Nashville survived having just 40% possession and being outshot 10-5 as goalkeeper Brian Schwake made five saves. It played its way back into the game in the second half and almost equalized in the 67th minute as Cristian Espinoza played Hany Mukhtar free with a pass down the middle, but Mukhtar missed the net despite being 1-on-1 with goalie Dayne St. Clair.
Nashville didn't let itself become demoralized with the missed chance. It came back seven minutes later to get the goal it needed; Espinoza rushing into the box to volley home a rebound after Alex Muyl's initial shot was blocked and an ensuing scrum at the goal line.
"I thought it was a really collective effort," Callaghan said. "The goal that Cristian capitalizes on is, again, much of a team goal and just competing."
Next up is a quarterfinal matchup with Club América in April. But for now, Nashville can savor its latest milestone.
"We have great respect for Miami," Callaghan said. "We've played them a lot of times in some really great games. We want to be a team that advances in big tournaments. We want to be a team that pursues trophies. We want to be a club that does that, and you have to earn your way into each next round. And I thought after two legs, we were able to earn our way."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Nashville SC finally got past Lionel Messi and Inter Miami
Continue reading...
