The Heron’s Round of 16 fixture has not been confirmed but it’s almost certainly an all-MLS clash for Lionel Messi’s side.
William GittinsWillGittUpdate: Feb 27th, 2024 18:38 EST0
PATRICK T. FALLONAFP
For the first time in team history, Inter Miami are competing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup this season.
The Herons’ astonishing run to the 2023 Leagues Cup ensured qualification to the pan-continental competition, with the strongest sides in North and Central America battling it out. Miami were one of five teams to receive a bye to the Round of 16, meaning that they miss out on the Round One fixtures.
Inter Miami’s Round of 16 fixture will see them play the winner of Nashville SC and Moca, of the Dominican Republic. The MLS side won the first leg 3-0, meaning that Nashville will almost certainly be Inter Miami’s first-ever opponents in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Shoutout to our fans that were able to make the trip down to the DR 🫡 pic.twitter.com/XRqwWoYAyi
— Nashville SC (@NashvilleSC) February 23, 2024
Can Inter Miami win the CONCACAF Champions Cup?
The Herons have made a decent, if unspectacular, start to competitive action this year. They opened their MLS campaign with a good 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake but needed a bit of good fortunate and a late leveller from Lionel Messi to steal a point against LA Galaxy last weekend.
They look strong in some areas but vulnerable in others, a situation not helped by a series of injuries to young players. The likes of Benjamin Cremaschi and Facundo Farias were expected to get major game time in 2024 to aid Miami’s ambitions on multiple fronts. Both are now long-term absences.
Even with those injuries Inter Miami possess one of the strongest squads of any CONCACAF side. Speaking earlier this month, Miami head coach Tata Martino revealed that the pan-continental tournament was a priority for the team this year.
“The ‘Concachampions’ is a great challenge and is possibly the most important tournament we will play in,” he said.
“It is also a different tournament from the league, because the league is so long that it allows you to make the odd mistake, the short tournaments and head-to-head matches allow you few or almost no errors.”
