Little under a month after playing his first game with Inter Miami, Lionel Messi will be chasing his first title with the team. The Herons are set to clash with fellow MLS outfit Nashville SC in the Leagues Cup finals this Saturday, a competition that gathers teams from the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The road to the final

Inter Miami had a fairly easy path to the final. Despite struggling all season long in the MLS Eastern Conference, the team co-owned by David Beckham and Jorge Mas saw its fortunes turn after the arrival of Lionel Messi and Argentine coach Gerardo Martino. The addition of his former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, the improvement of Venezuelan Josef Martínez and the breakthrough of striker Robert Taylor have also helped the Herons.

Drawn into Group South 3 along with Mexican side Cruz Azul and MLS side Atlanta United, Inter Miami had a difficult debut against Cruz Azul. It was a tricky game for the Herons, with Messi starting from the bench. However, the Argentine proved to be the difference-maker, scoring his first ever goal in an Inter Miami jersey with a free kick in the fourth minute of added time to get a 2-1 win. 

In its second game, the Fort Lauderdale team steamrolled Atlanta 4-0 with two-goals by Messi and secured a spot in the round of 32.

A face-off against Florida state-rivals Orlando SC grew tense in the build-up, but Messi showed all his class scoring two goals in a solid 3-1 win that saw the Herons make it to the round of 16.

Inter Miami’s biggest challenge came at the hands of FC Dallas. It was the first time Messi played away from Miami, and things looked tricky after going down 3-1 in the 63rd minute. 

With the Herons losing 4-3 in the dying moments of the game, Messi stroked the magic lamp once again to tie the game with a beautiful free kick goal in the 85th minute and force a penalty shootout. FC Dallas’ Paxton Pomykal’s miss sent Inter Miami to the next round.

From there on, it proved to be smooth sailing for the Herons: they beat Charlotte FC 4-0 at home in the quarterfinals and Philadelphia Union 4-1 away in the semis (with Messi scoring one goal in each match) to secure a spot in the big game.

Nashville SC landed in the Group Central 4, with Mexican side Toluca FC and MLS’ Colorado Rapids. Dubbed the Boys In Gold, they got a debut win 2-1 against the Rapids at Geodis Park, but lost their second game to Toluca in a 4-3 thriller. 

Thanks to other results, they managed to get through to the round of 32, where Nashville beat FC Cincinnati in a penalty shootout 5-4.

The Boys In Gold required penalties once again when it hosted Mexican giants Club América in the round of 16. After going up 15 minutes into the second half, Nashville saw the visitors turn the game around with two late goals. Sam Surridge managed to tie the game in the 99th minute in added time. In the penalty shootout, the home side won 6-5 to move to the quarterfinals.

Nashville thrashed Minnesota United FC 5-0 for a spot in the semis, where it eliminated the last Mexican side standing, CF Monterrey, with a 2-0 win.

Inter Miami’s record against Nashville SC

They’ve faced each other eight times since they both started competing in 2020. 

In regular league matches, Nashville SC has three wins to Inter Miami’s two, and one draw. Their last game was May 17 at GEODIS Park, where the Boys in Gold won 2-1.

They’ve also met in elimination games. In the 2020 MLS Playoff play-in games, Nashville hosted the Herons and beat them 3-0. Inter Miami settled the scores in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup Round of 16, where they won 2-1 at DRV PNK Stadium.

Inter Miami and Nashville SC will be playing the Leagues Cup finals on Saturday, August 19 at Geodis Park, Nashville, 8:00 p.m. local time, 10:00 p.m. Argentina time. An Apple TV subscription is required to watch it, with a monthly cost of US$7, plus the MLS Season Pass costing US$15 dollars per month or US$99 for the entire season.