Inter Miami CF head coach Javier Mascherano said his team is ready to go into the two-legged CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 series with the mentality of getting revenge on Nashville SC, who are heading into Wednesday night’s clash at Geodis Park with “blood in their eyes”.
The two teams recently faced off in the first round of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, with Inter Miami winning 2-1 in the best-of-three series to eliminate Nashville.
Mascherano said Tuesday, “It’s a tough, tough game, as always when we play in Nashville. We know their fans will be pressing, and most of all, we have to keep in mind that they are a bloodthirsty team in their own eyes.”
“When you face an opponent who we have fortunately eliminated and who helped us win the championship last year, and the club also won the final against them last season, it is clear that they want to get their revenge. So above all, we are taking into account that we are going to face an opponent who is obviously very thirsty for sporting revenge, not for any other kind, and we have to be very ready for that.”
Inter Miami will attempt to lift the CONCACAF Champions Cup trophy, after struggling to do so in 2024 and 2025. The Herons reached the semi-finals in the previous edition of the international competition before losing 5–1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Mascherano said, “We are not a team that chooses which competitions we play in; we are obliged to compete in all of them.” “Obviously, the Champions League is the only competition the club normally plays in that we’re missing, and it’s creating a lot of excitement for all of us. Now, we can’t allow this to become an obsession. It’s one thing to be excited, it’s another to be obsessive. When you’re obsessed with something, you’re likely to make mistakes.”
miami captain Lionel Messi He will also try to make history by potentially scoring his 900th career goal in Wednesday night’s game. The Argentine forward scored his 899th goal in MLS regular season action against DC United on Saturday night, leading Mascherano to label him “one of a kind”, not for the first time.
“Obviously, we don’t fully understand the scale of it. It’s crazy to talk about him scoring 900 goals, incredible for such a unique player. The truth is, I always say the same thing: Leo’s numbers are amazing, but above all, the statistics are the least important aspect,” Mascherano said.
“You can score a lot of goals, the important thing is how you do it, and he has managed to reach incredible numbers not only in terms of goals and assists, but also because of the contribution he has made to the game, which I believe is much more important than his statistics.”
The only player in the history of football to score more goals than Messi is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 965 goals in his career with club and country. Ronaldo has repeatedly said that he wants to cross the 1,000-goal mark before retiring.
The second leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 will be played on March 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.