February 26, (THEWILL) – Inter Miami CF progressed to the Round of 16 of the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup after defeating Sporting Kansas City 3-1 in the second leg of their Round One matchup. The victory at Chase Stadium gave Inter Miami a 4-1 aggregate win in the series.
The home side started strongly with captain Lionel Messi scoring in the 19th minute, converting a cross from Luis Suárez with a powerful left-footed volley. Inter Miami doubled their advantage just before half-time when Jordi Alba provided a pass for Tadeo Allende to finish from close range for his first official goal for the club. Suárez added a third goal moments later, using his strength to hold off a defender before finishing with his first goal of the season with his right foot.
Sporting Kansas City managed to pull one goal back through Memo Rodríguez in the 63rd minute, but Inter Miami maintained control to see out the match. The victory sets up a Round of 16 clash with 2024 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup champion Cavalier FC, with the first leg scheduled for March 6 at Chase Stadium and the return fixture in Kingston, Jamaica on March 13.
Head coach Javier Mascherano praised his team’s competitive spirit, stating: “What excites me about this team is how it competes. It played with 10 players for 80 minutes, and today, after 72 hours, it competed again, doing so in the best way possible—that’s what we need.” Mascherano emphasised the importance of unity and having all players ready to contribute across multiple competitions.
Fans attending the match at Chase Stadium had the opportunity to view both the CONCACAF Champions Cup trophy and FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ trophy, which were on display in the Northwest Club. Inter Miami will now turn their attention to their first away fixture of the 2025 MLS regular season, travelling to Shell Energy Stadium to face Houston Dynamo on March 2.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
