Last year, Inter Miami opened its participation in the League Cup with the eyes of the world focused on Lionel Messi’s debut with the pink and black and the star filled the night with magic with a goal at the end that gave his team the victory.
It was a dream start that ended six games later with the title, the first in history achieved by David Beckham and Jorge Mas’s club.
There was no such celebration on Saturday night, but there was the satisfaction of an important 2-0 victory over Puebla of Mexico at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, with goals from Matias Rojas (9′) and Luis Suarez (72′).
Also Read: Messi’s Future Matters to Everyone. Will He Make it to His “Last Dance” at the 2026 World Cup?
The result puts the South Florida team on the verge of qualifying. Their next opponent will be the Tigres de Monterrey (Mexico) at NRG Stadium in Houston on August 3.
The Leagues Cup is played by all 29 MLS teams and 18 Liga MX teams. The champions of each league, the Columbus Crew and America, respectively, enter directly into the round of 32. From then on, all the matches are life or death.
The remaining 45 teams are divided into 15 groups of three teams each, divided into East and West zones so that the journeys are not so long. The two best-ranked teams in each group, plus the two champions, will begin the battle between August 7 and 9.
As the absolute leader in MLS with 53 points and the ambition set on conquering the American crown, many think that the Leagues Cup is not in the interest of Inter Miami and this thought was reinforced by the fact that Gerardo Martino left the regular goalkeeper Drake Callender on the bench against Puebla and started with the substitute Carlos dos Santos.
“We had to give Dos Santos the opportunity to keep his enthusiasm alive and we found that against Puebla was a good moment,” Martino explained.
“That doesn’t mean at all that we are not interested in the Leagues Cup.”
The strategist even gave more details about the commitment that the Rosanegros have to the current campaign.
“We have a commitment to fight for both tournaments, the MLS and the Leagues Cup,” Martino added.
“But this is not because we won the Leagues Cup last year, but because both tournaments are not played at the same time. There is no need for us to choose between one or the other. There is no reason not to play to the end.”
The incentive of the Leagues Cup is that the top three will qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup.
The victory over Puebla left several positive details for Inter Miami. The main one was the dynamic shown by the team, especially in the first half, when they overwhelmed their rival.
He also highlighted the fact that despite the fact that some key pieces are missing, there are always answers to solve emergencies that arise.
Messi, for example, will only return at the end of August, while the club finds a way to win without him.
Injuries to central defenders Nicolas Freire and Sergii Kryvtsov forced the board to sign Paraguayan David Martinez from River Plate in Argentina on loan until the end of the year last week.
Martinez was scheduled to be benched for the match against Puebla. On Friday, however, in Inter Miami’s final practice ahead of its Leagues Cup debut, Tomas Aviles suffered a blow to the head and entered the concussion protocol. This forced Martinez to take the field earlier than expected.
Martinez played at a high level and will surely be a piece that will give depth to the squad. Robert Taylor, who has just extended his contract with the club until the end of 2026 with an option to extend it until 2027, also showed that he is key to breaking through Martino’s team’s attack.
Jordi Alba also had one of his best performances since joining Inter Miami, providing the assist for Suarez to seal the victory over Puebla. Before that, Julian Gressel had provided a wonderful diagonal pass, which Alba took advantage of in an extraordinary way.
“Alba provides the depth on the left,” Martino said. “With Jordi Alba, it is like playing with a #10 on the wing. He’s one of the best assist-givers in the league. We have a very high-class full-back.”
