Messi scores 900th goal, but Inter Miami ousted from Champions Cup by Nashville

Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald on Mar 18, 2026

Published in Soccer

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MIAMI — Inter Miami had not scored in its past two matches, and Lionel Messi was stuck one goal short of the 900th of his legendary career.

It took less than seven minutes to end both droughts as Messi quickly achieved his historic milestone on Wednesday night at Inter Miami Stadium.

But the night ended with major disappointment for Inter Miami as the realization kicked in that it would fall short of winning the championship it labeled a major goal in 2026.

Cristian Espinoza’s goal in the 74th minute led to another draw between Inter Miami and Nashville in the second and decisive leg of their Round of 16 matchup of the Concacaf Champions Cup.

And the tally gave Nashville the away goals tiebreaker after the aggregate score was level at 1 and sent the visitors onto the quarterfinal round, eliminating Inter Miami.

After a rush toward Inter Miami’s goal, keeper Dayne St. Clair managed to stop a shot by Nashville’s Alex Muyl, but was unable to completely clear the ball. Espinoza rushed in and fired a shot into the far corner to even the match.

Nashville had mustered only two shots on goal to that point in the match, ruining what had been another solid defensive effort by Inter Miami to that point. Miami had put together back-to-back scoreless clean sheets entering the game with the first coming at Nashville last Wednesday and the other by a lineup made up mostly of reserves in a league match against Charlotte last Saturday.

Inter Miami made multiple subs late to try and find the mark to retake the lead, inserting Luis Suarez and David Ayala into the game. But Miami was only able to score once on Messi’s historic early goal despite finishing with a 10-5 advantage in shots and 6-1 in shots on goal.

Messi’s goal came when a cross from Sergio Reguilon and angled a shot perfectly through the legs of Nashville’s Jeisson Palacios and out of the reach of goalkeeper Brian Schwake to give Nashville a 1-0 lead and reach the historic milestone.

Messi joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to ever reach the 900-goal mark. Ronaldo has 965 career goals.

Messi has 16 goals in 12 career matches against Nashville — the most goals he’s scored against any non-Spanish club.

The game was played under a steady, windy rain, which didn’t seem to affect Messi in the early going.

German Berterame has yet to score for Inter Miami, but had two strong chances in the first half.

The former Monterrey star missed on an uncontested shot in front of the goal in the second minute that was smothered by Schwake.

Berterame came close again in the 36th minute on the open run after a ball ahead from Messi. But Schwake tipped it out for a corner kick.

Reguilon exits

Reguilon exited the game in the 38th minute with an apparent leg injury. Reguilon was attended to on the field for a few moments by team trainers before leaving to the locker room.

It was unclear if Reguilon reaggravated a Grade II right knee sprain he suffered during a preseason friendly against Alianza Lima, which kept him out until last Saturday’s game against Charlotte.

The 28-year-old former Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid defender signed with Inter Miami in December. Noah Allen replaced Reguilon.

The finale?

The game marked likely the final game for Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale at Inter Miami Stadium (formerly known as Chase Stadium) before the team officially opens Nu Stadium on April 4 with a home match against Austin.

Wednesday’s match was also the first that Inter Miami will play in South Florida this season after playing four international exhibition matches, its first four league matches and the opening leg against Nashville on the road. Inter Miami has traveled over 23,000 combined miles already this season.

Inter Miami rested the bulk of its regulars in order to be a full strength for Wednesday’s game. Rodrigo De Paul, who along with Messi, did not make the trip to Charlotte, started as well.

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