Messi, Inter Miami lose 2-1 at Nashville, must win Game 3 to avoid playoff exit
The rain came down sideways, the temperature dipped from the 50s to the 40s, and Inter Miami’s playoff hopes took a big blow on Saturday night as Lionel Messi and his teammates lost 2-1 on the road to Nashville SC.
Instead of making club history and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time, Inter Miami faces first-round playoff elimination for the second year in a row unless it beats Nashville in Game 3 of the Best-of-3 series on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.
Messi, frustrated all night, cranked a shot into the top right corner in the 89th minute to give Miami hope, but it was not enough. Miami coach Javier Mascherano pleaded with officials to add more than six minutes of extra time at the end of the match, but he did not get his wish. Instead, he got a yellow card.
“This is a moment, more than anything, that our team showed that it is committed and fought until the end,” said Mascherano. “Perhaps if Leo’s goal had come with more minutes left to play...last game the officials added 11 minutes and on this night they added six...maybe we would have had another chance.
“We must now swallow the poison, save it and keep it inside all week long so we can unleash that in front of our fans next Saturday. It is time for us to be more united than ever. I have a lot of faith that we will turn it around next weekend.”
Inter Miami fans and executives were primed to celebrate on Saturday. Up in a second-deck corner of the GEODIS Park, in Section 233, a group of about 60 spirited Inter Miami La Familia supporters chanted and jumped up and down as Messi and his teammates took the field.
Inter Miami faced Nashville SC for the third time in 15 days, and this one had the most at stake. Team owners David Beckham and Jorge and Jose Mas flew up with their families for the occasion, planning to celebrate as they did on that field two years ago after winning the Leagues Cup final.
Instead, the Inter Miami owners and their rain-soaked fans headed home disappointed and hoping the team can turn things around.
The Miami fans’ mood dampened in the ninth minute, when Sam Surridge converted a penalty kick to give the home team a 1-0 lead. The Nashville forward was awarded the PK after Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo hesitated coming off his line and was called for a foul.
“Clearly, the penalty hurt us because the game was well-played until that moment,” Mascherano said after the game. “I thought the call was debatable. I don’t like to talk about officiating, but I find it strange that they didn’t review the play on VAR. The game took so long, to lose a few more minutes on VAR would not have been a problem.”
Nashville fans erupted with Surridge’s goal and yellow smoke filled the air. Then, just before halftime, Josh Bauer beat Miami defenders in the box and scored off a Hany Mukhtar corner kick to put Nashville ahead 2-0.
Miami was favored to win Saturday’s game after beating Nashville twice over the past two weeks by a combined score of 8-3. Messi and his teammates won 5-2 on the road in final game of the regular season and 3-1 at home last weekend in Game 1 of the playoffs.
Going back further, Inter Miami was 7-0-2 over Nashville since Messi’s arrival in the summer of 2023. The most memorable victory was the 2023 Leagues Cup final, which went to a penalty-kick shootout at GEODIS Park.
But Nashville dominated Miami during stretches of recent games and Mascherano spent all week warning his players that they should expect an aggressive, dangerous Nashville team on Saturday.
He was right.
“I’m really proud of our whole team, a lot of guys stepped up, it was a team that was committed to playing in an aggressive and intense way,” said Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan. “The team collectively played a good defensive game; the commitment of the defenders to put their bodies on the line, slide, block shots, Joe [Willis] made big saves.”
Miami had chances, but could not finish. Luis Suarez hit the post. Messi had a shot sail wide. And Tadeo Allende missed a golden opportunity from close range.
Last season, Inter Miami entered the playoffs as the top seed with the best record in Major League Soccer. They beat Atlanta United in the opening game of the playoffs, but lost the next two and were eliminated, falling far short of expectations.
Mascherano and his players have been saying for weeks that they would not allow that to happen this time around. Now, they find themselves in the same situation they were after Game 2 last year, one loss from first-round elimination.
Mascherano went with the same starting lineup he used the past two weeks against Nashville: Rios-Novo, Ian Fray, Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maxi Falcon, Sergio Busquets, Rodrigo De Paul, Baltasar Rodriguez, Allende, Suarez, and Messi.
Desperate to score, Mascherano made one halftime change, replacing center back Allen with midfielder Telasco Segovia. Then, at the 52-minute mark, Mateo Silvetti went in for Rodriguez.
“We were here two weeks ago for the last game of the regular season, and we’re here again to help our team get the job done,” said J.C. Wizel, 44, of Davie, a member of the Inter Southern Legion fan group who flew in for the game with his wife, Maria.
Pink No. 10 Messi jerseys were sprinkled around the stadium. Among the fans rooting for the Argentine icon were Nick Krell and his wife, Andrea Fonseca. Both have Miami roots, and they moved to Nashville two years ago.
They carried a homemade poster with photos of Messi and the caption read: “Today we see the greatest in history, keep writing your history, from the neighborhood to the stadium, thanks for making me dream, Leo.”
Fonseca grew up in the Grapeland neighborhood of Miami, near the airport, a few blocks from where Inter Miami is building Miami Freedom Park Stadium, due to open in the spring of 2026. “My parents still live in that house, so we will definitely go visit and see some games in the new stadium next season,” she said.
Two weeks ago, on this very same Nashville field, Miami trailed 2-1 at halftime and came back to score four unanswered goals to win 5-2. This time, there was no storybook ending for Messi and his team. They fell short and now the pressure is on.
This story was originally published November 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM.