English
EspañolBeating Lionel Messi in a cup final surely wasn't the only reason Nashville SC traded for Reed Baker-Whiting. But it can't have hurt.
Baker-Whiting started at left back for the Seattle Sounders in last season's Leagues Cup final, in which Seattle defeated Messi's Inter Miami 3-0.
In his first game for his new club, the 20-year-old helped Nashville dispatch Atletico Ottawa 5-0 on Feb. 24 at Geodis Park, wining its first-round CONCACAF Champions Cup series 7-0 on aggregate to advance to the round of 16. Nashville's opponent there is one it's become all too familiar with.
Nashville will face Messi and Inter Miami in a two-legged series with the first leg at home on March 11 and the second leg in Florida on March 18. It will be the fifth cup competition in as many years in which Nashville has drawn Miami, following the 2023 U.S. Open Cup, 2023 Leagues Cup final, 2024 Champions Cup and 2025 MLS playoffs. Miami has won all four so far.
"It's a great matchup to have," Baker-Whiting said. "Watching Nashville last year, I feel like they played Miami 10 times. It's got a little bit of a rivalry to it. I'm super excited, the guys are excited. We've got Dallas first, so that's where our focus is at. The next game is always the most important one. But it's a great opportunity, and we're excited to go out there."
Nashville has two MLS games to get through before Inter Miami comes to town, at FC Dallas on Feb. 28 and against Minnesota United on March 7. Prior to the second leg against Ottawa, defender Jack Maher said that facing Miami again wasn't on anyone's mind.
"It's funny, you see a team like Miami in the next round, but I don't think the word Miami has been uttered in this locker room one time," Maher said.
Messi scored 10 goals in five games against Nashville in 2025, including five during the best-of-three first-round series. But the defending MLS champions are loaded with talent around him, having added last season's MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, Dayne St. Clair, in addition to forwards Luis Suarez and German Berterame.
"When the time comes to start the preparations for Miami, we know that they've had some changes to their roster, we'll continue to evaluate them like we do any other team," Nashville coach B.J. Callaghan said. "Try to come up with the best game plan that we can that fits the way that we play. We look forward to the opportunity, and we're grateful.
"This is a tournament that we take seriously. We understand the prestige of the tournament, and we look forward to the opportunity from advancing to take them on."
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at [email protected] and on X/Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC vs Inter Miami, Lionel Messi in Champions Cup again