Nashville SC booked their place in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night, earning a 1-1 draw against Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium and advancing on away goals after the two-leg Round of 16 series finished level at 1-1 on aggregate.

Inter Miami made the sharper start and found the breakthrough early through, unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi. In the 7th minute, the Argentine playmaker struck to give the home side a 1-0 lead on the night and, for a time, appeared to have put Miami in control of the tie.

That opening goal also shaped the first half, with Inter Miami enjoying the larger share of the ball and dictating the tempo. The hosts finished the night with 59.6 percent possession, 10 total shots and 6 efforts on target, underlining how much of the attacking initiative they carried. Nashville, meanwhile, had to absorb pressure, stay compact, and wait for their moment.

The visitors did exactly that after the interval. With Inter Miami unable to find the second goal that would have given them more breathing room, Nashville gradually grew into the fixture. The breakthrough arrived in the 74th minute when Cristian Espinoza delivered the decisive moment, volleying home Nashville’s equalizer to make it 1-1 on the night.

That goal changed everything. Suddenly, Inter Miami were chasing the tie again, knowing Nashville’s away goal had swung the balance. Despite late pressure from the home side, Nashville held firm through the closing stages and saw out the draw that was enough to send them through.

For Inter Miami, there will be frustration in how the evening unfolded. Messi’s 7th-minute goal provided the ideal platform, and the hosts largely controlled the match statistically, also winning the corner count 5-3. But knockout soccer can be ruthless, and failing to turn first-half control into a bigger cushion left the door open.

Nashville, by contrast, will take plenty of satisfaction from the resilience they showed. They managed only 40.4 percent possession and put just 2 shots on target, but one of them was the one that mattered most. Espinoza’s 74th-minute strike ensured the visitors made their key moment count and kept their Champions Cup run alive.

Goal scorers
Inter Miami CF: Lionel Messi 7′
Nashville SC: Cristian Espinoza 74′

Result
Inter Miami CF 1-1 Nashville SC (FT)
Nashville SC advance on away goals after the series finished 1-1 on aggregate.