Cristian Espinoza's second-half strike secured Nashville SC a place in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals, eliminating Inter Miami on a night when Argentine star Lionel Messi celebrated his 900th career goal. The match ended 1-1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, resulting in a 1-1 aggregate draw, but Nashville advanced on the away-goals tiebreaker, highlighting the competitive intensity of the tournament.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a milestone goal for club and country, yet the reigning MLS Cup champion, Inter Miami, failed to capitalize further, ultimately falling short. Messi now ranks second in football history for career goals, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo with 965, but his achievement was marred by the team's exit. Nashville will now face either the Philadelphia Union or Mexico's Club America in the next round, setting up a challenging quarterfinal clash.

The decisive goal for Nashville came from a chaotic sequence in front of the Miami goal: Alex Muyl's shot was blocked, bouncing into the air toward the line, where goalkeeper Dayne St Clair punched it away amid traffic, only for the rebound to fall to an unmarked Espinoza, who fired a right-footed shot inside the far post. Earlier, Sergio Reguilon set up Messi for a 10-yard shot that slipped through a defender's legs, but Miami's inability to score again proved costly.

In another match, Liga MX side Club America held off a comeback attempt from the Philadelphia Union in Mexico City to advance to the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory. Rodrigo Dourado scored his first goal for the club since a January transfer, heading in a line-drive free kick from Raphael Veiga in the sixth minute. The Union pulled one back via a Jesus Bueno penalty in the 49th minute after a foul by Alex Zendejas on Frankie Westfield, but they failed to register a single shot on target thereafter, missing three attempts and having another blocked, underscoring their offensive struggles.

Source: www.aljazeera.com