Inter Miami CF's Concacaf Champions Cup dream resumes Wednesday evening when Liga MX powerhouse CF Monterrey visit Chase Stadium for Leg 1 of their quarterfinal series.
Watch
- English: FS1
- Spanish: TUDN
When
- Wednesday, April 3 | 8 pm ET/5 pm PT
Where
- Chase Stadium | Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Leg 2 awaits April 10 at Monterrey's Estadio BBVA, determining who meets reigning MLS Cup champions Columbus Crew or Mexican side Tigres UANL for a semifinal series in late April.
All remaining CCC participants have their sights set on the June 2 final. The winner qualifies for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, plus gets regional bragging rights and prize money.
- Round One: Bye
- Round of 16: 5-3 aggregate vs. Nashville SC
Inter Miami's dominant second-leg performance vs. Nashville SC clinched a quarterfinal spot, following a riveting 2-2 comeback draw in the first leg. Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez were at their vintage best in that series, combining for 4g/3a in a 2023 Leagues Cup final rematch.
But questions linger over Messi's availability, as he's missed the Herons' last three matches with a hamstring injury. The club identified this Monterrey test as a target return date; TBD how much the GOAT will indeed play.
Inter Miami's center-back situation is also worth monitoring, as Nicolás Freire and Sergii Kryvtsov both missed last weekend's 1-1 draw vs. New York City FC due to hamstring strains. Head coach Tata Martino problem-solved by dropping midfielder Sergio Busquets back a line, while Tomás Avilés subbed on in the second half.
Two other quick notes: right back Marcelo Weigandt debuted vs. NYCFC after arriving on loan from Boca Juniors. And we could see midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi's 2024 debut after he recovered from sports hernia surgery, a development that would help offset Federico Redondo (knee) joining the injury list.
- Round One: 7-1 aggregate vs. Comunicaciones (Guatemala)
- Round of 16: 3-1 aggregate vs. FC Cincinnati
As 2021 Concacaf Champions Cup winners, CF Monterrey have already qualified for the 2025 FIFA World Cup – a tournament hosted in two summers across the United States. That was their fifth-ever CCC title spanning 2011-21.
It's not just history on Rayados' side, though. Manager Fernando Ortiz's team is second in the Liga MX Clausura table with 28 points (8W-1L-4D), only behind Club América on the goal-differential tiebreaker. Their lone defeat came last weekend, a 2-0 setback against Chivas.
Monterrey boast some of the region's top players, too. Former FC Cincinnati star Brandon Vazquez and Germán Berterame are game-changing strikers, winger Maxi Meza leads the CCC assist chart (4), and Sergio Canales offers an elite No. 10 skill set. They even had four players on Mexico's recent Nations League roster: midfielder Luis Romo and defenders Gerardo Arteaga, Érick Aguirre and Jesús Gallardo.
The short version: it doesn't get much tougher in Concacaf than Monterrey.
