Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF booked their spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 Tuesday night with a 3-1 win (4-1 aggregate) over Sporting Kansas City at Chase Stadium.
Messi, Tadeo Allende and Luis Suárez scored the goals that set up a showdown with Jamaican side Cavalier FC early next month in the continental tournament.
The legendary Argentine No. 10 got things started with a vintage goal in the 19th minute, chesting down a pinpoint cross from Suárez and rifling a left-footed blast past goalkeeper John Pulskamp.
Sporting threatened to equalize, most notably through Dejan Joveljić, but the hosts struck twice in first-half stoppage time through Allende and Suárez.
Those tallies made Memo Rodríguez's deflected long-range goal in the second half serve as little more than a consolation for Kansas City, as Miami took care of business to move on in CCC play.
