Inter Miami needs to redirect its attention to MLS following elimination from the Champions Cup – Javier Mascherano

Inter Miami’s head coach Javier Mascherano emphasizes the necessity for the team to redirect their attention to the Major League Soccer regular season to move past the disappointment of their exit from the Concacaf Champions Cup.

The Herons played to a 0-0 draw against Nashville SC in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16, and concluded the matchup with a 1-1 tie at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Concacaf tournament utilizes away goals as the primary tiebreaker in the event of an aggregate score tie, resulting in Inter Miami’s elimination from the tournament.

“What has happened is in the past; we cannot alter it now, and there is no benefit in fixating on it. Clearly, we are still in the process of reconciling and processing the disappointment stemming from our exit,” Mascherano stated on Saturday.

“That’s football; such occurrences can happen. Nevertheless, I believe it is our responsibility to show that what transpired recently was simply an anomaly. The most effective way to illustrate that is to completely redirect our focus to the league.”

Despite the early exit from the Concacaf Champions Cup, Mascherano highlighted that the team has not had an overly poor start to the season, holding a record of 2 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss.

“The only path forward is to uphold our faith in our process, continue to work diligently, aim for improvement in every area, and take full accountability for our actions; I, above all,” Mascherano remarked.

“There isn’t much more to say…What we can influence now is the momentum moving ahead. It’s somewhat peculiar, really: we are discussing the beginning of a season where we have lost just one match, drawn three, and won two. It’s not a poor start, certainly not a catastrophe, but, at a club with expectations as high as this one, everything tends to appear significantly worse than it truly is.”

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Inter Miami will next take the field on Sunday afternoon against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. The team will be missing defenders Maxi Falcon and Sergio Reguilón, as both players sustained injuries during the Concacaf Champions Cup series.