2023 Leagues Cup Semifinals matches were played in one day to find out who would be heading to the 2023 Leagues Cup finals. One match consisted of two MLS teams, and the other was an MLS vs. Liga MX battle.
In the 2023 Leagues Cup Semifinals you have Philadelphia Union, Inter Miami, Nashville, SC, and Monterrey that put everything on the line to make it to the 2023 Leagues Cup final. Only two teams could be able to move on, and the losing teams will move on to the third-place match. The winners of these two matches will get a shot at the Leagues Cup trophy and lock in a spot in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. Which team was able to accomplish the incredible fate? Let's not wait to find out anymore.
2023 Leagues Cup Semifinals: Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia Union
Inter Miami and Philadelphia Union was the first match of the night. All talk was about how Philadelphia could beat Inter Miami because they were a top 5 MLS team. Well, Inter Miami had other plans.
Inter Miami opened the scoring with a fantastic long upfield pass to J. Martinez, who got the ball past the goalkeeper with no issue in the 3rd minute, giving Inter Miami a 1-0 lead. Philadelphia attempted to put pressure on Inter Miami but was not able to. Philadelphia started to leave big holes in their defense and on the pitch. Lionel Messi noticed this and took a position in the field. The ball was passed to Messi, and thirty yards out, Messi took a kick towards the goal and got it past the stretched-out hand of the goalkeeper in the 20th minute, giving Inter Miami a 2-0 lead.
As halftime was getting close, Inter Miami decided to try to get a little more. The ball was played in the middle of the field and started to be moved up by Robert Taylor. Taylor noticed that Joy Albo was running up the pitch with no one around him. Taylor passed the ball ahead of a running Albo. As the ball kept moving closer to the goalkeeper of Philadelphia, Albo was able to make a spot-on kick, forcing the ball into the back of the goal in the 45+3rd minute, giving Inter Miami a 3-0 lead going into halftime.
Philadelphia knew they had to do something, but that something came in the 73rd minute. A corner kick was rewarded to Philadelphia, which was kicked and placed into the center of the box. The ball was headed down and struck an Inter Miami player's foot and right to Philadelphia's Bedoya. Bedoya kicked between an Inter Miami player's leg and past the goalkeeper to make the score 3-1.
In the 84th minute, Inter Miami had enough playing around, and so did D. Ruiz of Inter Miami. Ruiz was running up the right side of the box when he received and got the goalkeeper to move forward— giving Ruiz a perfect angle to get the ball past the goalkeeper and into the goal. Inter Miami extends the lead to a final score line of 4-1.
2023 Leagues Cup Semifinals: Nashville SC vs. Monterrey
Nashville and Monterrey was the second match of the night and was the only MLS vs. Liga MX match in the semi-finals. Monterrey, the last Liga MX team standing, was looking to walk into Nashville and do what they usually do: win. Nashville had other plans and ideas because they planned to move on to the finals.
The first half was a defense game. Nashville and Monterrey could hold each other to their limits and not let anything get past the goalkeepers. The only exciting thing in the first half was Nashville's Picault getting a yellow card for a bad foul. The score stayed 0-0 at halftime.
The second half had a little more excitement when it came to scoring. In the 67th minute, Monterrey's goalkeeper tried to clear it down the field when Nashville intercepted it, heading the ball back to a player between three defenders. The ball was moved closer to the goalkeeper as it was passed to Nashville's Sam Surridge, that had a perfect line past the goalkeeper, putting the ball into the back of the net, giving Nashville SC the lead 1-0.
Monterrey started to push into attack mode and play a little more complexly. Monterrey did come out with 21 shots in the match, putting more and more pressure. Nashville did not break, though, bringing the match into the 90+6 minute when Picault got the ball in a clearing on the right side of the pitch. Picault was able to work around a defender and take a hit. That hit did not bother Picault, though, as he stayed on his feet, took a shot at the top center of the goal, and scored, securing a spot in the finals for Nashville SC with a final score line of 2-0.
2023 Leagues Cup finals schedule and how to watch.
Now that both teams have punched their tickets, here is the information that everyone is waiting for. What is the final schedule, and how can I watch it? Tickets are going on sale for the 2023 Leagues Cup Finals if you are going to be in the Nashville area. You can also watch the 2023 Finals on Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass.
Before the 2023 Leagues Cup Final is played, there has to be a 3rd place winner. The winner of the third-place match will get themselves into the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. That match will be Philadelphia Union vs. Monterrey at Subaru Park on Aug. 19th at 6:00 p.m. ET.
Both Nashville SC and Inter Miami have already locked in their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup spot just by making it to the finals, but their jobs still need to be completed. There needs to be a champion, which will happen on Aug. 19th at 9:00 p.m. ET at GEODIS Park.