Messi, Lloris to reprise 2022 World Cup final in Concacaf Champions Cup | OneFootball

The Concacaf Champions Cup has grown in spectacle over the years as MLS teams have become more competitive with Liga MX opposition and with each other.

But perhaps never has a cup tie in Concacaf had quite the pedigree as will be on display Wednesday night when Lionel Messi's Inter Miami hosts Hugo Lloris' LAFC in Leg 1 of their quarterfinal series (11:30 p.m. ET, FS1, Vix).

The last time Messi and Lloris were on the same pitch, the duo was contesting what many consider the greatest World Cup final of all-time, a match that finished 2-2 after 90 min and 3-3 after 120 before Argentina eventually won the tie on penalties.

It was the sixth all-time meeting between Messi the attacker and Lloris the goalkeeper, and the second in the World Cup after France previously beat Messi's Argentina 4-3 in the 2018 second round.

Messi owns a 2W-3D-1L record against Lloris across those six games (the 2022 meeting is considered a draw), and a 2W-2D-0L mark at the club level, all in UEFA Championa League matches. He's scored five goals across those matches and also has two primary assists.

Miami in better form

Maybe more importantly, the Herons come into Wednesday's match in LA in far better form than LAFC as the only remaining unbeaten side in MLS following a 2-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Union on Saturday night.

Messi scored his second goal of the league campaign -- and fifth in all competitions -- only two minutes after coming off the bench early in the second half. Manager Javier Mascherano was also able to spare workhorse regulars like Telasco Segovia and Yannick Bright from starts ahead of Wednesday's late-night fixture.

Meanwhile, LAFC holds a 3W-0D-3L record so far in the league, and is still waiting on its first league goal from back-to-back team scoring leader Denis Bouanga, who is taking a lot of wear on the tires of late.

But the Gabon international has also been much better in Concacaf play thus far, scoring three times in the round-of-16 series against Columbus. That's tied with Messi, Luis Suarez and three others for second in the tournament top-scorer race, a goal back of Cruz Azul's Angel Sepulveda.