David Beckham upbeat as Inter Miami seek third trophy: “The big stars stepped up against LAFC”

David Beckham gave his thoughts on this week’s Champions League ties that saw his former club Real Madrid and Bayern Munich both eliminated while Arsenal and Inter Milan head into to the semifinals.

He also took stock of what’s ahead for the club he serves as president and co-owner—Inter Miami—which is gearing up for its first major international challenge next week: the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals.

Inter Miami looking to make history

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United midfielder reflected on Inter Miami’s victory over Los Angeles FC, which saw ‘Las Garzas’ advance to the penultimate round of the regional tournament with a 3-2 aggregate score.

He told CBS Sports: “This is a very tough competition. We faced a great team like LAFC in the previous round. The match in Miami was spectacular. The big stars stepped up, and that’s why we were able to move forward. Now we face Vancouver in the semifinals, and it’s going to be a tough game because they’re in great form. Every club wants to win this competition because you want to be recognized. There are very difficult matches and rivals. We’re excited”.

Since the South Florida franchise was founded in 2018, this is the furthest the team has gone in Concacaf’s top club tournament.

“Vancouver, a tough opponent”

Beckham, however, remains grounded. While reaching the semifinals is a historic achievement in itself, going on to win the trophy is another matter. The Englishman drew a parallel to Arsenal’s performance against Madrid at the Bernabéu:

“In all honesty, the two games, Arsenal deserved it. I think it was the complete performance from Arsenal – great individual performances, great team performance, and then obviously a great management by Mikel [Arteta], so they deserved it, but I was expecting a little bit more of a comeback today but just wasn’t meant to be.

“Obviously, if they go on and obviously beat PSG and get to the final, I think it’ll be a special thing for them as a club, for Mikel as a manager and for the team and the performances that they’ve put in the Champions League this year, but obviously, I know my son’s watching so I hope they do well in the Champions League but they’re coming up against PSG so I know who I’ll be supporting on the night but we always want English teams to do well. It’s such a special competition”.

When is the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal?

The first leg of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal between Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps will take place on Thursday, April 24, at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, kicking off at 10:30 p.m. ET.

The return leg will take place at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, April 30, with kick-off at 8:00 p.m. ET, .

The winner will advance to the final on June 1, where they will face whoever emerges from the other, all-Mexican semifinal between Cruz Azul and Tigres.

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