The Leagues Cup 2023 quarterfinals begin this Friday with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami CF taking on Kristijan Kahlina's Charlotte FC. And the Croatian goalkeeper hopes he can be the tournament villain stopping La Pulga from winning his first title in the U.S.
Can he?
Kahlina was the main reason Charlotte FC got into the quarterfinals after he kept a clean sheet in regulation and saved three penalty shots against Cruz Azul.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper born in Zagreb has three titles to his name, the Croatian second division league title, the Bulgarian League title, and the Bulgarian Super Cup. He played professionally with NK Vinogradar, Croatia's NK Lucko and HNK Gorica, Koper and, finally, Bulgaria's Ludogorets.
He’s appeared in 348 matches, conceding 411 and earning 113 clean sheets during his career. That’s 32 percent of his career starts have been clean sheets. With his last club, he started in eight matches with three clean sheets in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
He first arrived in Major League Soccer in 2022 and so far in Leagues Cup 2023, he;s done a terrific job, going unbeaten throughout the tournament.
He helped Charlotte FC earn a 2-2 draw in their opening match against FC Dallas and followed it up with a 4-1 win over Necaxa. In the round of 16, he helped eliminate the Houston Dynamo 2-1.
Now he’ll be tasked with stopped Inter Miami’s red-hot offense led by Lionel Messi, who is one of the top scorers in the tournament.
Messi has scored in every match of Leagues Cup 2023. In his last three matches, he’s scored a brace and scored the first goal of the match. In each of those matches, he’s scored earlier and earlier: he scored in the 8th minute against Atlanta United, the 7th minute against Orlando City, and the 6th minute against FC Dallas.
The battle between the Croatian goalkeeper and the Argentine striker will undoubtedly be the main attractions of the evening.
