Lionel Messi is back in Leagues Cup action today as Inter Miami host Atlanta United. Miami can clinch a spot in the knockout rounds with a win or a draw.
Michael Dominski
July 25, 2023 at 6:20 PM EDT
(All photos by Getty Images)
Everything you need to know ahead of Inter Miami vs Atlanta UnitedBrutally hot tonight in Miami
(Pablo Maurer)
Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets are set to get their first starts here tonight and when I tell you it is *brutally* hot, that’s not an exaggeration.
I can taste the humidity and the ‘RealFeel’ temperature will be in the triple digits Fahrenheit at first kick. Just awful out there.
If I had to choose…
(David Ornstein)
All I can think about is which pitchside celebrities we might see tonight after LeBron, Serena and Co on Friday.
A personal choice would be the rest of the Spice Girls, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s double.
David Beckham is here, who else will join him?
It’ll be interesting to see what the celebrity crowd at the game tonight looks like. And just as I type that, a black Escalade pulls up and out steps Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham.
The crowd at the first game included Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Lebron James and a host of other smaller celebrities.
Messi and Co have arrived
(Pablo Maurer)
Inter Miami has just arrived at the stadium at exactly 6 p.m. local time.
Lionel Messi walked in at the back of the group wearing pink sneakers, just next to Sergio Busquets and Leonardo Campana.
Messi and Busquets are expected to start tonight after coming off the bench last Friday.
Who could Miami face in the round of 32?
If Inter Miami advance to the round of 32 by finishing in the top two places of their group, their opponent in that round will be one of six teams:
Santos LagunaClub NecaxaOrlando CityHouston DynamoFC DallasCharlotte FCHow Miami can advance to knockout rounds
Inter Miami can clinch a spot in the knockout rounds with 1 point tonight.
Here’s how points are earned in the Leagues Cup:
Regulation win: 3 pointsWin in penalty shootout after 90-minute draw: 2 pointsLoss in penalty shootout after 90-minute draw: 1 pointRegulation loss: 0 pointsSouth 3 Group schedule and standings
Schedule
July 21: Inter Miami 2-1 Cruz AzulToday: Inter Miami vs Atlanta UnitedSaturday: Atlanta United vs Cruz Azul
Standings
Inter Miami: 1 match played, 3 pointsAtlanta United: 0 matches played, 0 pointsCruz Azul: 1 match played, 0 pointsFray to miss rest of season
Inter Miami defender Ian Fray will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his ACL for the third time in three seasons during Friday’s Leagues Cup game against Cruz Azul.
It’s a gutting turn of events for the Florida native, who has had a brutal last few years. He broke into the Miami second team at 17 and was billed as a player with a potentially big future, but he missed the entirety of both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, tearing his ACL in preseason each year.
Fray broke into the first team this year, appearing in 12 straight games (including eight starts) after coming back from rehabbing both torn ACLs.
After Friday’s match, Messi dedicated the win to Fray.
Leo Messi: “Let me dedicate this victory to Ian Fray (Inter Miami teammate) who was suffering in the locker room from the injury he sustained. He comes from two serious injuries and today he has the bad luck to go through an injury again.” pic.twitter.com/5idgnXJiqy
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) July 22, 2023
Can Messi handle the Miami heat?
(All photos by Getty Images)
Tonight may be Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets’ first true test in terms of Miami’s oppressive heat and humidity.
As of now the RealFeel temperature (which takes humidity into account) is approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Another factor: tonight’s match starts an hour earlier than Friday’s, at 7:30PM local time. It’s going to be brutal out there.
What’s at stake in the Leagues Cup?
The champion, runner-up and third-place finisher of the Leagues Cup will all qualify automatically for the CONCACAF Champions League. They will also have a chance to earn a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The tournament winner qualifies directly to the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16, while the runner-up and third-place clubs qualify for the CCL’s first round.
Other than CCL qualification, teams will be motivated by a financial incentive as well. Prize money will be awarded, though how much of it has yet to be publicly confirmed.
What is the Leagues Cup?
(All photos by Getty Images)
The Leagues Cup is a new « World Cup-style » midseason tournament involving all 47 teams from MLS and Liga MX. Here are the key details:
The tournament began last week and runs to August 19. In the first year, all matches will be played throughout the U.S. and Canada. MLS clubs will host their Liga MX counterparts, but if two Mexican teams are pitted against each other in the knockout round, Leagues Cup will determine the venue among a select group of cities.The groups, which are based on the clubs’ locations and 2022 performances, are broken into four regions: West, Central, South and East. Inter Miami are in a group with Cruz Azul and Atlanta United. Every team will play two matches in the group stage. The top two teams from each group, as determined by points, will advance to the knockout round of 32. Unlike at the World Cup, no matches in the Leagues Cup group stage will end in a tie; if a game is tied after 90 minutes, there will be a penalty shootout. Each team earns a point when tied after 90 minutes, and the winner of the penalty kicks gets an additional point. Winning teams in regulation earn three points. VAR will be in operation.When Pelé made his NY Cosmos debut
Forty-five years after Pelé’s debut at Randall’s Island, Lionel Messi’s arrival in MLS is being heralded as a watershed moment in American soccer history. The Argentine has yet to play a match for Inter Miami, yet journalists and league officials are already talking about pre-and-post-Messi timelines and speculating about his potential impact on the trajectory of a sport still fighting for mainstream relevance in the United States.
Some are already calling Messi’s arrival the biggest signing in the history of American soccer. There’s really only one other moment to compare it to — Pelé’s arrival in the NASL in 1975. If he were still here today, the Brazilian, who died in December at the age of 82, might be able to offer Messi a bit of advice in terms of what to expect.
GO FURTHER
When Pelé made his NY Cosmos debut — the similarities and differences to Messi in Miami
How can I watch Messi on TV and streaming?
(Photo: Getty Images)
All Inter Miami matches will be available to stream worldwide (with some exceptions) through Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass subscription service. In the U.S., some matches will also be broadcast on Fox/FS1/Fox Deportes and Leagues Cup matches will be available on Univision/Unimas/TUDN.
For Inter Miami’s first two Leagues Cup matches, Season Pass will feature “an enhanced production” that includes “18 cameras, Steadicam, four super slow-motion cameras, Skycam, a drone, sideline reporters in Spanish and English, a dedicated one-hour pregame show on site with features, interviews and expert analysis, and a postgame show to wrap things up.”
Falling demand for tickets
Perhaps the lessened celebrity pull from David Beckham’s rolodex is opening up ticket supply. With just over four hours until kickoff, nearly every non-supporter section at DRV PNK Stadium has firsthand tickets available for purchase on Ticketmaster, with most ranging from $180-$250.
Inter Miami has posted on their official Instagram account that Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets will start. Surely, they didn’t think they’d need to work to sell tickets this soon after signing their superstars.
How many people watched Messi last week?
(Photo: Getty Images)
How many people will watch the game tonight on Apple TV? As of now, exact figures for Messi’s debut have been impossible to track down.
Outlets in Argentina are reporting that 12.5 million watched his debut, though that number seems impossible to believe given that MLS Season Pass, the subscription service which aired the match, has approximately 1 million subscribers, according to written reports.
Other outlets have cited that number and called it “the most-viewed soccer match in American history,” which isn’t accurate in any sense of the word. Pelé’s debut with the New York Cosmos was legitimately viewed by over 10 million American households, while World Cup matches in both men’s and women’s tournaments have frequently drawn far larger numbers.
This follows Inter Miami owner David Beckham’s comments that “3.5 billion” people watched Messi’s unveiling as a Miami player. For context, that’s nearly half the population of Earth itself. Messi is big, but he isn’t that big.
Miami to reward Messi with captaincy
(Photo: Getty Images)
Lionel Messi will be the new captain of Inter Miami, Tata Martino confirmed on Monday.
The club’s previous captain was Gregore, who is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a foot injury.
Martino told reporters earlier this week: “The other day he was (captain) too, when he entered. Yes, he will be.”
Is Messi still the world’s best player?
All the discussions about the Saudi Arabian interest in Kylian Mbappe over the last few days has led to inevitable debates about who is the best player in world football.
For much of the last two decades, Messi’s name would be the most prominent answer but, at 36, the 2022 World Cup-winning captain is still near the forefront of the debate.
Elias Burke and Jeff Rueter crunched the numbers, read the outcome of their number crunching below.
GO FURTHER
Is Lionel Messi still the best in the world? Comparing with Mbappe, De Bruyne and others