Campana or Higuain? Inter Miami face striker debate as Atlanta United visit

But that doesn’t discourage Higuain, Neville said, with the 34-year-old former Argentine international their leading scorer the last two seasons. He’s scored twice from the penalty spot in 2022.

“You can see with the intensity that Gonzalo’s trained this week, he knows he’s got a fight on his hands to get back in the team, because he sees someone scoring goals,” Neville said, noting they’ll need the former Real Madrid and Juventus star. “And that inspires him because he’s always been looking for someone to shoulder the responsibility with him. I think what the team has proven in the last three games is that they can win without Gonzalo. So now there’s less pressure on him to come back in the team, there’s less focus on him and we can see him produce his best performances.”

Atlanta’s striker situation is also complex, with Josef Martinez out after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in early April. The Venezuelan international missed nearly all of 2020 after tearing his right ACL, with this latest procedure cleaning out debris that’s built up.

It leaves ATLUTD manager Gonzalo Pineda likely picking from Dom Dwyer and Ronaldo Cisneros up top, while homegrown player Jackson Conway is another option. Dwyer, the MLS veteran, scored twice midweek in a 6-0 thumping of NISA foe Chattanooga FC in the US Open Cup’s Third Round. Cisneros is on loan from Liga MX’s Chivas Guadalajara.

“No. 9 is a key position, obviously,” Pineda said. “You need some consistency, you need to know your players around [you]. But the two options I have now, I don’t think they have a lot of knowledge on that. So the spot is open and we will see. The other day Dom scored two fantastic goals, but also the other day Ronaldo did a fantastic job for us stretching the lines and chasing and pressing and giving us a different look in the attack, which is speed in behind. I have good choices and we will see what is the best fit for Miami.”