Inter Miami vs El Salvador live updates, highlights
Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s second year together is officially underway.
Messi is in the starting lineup as Inter Miami’s preseason begins Friday night at 8 p.m. ET against the El Salvador National Team at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, El Salvador. The match can be streamed on MLSSoccer.com in English and MLSes.com in Spanish.
Messi and Inter Miami have received quite the welcome from fans in El Salvador before the match, with fans crowding the team’s tour bus as it pulled in late Thursday night.
And fans have lined up for hours to get a glimpse of Messi and his Inter Miami teammates before Friday’s match.
But how much will Messi actually play? That is the big question ahead of the 2024 MLS season.
The stage was set again for Messi with a free kick. But it appeared Messi was not expecting how El Salvador was lined up defensively.
Messi kicked the ball low into the crowd of defenders, then walked off the pitch as halftime began with both sides scoreless.
Messi received a pass from Luis Suarez, and was challenged by a defender.
It appeared Messi’s left foot was kicked by the defender as they collided, leaving Messi briefly laying on the pitch.
Messi appeared fine after the interaction.
Now, the intrigue begins on how much Messi, Suarez, Busquets, Alba and others play with Inter Miami’s crazy preseason schedule in mind.
Jordi Alba misses in 40’: Inter Miami 0, El Salvador 0
Jordi Alba took his shot against the El Salvadorian goalie, but to no avail.
Mario Gonzalez, the goalie, made easy work of Alba’s shot.
Messi and Inter Miami are several minutes away from a scoreless first half.
Messi’s shot in the 35th minute was high and straight toward the El Salvadorian goalie, who blocked it away.
As Messi got the rebound, he was unable to get another clean shot off.
But Messi nearly had his captivating moment.
Sergio Busquets was the catalyst in the sequence, getting the ball to Messi with his stretched leg as he fell to the pitch.
Messi, Luis Suarez, Busquets and Jordi Alba have all had their touches in the opening 30 minutes of the match.
Hey, there’s something to be said for shaking off the offseason rust during the preseason, which Inter Miami began roughly a week ago.
Inter Miami has been slightly shaky on the back end: El Salvador has shot twice on goal, but missed both shots.
If you’re looking for Leo Messi, look for the highlight-colored cleats (although some Inter Miami teammates are also wearing the same color).
Messi posted two photos of himself on Instagram showing his yellow highlight Adidas cleats earlier this week, which he’s wearing during the El Salvador game.
Messi has touched the ball twice in the first two minutes and the crowd in El Salvador cheered loudly as soon as he had possession.
Messi’s first pass of the game was to Luis Saurez in the box. Suarez was unable to make a play on the ball, but it still brought excitement.
Messi was challenged by several El Salvadoran players near midfield and even made a play on one knee before play reset.
It’s surreal to see Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba on the same pitch again in 2024. But this is the new Inter Miami.
How to watch Messi, Inter Miami match vs. El Salvador
The Inter Miami match against El Salvador will kick off at 8 p.m. ET and can be streamed on MLSSoccer.com in English and MLSes.com in Spanish.
Messi in Inter Miami’s starting lineup vs. El Salvador
Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are all in the starting lineup for Inter Miami.
Here’s the starting lineup:
Inter Miami will wear their black jerseys for Friday’s game.
But there is a change: The front of Inter Miami’s jersey kit features the logo of the club’s foundation.
Inter Miami will wear this jersey for the El Salvador game as well as the FC Dallas preseason game on Jan. 22.
How much will Messi play?
Inter Miami will have preseason games in El Salvador and Dallas, then are going to Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Tokyo. In all, Inter Miami will fly more than 25,000 miles. So, some players’ playing time will be limited.
Inter Miami coach Tata Martino, unintentionally, caused a stir last week when he said some players will have limited minutes in the first two preseason games, the second coming against FC Dallas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 22.
“We have to balance how much each player participates,” Martino said during MLS media day on Jan. 11. “The games in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Japan were planned from the end of last season, and we will be ready for those. The question is how we manage the first two games against El Salvador and Dallas because those are so soon. We will have to make decisions about how many minutes certain players can play in those games.”
