Lionel Messi, Inter Miami’s captain and star player, will be the center of attention when they play Orlando City in their final preseason friendly.
This Friday marks Inter Miami’s return to action as they play their final preseason game against Orlando City at Raymond James Stadium. The Herons’ official season begins on Tuesday, February 18, when they travel to play Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup’s opening round, with Lionel Messi leading the squad.
Lionel Messi is set to start with fellow star forward Luis Suarez because this is Inter Miami’s final warm-up game and Argentine head coach Javier Mascherano is slated to start his strongest squad.
The Herons are riding a strong winning streak going into this game, having gone undefeated in preseason play. Club America of Mexico was lost on penalties (3-2), followed by Universitario of Peru (5-4) and Sporting Miguelito of Panama (3-1) before easily defeating Olimpia of Honduras (5-0).
In contrast, Orlando City has only participated in two preseason games, both of which ended in scoreless draws. They drew with Forge FC of Canada and fell to Atletico Mineiro of Brazil on penalties.
Most likely lineups
Javier Mascherano, the head coach of Inter Miami, is anticipated to start the following lineup for the friendly matchup with Orlando City: Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez; Julian Gressel, Sergio Busquets, Federico Redondo, Fafa Picault; Óscar Ustari; Marcelo Weigandt, Tomás Avilés, David Martínez, and Jordi Alba.
What will happen to Messi and Inter Miami next?
Inter Miami will play Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup opening round on Tuesday, February 18, after their final preseason game. The second leg will take place at home on Tuesday, February 25. The victor of the series will play Cavalier of Jamaica in the round of 16.Between these games, on Saturday, February 22, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will travel to play New York City FC in their 2025 Major League Soccer debut.
