(CNN) — Lionel Messi’s genius on the football field always leaves new chapters. Inter Miami qualified for the U.S. Open finals as a visiting team on Wednesday by defeating Cincinnati, the best team in the Eastern Conference, in a shootout. Not long ago, Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s team won the League Cup, a victory that would allow them to participate in the tournament organized by CONCACAF – CONCACAF championship.
In just over 40 days, the Argentine star has transformed the fortunes of a team that had been lost before his arrival.
Inter Miami played 8 games with Messi on the court, winning 5 of them and drawing 3 of them. From these draws they exited with a penalty shootout win. In addition, World Championship champion Argentina also scored 10 goals.
But the intensity of the games has started to show in the players’ physiques. This was especially evident against FC Cincinnati, where neither the star nor his teammates had the freshness of previous games.
Messi makes his first appearance in local competition
Another big moment comes this Saturday, as the star makes his American League debut. David Beckham is one of the most important faces of the Florida franchise and he dreams of his team becoming one of the league’s major entertainers. In terms of sports, the arrival of Messi has brought another face to Inter Miami. This new look must continue to develop in order for the club to escape its current situation, which currently sits last in the Eastern Conference with 18 points (22 games and pending), five wins and three draws. and 14 defeats.
For Messi’s long-awaited MLS debut, the team needs more rest than work. The vertigo of recent weeks has forced Martino to measure his efforts and think long and hard before settling on a lineup. This is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the Argentinian coach.
In last Wednesday’s match, Argentines Facundo Farias (from Colon de Santa Fe) and Tomas Aviles (who performed well in competitive matches) made their debuts. Both show flashes of quality. Most importantly, Farias has shown character and courage by teaming up with Messi on multiple occasions. We’ll have to wait until a few hours before the game to find out whether Martino sees fit to give the two young Argentine players a chance to play from the start.
Inter Miami has not played in an MLS game since losing 3-0 to St. Louis City on July 15. This Saturday will be the first of 11 remaining games of the season as they try to close the 14-point gap on the Chicago Fire, who are currently the last team to qualify for the playoffs.
Opponent: New York Red Bulls
The Big Apple team was founded in 1994 as Empire Football Club. In 1995 they changed their name to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, an organization that played a central role in the formation of Major League Soccer.
The Reds, who have been led by Troy Lesene since May, currently sit in 11th place with 29 points from seven wins, eight draws and nine losses. In the usual starting lineup, there is Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, Colombian center back Andres Reyes, Mexican midfielder Omer Fernandez and creative midfielder Luquina Sri Lanka. This is an irregular team still finding its groove. They are aggressive in attack and have interesting partnerships in attack, and they are the next obstacle on the road to a historic goal for Messi and Inter Miami.
When and where to watch the New York Red Bulls – Inter Miami game
Contest:MLS
stadium: Red Bull Arena
ability: 25,000 viewers
City:Harrison, NJ
schedule:
6.30 pm Ecuador-Peru
7.30 pm Miami – Chile – Bolivia – Paraguay – Venezuela
8.30 pm Argentina-Brazil-Uruguay
television: Apple TV has joined MLS Pass
Possible formation of New York Red Bulls:
Coronel, Niels, Harper, Ndam, Tolkien, Fernandez, Edelman, Amaya, Lucquinas, Van Zyl and Elias Manoel.
Possible formation of Inter Miami:
Callers; Yedlin, Krivtsov, Miller, Alba; Arroyo, Busquets, Gomez; Farias, Campana and Lionel Messi.