Messi expected to play for Inter Miami in Sunday's road game against Atlanta United

Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald on Mar 15, 2025

Published in Soccer

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MIAMI — Lionel Messi, fresh off his late-game goal in Jamaica, is expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday night for the MLS road game against Atlanta United.

The plan is for Messi to travel to Atlanta, coach Javier Mascherano said on Saturday morning, as he has recovered from the muscle strain that kept him out of three games.

“The plan was for him to play 30 to 35 minutes in Jamaica so he could feel good again, and it went well,” Mascherano said.

The Argentine legend came off the bench at the 53-minute mark in the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 against Cavalier, and just before the final whistle, he made sure the fans went home with a special memory, scoring to seal a 2-0 win for Inter Miami and a 4-0 aggregate win in the series.

With that win, Miami advanced to the quarterfinals against Los Angeles FC, a two-leg series in early April. But first it is back to league play on Sunday and then the FIFA international break from Monday through Mar. 25.

Messi will join Argentina’s national team for World Cup qualifying matches on Friday against Uruguay on Mar. 25 against Brazil.

Mascherano said Inter Miami’s management of Messi’s playing time the past few weeks was not influenced by his commitment to the Argentine team.

He added that the medical staff of the national team is in regular contact with Inter Miami’s medical staff, but he has not spoken with their coaching staff. He said if they consult him, he will oblige, but he doesn’t think that will be necessary.

In other team news, goalkeeper Drake Callender is expected to travel to Atlanta and could make his first appearance all season after a nagging adductor injury. According to Mascherano, Callender has been feeling better the past few days, which is good news because Oscar Ustari, who has started in Callender’s absence, will be serving a red card suspension on Sunday night.

The only players missing from Saturday’s training were Marcelo Weigandt (hamstring) and David Ruiz (leg injury). Robert Taylor (hamstring) trained separately from the group.

Although it is just the fourth game of the MLS season, the match against Atlanta is getting a lot of attention because it is the first time the teams will play against each other since Atlanta knocked the heavily favored Inter Miami out of the 2024 playoffs in the first round.

The 7 p.m. game is the featured attraction on “Sunday Night Soccer” on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.

Nevertheless, Mascherano insisted he does not view it as a revenge game.

“I don’t see it as a grudge match,” he said. “I’ve always said that in futbol there are not revenge matches, but rather, opportunities. You can’t get back what happened in the past and what escaped you. I played a World Cup final [which Argentina lost] and did not have another chance to play. That’s how it is. There are always new opportunities.

“Obviously, when you line up against an opponent that eliminated you, it is natural that the players would think, 'We want to face them again.’ Because when those things happen, what you want is to play that team again as soon as possible.”

Miami is in second place in the Eastern Conference with two wins, no losses, and a tie (seven points) and Atlanta is in 11th place with four points (1-1-1). Inter Miami is 6-0-1 under first-year coach Mascherano, has outscored opponents 15-4 and has four shutouts.

Asked whether the fact that the Mercedes Benz Stadium has artificial turf will affect his game plan, Mascherano replied: “It’s not ideal, but I have spoken to the players and they told me there are many artificial turf fields here [in the United States] and we will try to overcome that.

“For me, futbol is played on natural grass. That is what I preferred to play on my entire life. In fact, with my style of play when I was a player, I would get turf burns all over when I would make sliding tackles. But most of these players have played on it before. Also, it’s a big field, a nice field, surely the atmosphere will be very good, so a great game and scene and we hope to rise to the occasion.”