New York City FC are prepared for possibly facing Lionel Messi for the first time.
Suddenly ascending, NYCFC hope they can do enough to get the crucial three points that come with a victory Saturday night when they visit Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with Messi questionable with a leg injury.
Tigres defeated LAFC in the Campeones Cup on penalty kicks Wednesday night 4-2 with Argentine goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán stopping two of LA's penalties.
The game was played at LAFC’s BMO Stadium. After the game Guzmán took it upon himself to troll the home fans and celebrate in front of the crowd. They were less than pleased and proceeded to hurl objects at him.
Guzmán was unphased and even managed to catch a water bottle that was thrown.
This guy is good with his hands. Must be a goalkeeper or something.
Inter Miami will wait until the "last moment" to see if Lionel Messi is fit to play in Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo, coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino said.
Messi was substituted in Inter's league match against Toronto FC before halftime with an unspecified injury, and missed Sunday's clash against rivals Orlando City.
The Argentina captain is a doubt for the U.S. Open Cup final when his team will aim to claim their second title after winning the Leagues Cup last month.
Inter Miami coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino confirmed Friday that star forward Lionel Messi will miss Sunday's match at Orlando City as he deals with a scar tissue issue from an injury with the Argentina national team.
Messi, 36, and defender Jordi Alba did not practice Friday after they both exited in the first half of Wednesday's 4-0 win over visiting Toronto FC due to what Martino called muscle fatigue.
Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba departed with apparent injuries during what might have been a costly 4-0 win for Inter Miami over visiting Toronto FC on Wednesday.
— SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) September 21, 2023
Lionel Messi reappeared for Inter Miami in training on Monday, Sept. 19 after playing (and scoring an outrageous free kick against Ecuador) for Argentina in the international break and one small new detail about the No. 10 has fans thinking we might already know who’s winning the upcoming 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Inter Miami travel to Atlanta for their second league meeting of the season against the United on Saturday.
Lionel Messi has been involved in 16 Miami goals in 11 games across all competitions since debuting with the club on July 21. Messi has 11 goals and five assists in that span.
But he won't be playing in the match, multiple media outlets reported. Coming off of duty with Argentina's national team, Messi did not make the trip to Atlanta.
Reason: Fatigue
Lionel Messi speaking English in a press conference is something that fans are unlikely to ever hear in real life. AI (artificial intelligence) has given us a glimpse to what it would look like if the Argentine superstar did speak English fluently.
Argentinian AI creator Javi Fernandez used AI to generate Messi speaking English during one of his recent press conferences.
A former professional soccer player is now the placekicker for America’s football team, the Dallas Cowboys. Brandon Aubrey, 28, was a first round draft in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft for Toronto FC and made his NFL debut on Sunday.
Aubrey played college soccer at Notre Dame as a defender from 2013 through 2016 and was the 21st pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Other notable names in the first round of that draft include USMNT players Miles Robinson, Jackson Yueill and Julian Gressel.
The new Lionel Messi mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, cost the Inter Miami superstar $10.75 million as he and his family will now have waterfront property.
Messi’s new 10,500-square-foot headquarters has plenty of luxuries including eight bedrooms, nine and a half bathrooms, a pool, a three-car garage, two boat docks, a gym and a 1,600-square-foot bedroom.
Messi, his wife Antonel Roccuzzo and their three sons have quite the new house to call home.