![]() ![]() Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men's and women's national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. But this much is certain: we’ll all be watching the GOAT’s every move once again.ĭoug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. A playoff berth seems likely if he stays healthy. What will Messi do for an encore in 2024? Time will tell. Miami will also compete in the CONCACAF Champions Cup starting in March. That process is already underway: On Wednesday, the club declined to extend forward Josef Martinez, potentially opening a roster spot for Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, another of Messi’s former running buddies from the Camp Nou. Hired just before Messi joined, Martino will surely look to upgrade the Herons supporting cast this winter. He recently ended any speculation that he’ll head back to Barça on loan this winter, meaning he ought to be rested, healthy and fresh when he reports for Miami’s preseason camp. Messi, perhaps for the first time as a pro, will get an extended break after that. Argentina’s final two qualifiers of 2023 are later in November, the second against its historic rival Brazil. Instead of chasing MLS Cup this fall, Messi and Miami will head to China next month for a pair of lucrative exhibitions. 17, then went 90 minutes in Miami’s season finale, a 1-0 loss in Charlotte last weekend. However disappointed Messi was, it didn’t show: he scored twice in Argentina’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win in Peru on Oct. After losing 13 of 16 games between March and June, making the postseason cut was always going to mission impossible - even for the GOAT. That Miami was even in contention until October is down to Messi and Messi alone. What to expect from Messi, Inter Miami in 2024 He couldn’t stave off the inevitable, though, as FCC prevailed 1-0 to officially knock Miami out. 7 tilt with FC Cincinnati, the 2023 Supporters Shield winner. With his team on the brink of playoff elimination, Messi returned for a must-win Oct. Open Cup final loss to Houston a week later and the Herons next three league contests, too. He didn’t travel to Atlanta for Miami’s first match afterward, then limped off after just 37 minutes against Toronto. 7 World Cup qualifying victory over Ecuador, Messi sat out his country’s next qualifier with a muscle injury. ![]() But that was as good as it got in MLS play.Īfter scoring the only goal in Argentina’s Sept. Messi started Inter Miami’s next two league games, setting up two of the visitors three strikes in a star-studded 3-1 win in Los Angeles over defending MLS Cup champ LAFC. In front of a sold out crowd, with thousands more watching in Times Square a few miles east of Red Bull Arena, Messi entered of the bench in the second half to (of course) score the game-winner. 23, coach Tata Martino rested Messi in the first half of his regular season debut against the New York Red Bulls. Open Cup semifinal win over Cincinnati on Aug. After playing all 120 minutes and delivering two assists in the U.S. While the 36-year-old has been remarkably durable throughout his career, the seven Leagues Cup games in just 30 days and the travel between them clearly took a physical toll. There was a steep price to pay for that instant success. Injury and an anticlimactic end to Year 1 Less than a month into his stay in America, Messi had already led his new team to a major trophy. He started the next six games and scored nine goals, including in the Leagues Cup final against Nashville SC, as Miami took the title. That novel tournament, a 47-team affair featuring every squad from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX, allowed Messi’s tenure at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to begin with a clean slate. ![]()
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