According to coach Mascherano, he planned to let Messi play a few minutes in the second half. However, goalkeeper Oscar Ustari received a red card in the 38th minute, which changed his plan. The Argentine coach was forced to take off striker Cremaschi and put in reserve goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo to replace him.
Messi sat on the bench for the first time the entire match
With 10 men, Inter Miami played tightly and made the most of every opportunity. In the last minute of injury time at the end of the first half, veteran striker Suarez had a perfect combination with striker Tadeo Allende, before creating an opportunity for the Argentine player to score the opening goal of the match and also the final result. Thereby, helping Inter Miami continue to maintain its unbeaten streak since the beginning of the season with 5 wins, 1 draw in all competitions.
The win helped Inter Miami jump from 9th place to 2nd place in the MLS Eastern Conference standings with 7 points after 3 matches, behind the top team Philadelphia Union (9 points).
In the next match, Inter Miami travels to Jamaica to meet Cavalier Club in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League (Inter Miami won the first leg 2-0), at 7:00 a.m. on March 14.
Regarding the possibility of Messi returning to play in the upcoming match, it is still open. Coach Mascherano expressed: "Messi has a muscle problem. Therefore, we have to be careful and cannot take risks. He is our most important player. When Messi is on the field, we are a very strong team."
Inter Miami continues to win without Messi
Meanwhile, according to DSPORTS Argentina : "Because Messi is so important to Inter Miami, this team has just made a surprising and first-ever request when sending a request to the Argentine Football Federation (AFA).
Accordingly, they have proposed to exempt him from the national team's training camp in June. In particular, Inter Miami hopes that Messi will not participate in the match against Chile or the match against Colombia (both in June in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers). Thereby, it will help him have time to prepare and be in the best condition to participate in the Club World Cup."
As expected, Messi will return to the Argentina national team in the upcoming competition in March after the Inter Miami match against Atlanta United away on March 17, to play the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America against Uruguay (March 22) and Brazil (March 26).
The results of these matches will determine whether Messi will be called up next June or not, because if the Argentina team wins and secures a place at the 2026 World Cup, he may not participate to focus on Inter Miami.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/inter-miami-co-hanh-dong-dac-biet-voi-messi-lan-dau-tien-dua-ra-yeu-cau-185250310074900651.htm
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