Lionel Messi’s status is uncertain as Inter Miami heads into a critical match against Atlanta United on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
It was unclear Thursday whether Messi would represent Argentina in its friendly against Venezuela Friday night at Miami Gardens or whether he would sit out to play for Inter Miami (17-7-8, 59 points) against Atlanta United (5-15-12, 27 points) in his club’s penultimate regular-season game.
Although Philadelphia won the Supporters’ Shield last week, Inter Miami still has a lot to play for on Saturday as it attempts to tie Cincinnati for second place in the Eastern Conference. The top four in each conference get home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
In addition to Messi, Inter Miami will likely be shorthanded with five other players – Rodrigo De Paul, Telasco Segovia, Ian Fray, Mateo Silvetti and Noah Allen – called up to the national team this week.
“We will do our best,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “We know we’re going to have a few absences on Saturday, so we want the players that are left to be as fresh and ready as possible because, obviously, we want to score three points to secure third place and put pressure on Cincinnati going into the final game.”
Atlanta is expected to have up to eight players out for the same reason, including American Luke Brennan and Paraguayan Miguel Almiron.
Atlanta, which also has two games remaining, is coming off back-to-back shutout losses and hasn’t scored since a 1-1 draw against San Diego on Sept. 20. Atlanta is looking for its first win since shutting out Nashville 1-0 on Aug. 30 and needs a win in its final two games to avoid finishing with a franchise low for league wins in a season.
“I always struggled the first year, before the second year it got better, and the third year it’s even better,” Atlanta first-year coach Ronny Deila said. “That’s why I like it. I want to make things better.”
–Field level media
