Home
The Atlanta United are gearing up to host the Inter Miami on Sunday, March 16 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a highly anticipated Major League Soccer (MLS) showdown. The big question for the Inter Miami will be whether their star player, Lionel Messi features against the Atlanta United or not.
Will Inter Miami's Lionel Messi play against Atlanta United?
Inter Miami has had a great start to the ongoing season after winning two games and being unbeaten with a draw under their belt. They have secured a spot in the ongoing CONCACAF Champions Cup after a 2-0 victory (4-0 aggregate) over the Cavalier FC in Jamaica. Lionel Messi scored the second goal in the second leg against the Cavalier FC.
Lionel Messi has been given the green signal to start against the Atlanta United. So far this season, Messi has registered 3 goals and 2 assists to his name. Inter Miami's head coach, Javier Mascherano even confirmed that Messi will travel with the team to Atlanta, which further indicates that he will feature against the Atlanta side. However, his participation remains under the radar whether he'll start the game or come from the bench.
Messi played an important role against the Cavalier FC as the team reached the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions Cup. His presence with the team indicates that the eight time Ballon d'Or winner is fully fit and prepared to contribute with his performance.
So far there has been no official confirmation regarding Messi's position in the lineup. Mascherano even mentioned that a final decision on Messi's fitness would be taken before the kick-off as the team's main concern is to look after player's health and the team has been taking in account the workload management of the Argentine star.
It is expected that Messi will be available to start against Atlanta United but whether he starts or comes off the bench is something which we will get to know before the game starts. On top of it, Lionel Messi has been named in the Argentina squad for the upcoming 2026 World Cup Qualifiers later this month. They will face Uruguay on March 21 and then take on arch rivals, Brazil on March 25.
