Lionel Messi leads Inter Miami vs. red-hot Charlotte FC in sold-out clash
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates are back in action Saturday for the first time since their loss in the Leagues Cup final and the embarrassing ugly brawl that followed.
Eager to rebound from that Seattle debacle, Miami faces another big challenge on the road against Charlotte FC, the hottest team in MLS. The Crown is riding an eight-game winning streak and vaulted to third place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bank of America Stadium’s lower bowl 35,000 seats are sold out for the game.
With a win, Charlotte will tie the 2018 Seattle Sounders for the longest streak in MLS history (post shootout era). The Crown is also in position to clinch a playoff spot with a win and a New York Red Bulls loss or tie against the Portland Timbers.
Charlotte hasn’t lost a league game since June 28 against the Chicago Fire and is unbeaten in its past seven home matches dating to May 24.
The team will be without head coach Dean Smith, who is suspended for yellow card accumulation.
“Miami’s a very good team, one exceptional player, who is out of this world, and then Busquets and Alba are quality, quality players,” Smith said. “You’ve got to deal with that. Our concentration is what we can do best. How can we blunt them, but also provide some opportunities.”
The last time the teams played on March 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Messi remained on the bench as a 10-man Inter Miami edged past Charlotte 1-0 on a goal by Tadeo Allende. Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari was issued a red card in the 38th minute for impeding Charlotte’s Wilfried Zaha in the box.
Messi, who had missed two previous games due to a muscle strain, planned to play limited minutes that night but once Miami went down a man, coach Javier Mascherano decided to keep Messi out so as not to overwork him.
This time, he is expected to be in the starting lineup. Mascherano confirmed Friday morning that Messi trained with the team all week and will be ready for the game Saturday.
“Leo is fine; fortunately he and [Argentina coach Lionel] Scaloni decided he would not travel to Ecuador so he could rest for all the games we have coming up, especially after the injury he had,” Mascherano said. “He trained with us all week, did very well and will be ready for Charlotte.”
Messi is coming off an emotional World Cup qualifying match for Argentina against Venezuela last week. He scored two goals in the 3-0 victory in what he said was his final qualifying match in Buenos Aires.
Messi, the 38-year-old legend, is having another stellar season with Inter Miami. He ranks second in the league with 19 goals in 19 matches and has 10 assists.
“I am taking it day-by-day, game-by-game, this year we have played a ton of games,” Messi said in a postgame interview with Argentine reporters. “I had to miss a few games, I returned and luckily was able to play three games in a row. For me, it’s about seeing how I feel. I must be honest with myself. When I feel good, I enjoy playing and when I don’t, I’d rather not be there.”
Asked if that means he has not decided yet whether he will play the 2026 World Cup, Messi repeated that he takes things day by day, the World Cup is nine months away, and for now his goal is to help Inter Miami finish the MLS season with a trophy.
Inter Miami entered this season with its eyes on four trophies: Concacaf Champions Cup, Club World Cup, Leagues Cup and MLS Cup. The team lost in the semifinals of the Champions Cup, the Round of 16 of the Club World Cup, and the final of the Leagues Cup. The MLS Cup is still within reach, but it won’t be an easy road.
Miami will be without forward Luis Suarez for the next three games, as he serves an MLS-imposed ban for his behavior during a post-game melee in Seattle after the Leagues Cup final loss against the Sounders, whom Miami faces in a rematch at home on Tuesday.
“As for the suspension, we accept MLS’s decision,” Mascherano said. “The club has commented publicly, Luis has, too. We spoke privately and now we can close that topic. None of us were pleased with how that game ended and everything that happened after.”
Suarez’s absence comes at a bad time as Inter Miami will play seven games over the next 22 days and the injury list includes Fafa Picault, Baltasar Rodriguez and David Ruiz. Mascherano said Messi or Tadeo Allende can fill in some of Suarez’s duties while he is unavailable.
“You’re taking 11 assists out of the team without Suarez,” Smith said. “They have played three or four games without him this season that we’ve looked at, but without him you take out goals and assists. You take out the quality that he possesses.”
Miami has played four fewer matches than most of the teams in the league due to the club’s participation in three tournaments, so now it must catch up.
Inter Miami is in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 46 points, trailing first-place Philadelphia Union by 11 points. Cincinnati is in second place with 52 points, Charlotte and Nashville are in third and fourth with 50 and Orlando City is fifth with 47.
“It was a tough loss, everyone should have done better, me first,” said Miami midfielder Yannick Bright. “It impacted us a lot. Now we’re locked in and focused on winning the MLS Cup. We’re ready and motivated. Every game is going to count.”
Zaha, 32, has never played against Messi, but insists he is not intimidated.
“As much as I appreciate Messi, and I know he’s a GOAT, but as soon as I’m playing against you, I couldn’t care less about all that stuff,” Zaha said in a media interview Wednesday. “I know what we want to do, and that’s get the ninth win [in a row]. That’s what I’m fixated on.”
Asked what he and his teammates will do to try to contain Messi, Zaha replied: “I don’t think that’s one of the things I’m going to be thinking about on the day. My mentality is what I can do to them. I try not to fixate on what other players can do to us. Messi is one of the best players in the world, but if we’re just focused on stopping him the whole time, we forget that we can hurt teams, too.”
Pep Biel, who leads Charlotte with 10 goals, is back from injury and available to play. Harry Toffolo and former Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender, who was traded to Charlotte last month, are injured and unavailable. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and can be seen on Apple TV MLS Season Pass.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 10:01 AM.