Messi absent from Inter Miami training ahead of playoff opener. Here’s why
Lionel Messi was absent from Inter Miami training Tuesday morning, raising eyebrows and questions from reporters as the team prepares for its opening match of the playoffs against Nashville SC on Friday night.
Club officials later explained that Messi missed the training session due to minor back discomfort. A source added that Messi trained on Monday and is expected to return to training on Wednesday and be available for Friday’s game.
The Argentine captain is coming off a hat trick in a 5-2 win over Nashville in the regular-season finale.
For the second year in a row, Messi and Inter Miami, the most expensive and hyped team in Major League Soccer, the team everyone else in the league loves to hate, heads into the playoffs on the heels of a hat trick by the Argentine star.
A year ago this week, Inter Miami was the undisputed top team in the league, setting an MLS record with 74 points and boasting a plus-30 goal differential that led to the Supporters’ Shield. Messi capped last regular season with an 11-minute hat trick in a 6-2 win over New England and went on to win league MVP.
This year, Miami finished third place in the Eastern Conference and failed to defend the Supporter’s Shield. However, the men in pink sent a clear warning the last three games, outscoring opponents 13-3. Once again, Messi punctuated the regular season finale with a hat trick, this one in a come-from-behind win over Nashville SC.
Messi is expected to be voted MLS MVP, becoming the first player in league history to win the trophy two years in a row. The 38-year-old continues to impress, with 29 goals and 19 assists in 28 league games this season.
Miami and Nashville will meet again in the first round of the playoffs, a best-of-three series that kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Game 2 is Nov. 1 at Nashville and Game 3, if necessary, will be back in Fort Lauderdale Nov. 8.
No extra time will be played if a first-round match is tied after regulation. Instead, a penalty kick shootout will determine the winner.
Miami players insist there will be a happier ending than last season, when Messi and his teammates were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Atlanta United, the lowest-seeded team in their bracket.
“We remember what happened last year and we’re going to try to avoid that in every way possible,” defender Noah Allen said Tuesday morning. “We want to win for the pain of last year. Everyone that was here last year remembers that, and it stays with us…There’s no panic, just more motivation.”
Inter Miami has never advanced past the first round and this team is determined to change that.
“Let’s make more history, something the club has never achieved,” said Allen.
Asked whether anything less than lifting the MLS Cup trophy would be a failure for this star-studded Inter Miami team, Allen paused and replied, “Yeah. We have high expectations for ourselves. I feel we have the highest standards for ourselves in the league. We want to win every trophy possible, and we want to win MLS Cup. That’s it.”
Midfielder Baltasar Rodriguez agreed.
“We know we have an advantage having Leo, the best player in the world,” Rodriguez said. “I think we are the best team in MLS. We don’t feel pressure. We must remain calm and take it step by step. I know we can do it because we have a great team.”
By finishing with the league’s third-best record, Inter Miami has home field advantage throughout the playoffs over all but two teams – Philadelphia Union (66 points) and FC Cincinnati (65 points).
If Miami advances from the first round, it will face the winner of Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew in the single-elimination conference semifinal which would be at home if it is against the Crew. If Miami reaches the conference final, the game would be at home against any opponent but Philadelphia.
And, if Inter Miami were to reach the MLS Cup championship Dec. 6, the game would be held at Chase Stadium, regardless of the opponent. None of the Western Conference teams finished with a better regular season record. San Diego finished first place in the West with 63 points and Vancouver was second, also with 63.
Despite the home field advantage in most situations, it will not be easy for Inter Miami to with the title.
There is no question Inter Miami is a team that can score, with a league-best 81 goals. But the defense has been vulnerable all year, especially in transition. Miami allowed 55 goals, more than all but two other playoff teams, FC Dallas (55) and Chicago Fire (60).
Inter Miami conceded three or more goals seven times this season. Last weekend, Nashville took a 2-1 first-half lead before Messi’s magic kicked in, leading to four unanswered Miami goals.
“We have to clean up mistakes we made in the first half,” Allen said. “Going into training this week, everyone’s thinking about that first half, when we could have been a lot better in every aspect of the game. The advantage of playing the same team a couple more times is that you know the team and players you’re going against. We have to find a balance of attacking and defending. There were times this year where it’s been uneven. It’s been addressed by the coaching staff. It’s nothing major.”
In addition to Inter Miami, other contenders to go deep in the playoffs include Supporters’ Shield winners Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Vancouver Whitecaps, Los Angeles FC [with dynamic duo Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min], Seattle Sounders, Minnesota United, and expansion team San Diego, which finished atop the West in its debut season.
How to Watch Inter Miami vs. Nashville: Game 1 of the MLS playoffs kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are available at intermiamicf.com/tickets and the game will be shown on Apple TV, FS1 and Fox Deportes.
This story was originally published October 21, 2025 at 11:41 AM.