Messi scores brace as Inter Miami opens Leagues Cup at home vs. San Luis
Lionel Messi returned to the Inter Miami starting lineup Wednesday night for the first time since leaving the World Cup Final in tears after Argentina’s loss to Spain.
Seventeen days have passed since that emotional match and after a 10-day vacation and a shift off the bench against the Columbus Crew over the weekend, Messi was ready to take the reins and chase another trophy as Inter Miami hosted its Leagues Cup opening match against Mexican club San Luis at Nu Stadium.
The captain delivered, scoring a first-half brace and adding an assist as Miami took a 4-1 halftime lead and led 4-2 before the match was interrupted by a weather delay in the 68th minute.
Messi made an impact early, scoring an equalizer in the 11th minute on a volley off a long cross from Noah Allen after Inter Miami had fallen behind following a sluggish start. Miami allowed San Luis to dominate possession in the opening minutes, which led to a David Rodriguez goal off a close-range header at the three-minute mark.
Daniel Pinter appeared to score the go-ahead goal for Miami in the 23rd minute after settling the ball with his chest and shooting from a tough angle, but the goal was nullified after a VAR review ruled offside. The home crowd groaned, but was celebrating again a few minutes later when Telasco Segovia scored from in front of the goal with a perfectly-placed assist by Allen to give Miami a 2-1 lead.
Messi made it 3-1 shortly before halftime after Allen, once again, showed he learned from Jordi Alba how to deliver the ball to Messi from the left wing-back position. Allen, Yannick Bright and Messi combined for a spectacular goal that ejected the fans from their seats.
And the goals kept coming for Miami. Seven minutes into first-half added time, center back Micael widened Miami’s lead to 4-1 on a header from the center of the box on a cross from a Messi corner kick.
But San Luis was not ready to fold. Six minutes into the second half, an unmarked Rafael Llorente launched a curling shot from outside the box that landed in the top right corner to close the gap to 4-2.
Inter Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos made three changes midway through the second half. David Ruiz went in for Rodrigo De Paul. Facundo Mura replaced Caicedo and Mateo Silvetti went in for Pinter.
Miami is one of 18 MLS teams competing against 18 teams from Mexico’s Liga MX in the Leagues Cup, which runs through early September. The three-game opening stage takes place over the next eight days. After Wednesday’s game, Miami faces Monterrey on Saturday and Leon on Aug. 12.
All three matches are at Nu Stadium.
Inter Miami, which won the tournament in 2023 shortly after Messi’s arrival, reached the final again last year but was trounced 3-0 by the Seattle Sounders in front of a sellout crowd of 69,314.
The match ended with a brawl. Luis Suarez was one of the instigators, spit on a Sounders official, and was punished with six-game Leagues Cup suspension, which means the Uruguayan forward is banned from the entire 2026 tournament.
Suarez’s absence will be felt, as he has been on fire of late with seven goals over the past four games.
German Berterame was also unavailable Wednesday as he remains on concussion protocol after a hard hit to the head in the road game against Montreal last week.
Inter Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos opted to start Daniel Pinter at forward in place of Suarez. The rest of Miami’s starting lineup included goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, right back Ian Fray, center back Caicedo, center back Micael, left back Noah Allen, midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, midfielder Casemiro, midfielder Telasco Segovia, and midfielder Yannick Bright.
Available on the bench were: Dayne St. Clair, David Ayala, David Ruiz, Preston Plambeck, Sergio Reguilon, Facundo Mura, Maxi Falcon, Mateo Silvetti, Luis Barraza, Lovend’s Delinois, Daniel Sumalla, and Cesar Abadia.
Inter Miami enters Wednesday’s game on a seven-match unbeaten run. The team won six games in a row and settled for a 2-2 tie against the Crew on Saturday in the return of Messi and Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul from their post-World Cup vacation.
San Luis has lost its last three Leagues Cup openers by a combined score of 12-3, losing 4-0 to the Portland Timbers in the opener last summer. But the team is under the direction of new coach Diego Mejia, who took over on May 31 and led the team to a pair of ties and a loss in his first three league games.
This story was originally published August 5, 2026 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Messi scores brace as Inter Miami opens Leagues Cup at home vs. San Luis."