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No Messi, no problem for Inter Miami

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With Lionel Messi out of the lineup to play in a pair of World Cup qualifiers for reigning champion Argentina, Inter Miami got two goals from Leonardo Campana to beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on Saturday night.

Facundo Farias added the third goal for Miami (8-14-4), which remains 14th in the Eastern Conference table.

The match was a test for Miami, which is 11-0-1 in cup and MLS matches since Messi’s arrival with the club. He already has 11 goals and eight assists with the team. Miami was winless in 11 straight before Messi’s debut on July 21.

“Like I said (Friday), Leo’s absence was going to be felt,” Campana said in Spanish. “But he has instilled so much confidence among the players. We believe now and know what we are capable of. Very happy with the result and the three points.”

Messi scored the winning goal in Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Ecuador on Thursday and has another national team commitment against Bolivia on Tuesday.

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The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is scheduled to return to Miami for its next league match at Atlanta FC next Saturday.

“We all know that when he is here, we are all better,” Miami coach Tata Martino said in Spanish. “We are capable of winning any type of match. That said — for a group of players which works very hard and are teammates of the best player in the world, when he doesn’t play it is uplifting for them knowing they can win.”

The lack of Messi was evident in the stands. Although the crowd at DRV PNK Stadium sang throughout the match and cheered loudly after each goal, there were noticeable pockets of empty seats.

 

In addition to Messi, seven other Miami players were called by their national teams for qualifiers and missed the match.

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Campana’s second goal in the 45th minute snapped a 1-1 tie. DeAndre Yedlin dribbled deep into the right wing area and centered a pass to a leaping Campana who headed it past Sporting KC goalkeeper Tim Melia.

“I feel I have emerged from less to more during the course of the season,” Campana said. “At the beginning, things were not working out but with continued hard work we are now on the right path.”

Farias made it 3-1 with his goal in the 60th minute. Sergio Busquets’ free kick from midfield found an open Farias, who dribbled unchallenged into the penalty area and beat Melia with a right-footed shot from 15 yards.

Alan Pulido got Sporting KC (8-12-8) within a goal in the 78th minute.

“This win solidifies us, we know we have a good team,” Martino said. “We can continue getting results like we did tonight.”

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Miami faced an early deficit, when Dániel Sallói scored nine minutes into the match. Goalkeeper Drake Callender deflected Felipe Gutierrez’s 25-yard shot but failed to clear it. Salloi found the loose ball on the edge of the 6-yard box and converted with a right-footed shot inside the right post.

Miami tied it on Campana’s penalty kick in the 25th minute. Melia fouled Campana near the 6-yard box when he struck the Miami striker around the neck area. Campana beat Melia with a shot to his left.

-AP

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Luis Suarez Ready To Hang Boots –

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Luis Suarez Ready To Hang Boots -

Inter Miami will be the last club Luis Suarez plays for, the Uruguay striker said on Thursday.

Suarez, 37, signed a contract with the Major League Soccer side last year for the 2024 season after a stint with Brazilian club Gremio.

He reunited with former Barcelona team mates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, with whom he won four LaLiga titles in five years in Spain.

“Inter Miami will be my last club, my family already know that. I don’t have a date yet, but it’s the last step,” Suarez said in an interview with Uruguayan radio station Del Sol.

“I’m ready for this last challenge, but there is an inevitable fatigue and, in the end, I want to have quality of life in the future,” he added.

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Suarez, who also played for clubs including Ajax Amsterdam, Liverpool and Atletico Madrid, has won 138 caps for Uruguay since 2007.

Inter Miami kick off their MLS campaign against Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21.

-Reuters

 

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Messi-less Miami lose U.S. Open Cup final to Houston

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Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami watches from the stands against the Houston Dynamo during the 2023 U.S. Open Cup Final at DRV PNK Stadium on September 27, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo: AFP

The Houston Dynamo defeated Inter Miami 2-1 to win the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday with an injured Lionel Messi watching from the stands at DRV PNK Stadium.

Without Messi and his former Barcelona team-mate Jordi Alba, Miami struggled to compete with an enterprising Houston and went in 2-0 down at the break.

Houston grabbed the lead in the 24th minute with a perfect counter-attack ending with Brazilian Artur feeding the overlapping Griffin Dorsey who blasted in at the near post.

French forward Amine Bassi doubled the lead from the penalty spot nine minutes later after DeAndre Yedlin had brought down Nelson Quinones.

Houston thought that they had scored a third after the break but Quinones’ effort was ruled out for offside after a VAR review.

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Substitute Josef Martinez gave Miami some late hope with a left-foot strike in stoppage time after latching on to a ball from Argentine Facundo Farias.

But despite some late pressure, it was too little, too late from Miami and Houston deservedly won their second U.S. Open Cup to add to their triumph in 2018.

Miami had won the Leagues Cup last month with Messi prominently involved but they must now battle to make the Major League Soccer play-offs with uncertainty over their Argentine star’s fitness.

-AFP

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Inter Miami to wait until ‘last moment’ to decide on Messi fitness for Cup final

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Inter Miami will wait until the “last moment” to see if Lionel Messi is fit to play in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup final against Houston Dynamo, coach Gerardo Martino said.

Messi was substituted in Inter’s league match against Toronto FC before halftime with an unspecified injury, and missed Sunday’s clash against rivals Orlando City.

The Argentina captain is a doubt for the U.S. Open Cup final when his team will aim to claim their second title after winning the Leagues Cup last month.

“We are going to wait for Leo until tomorrow, until the last moment,” Martino told a news conference on Tuesday. “I’m going to sit down with him, see what his feelings are (…) We’ll probably come to an agreement tomorrow.

“There are three issues here: there is the player, then the final, and then what comes next. We have to try to make the decision, there are always risks, but we have to reduce them.”

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The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 12 games for Inter Miami since his arrival from Paris St Germain in July.

The Miami side are yet to lose with Messi on the pitch and Martino said he would not consider playing the 36-year-old if it were not a cup final.

“It’s 90 or 120 minutes that stand between you and a title,” said the Argentine boss. “It’s logical. If it was any other kind of game we wouldn’t take any risks.”

-Reuters

 

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