As they prepare for the 2024 MLS campaign, Inter Miami will be looking for their first victory of the preseason when they face a Hong Kong XI in a friendly.
Diego GorostietaDiegsGorostietaWilliam AllenWAS_AllenUpdate: Feb 4th, 2024 02:54 EST
LAM YIKREUTERS
Inter Miami’s preseason schedule continues at a break-neck pace: just a couple of days after the Herons suffered a 6-0 thrashing by Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, they now play their next warm-up for the 2024 MLS season.
Today, Miami face a Hong Kong XI at Hong Kong Stadium, an arena that is set to be packed out. After the visit of Lionel Messi and co was confirmed, tickets for the game sold out in minutes.
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Hong Kong XI vs Inter Miami: live updates
Messi among the subs for Hong Kong clash
However, Messi has been left out of Miami’s line-up for the friendly, having also been unable to start the Floridians’ heavy defeat in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
The Argentina captain, who has been struggling with a hamstring issue, was restricted to a brief second-half appearance as a substitute in Riyadh, replacing Leonardo Campana with eight minutes remaining.
Messi’s fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have also been named on the bench in Hong Kong.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Miami head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino had appeared optimistic that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner would be able to return to the line-up against the Hong Kong XI.
“We want Leo to play as much as possible,” Martino said. “We will evaluate the players. The hope is that Leo can play the most minutes. We will see in tomorrow’s training but it is likely he will play on Sunday.”
He added: “We’ve had four games without winning in preseason, we have to come out of this dynamic. It’s a priority to win Sunday’s game.”
Inter Miami line-up vs Hong Kong XI:
Dos Santos, Avilés, Kryvtsov, Allen, Yedlin, Gressel, Gregore, Ruiz, Sunderland, Campana, Taylor.
As predicted – Lionel Messi to start on the bench versus Hong Kong 🇭🇰 #InterMiamiCF #HongKong #HK #Messi𓃵 pic.twitter.com/xvoOgF32WQ
— Chris-KL-Lau (@Chris_KL_Lau) February 4, 2024
