Will Lionel Messi play in the MLS match between Inter Miami and Atlanta?

Lionel Messi’s status is uncertain as Inter Miami plays a crucial match against Atlanta United in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Saturday evening.

It was unclear Thursday whether Messi would be able to line up for Argentina in the friendly against Venezuela on Friday night in Miami Gardens, or whether he would hold out to play for Inter Miami (17-7-8, 59 points) against Atlanta United (5-15-12, 27 points) in the penultimate match of his club’s regular season.

Although the Philadelphia Union captured the Supporters’ Shield last week, Inter Miami still has plenty of play to do on Saturday as it tries to move into a tie with Cincinnati for second place in the Eastern Conference. The top four finishers from each conference will secure home field advantage for the first round of playoffs.

In addition to Messi, Inter Miami is likely to fall short with five other players – Rodrigo De Paul, Telasco Segovia, Ian Fray, Mateo Silvetti and Noah Allen – set to be called up to the national team this week.

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“We will do the best we can,” Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said. “We know we will have a number of absences on Saturday, so we want the players who remain to be as fresh and ready as possible, because we obviously want to get three points to secure third place and put pressure on Cincinnati heading into the final game.”

Messi trained with his national team this week, but Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni offered little clarity about the situation during his speech on Thursday.

«We have spoken to Messi, as we have done with all the players, and we have not yet decided on the lineup,» Scaloni said. «We will make the decision after our last training. These are games for experimenting and that is what we will do. I would like to try new alternatives.»

Atlanta is expected to miss as many as eight players for the same reason, including Luke Brennan of the United States and Miguel Almiron of Paraguay.

Atlanta, which also has two games remaining, is coming off consecutive shutout losses and hasn’t scored since a 1-1 draw against San Diego on September 20. Atlanta is looking for its first win since beating Nashville 1-0 on August 30 and needs a win in its final two games to avoid ending the season on a low league win streak.

“I always had problems, in the first year before it got better (in the) second year, and then in the third year it got even better,” first-year Atlanta coach Ronny Deila said. «That’s why I like this so much. I want to improve things.»

Published on October 10, 2025