Inter Miami, without Lionel Messi, will face CF Montreal at the Stade Saputo at 7:30 p.m., continuing a rare absence of the Argentinian superstar in Major League Soccer. Messi’s absence follows the club’s recent 3–2 win over Chicago Fire, a match highlighted by Luis Suárez’s excellent performance that earned him the Player of the Match award and marked an important milestone in Inter Miami’s history.
Despite the offensive firepower displayed against Chicago Fire, the game lacked the presence of Argentina’s two key figures: Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul. Before this important match with CF Montreal, the question in everyone’s mind is why Herons captain Messi is not taking the field. The answer lies in FIFA’s mandatory rest rules for players involved in World Cup finals.
It is almost unprecedented to see Messi miss league matches, but the mandatory 21-day rest period imposed by FIFA for World Cup finalists has seen him sidelined once again. After leading Argentina to the World Cup final, Messi has earned this well-deserved break to recover physically and mentally. As a result, despite the importance of this fixture in Nashville SC’s pursuit of Inter Miami in the MLS standings, he will also not play against CF Montreal.
While Messi is resting, Inter Miami is relying on other members of the team to keep the pace. However, his absence has implications beyond team dynamics; This also affects individual battles. Messi is currently trailing in the MLS Golden Boot race, with Petar Moses overtaking Hugo Krupers as the competition’s top scorer.
The break, enforced under FIFA rules, underlines the challenges teams face in managing the workload of star players after the World Cup. Inter Miami will now have to overcome this important stage without their talisman, testing the team’s depth and flexibility. As Luis Suarez showed against Chicago Fire, the Herons can still produce spectacular performances, but the focus is on how they cope without Messi’s magic on the field.
Don’t miss a second with the new app where you can watch live timing of MotoGP, Formula 1, NASCAR, IndyCar and much more: just press – Here (Free for all users)
