Argentine star Lionel Messi could miss up to six games due to international duty as his first full season in the Major League Soccer (MLS) with Inter Miami FC starts off on February 21 with a clash against the Red Salt Lake.
MLS released its schedule Wednesday, with each team playing 34 matches, The New York Red Bulls offered a holiday ticket promotion with one catch, that a game against Miami wouldn't be included. Miami visits the Red Bulls on March 23 during a FIFA international fixture window when Messi could be with Argentina.
Because of the June FIFA window and the Copa America, Messi also could be with defending champion Argentina when Miami plays at Philadelphia (June 15), vs. Columbus (June 19), at Nashville (June 29), at Charlotte (July 3) and at Cincinnati (July 6). Following the Copa America final on July 14, Miami also has home matches against Toronto (July 17) and Chicago (July 20). Unlike most leagues, MLS schedules games during some FIFA fixture periods, when the release of players to national teams is mandatory.
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MLS scheduled 11 openers on February 24, three the following day and Vancouver starting on March 2. Salt Lake will have just two days off before playing at St. Louis on February 24. The regular season ends with 14 games on October 19; the only team in the 29-team league not playing that day is Toronto, which finishes on October 5 at home against Miami.
Messi joined Miami midway through 2023 and appeared in only six MLS regular-season matches with the club though led the team to its first trophy by winning the Leagues Cup shortly after his arrival. The Real Salt Lake match marks the first meeting between that club and Miami. Also playing Inter Miami for the first time this season: Colorado (in Fort Lauderdale on April 6) and Vancouver (in British Columbia on May 25).
The way the MLS schedule works, teams play their conference rivals twice, once home and once away. In Inter Miami's case, that allows for six games against the Western Conference meaning the only West cities Messi would play MLS matches in this season are Los Angeles (against the Galaxy on February 25), Kansas City (April 13) and Vancouver (May 26). The West teams that come to Fort Lauderdale for matches where they could see Messi are Salt Lake (the February 21 opener), Colorado (April 6) and St. Louis (June 1).
The teams with no matches against Inter Miami as part of the MLS regular season: Seattle, LAFC, Houston, FC Dallas, San Jose, Portland, Minnesota and Austin. LEAGUES CUP The Leagues Cup, a tournament involving MLS teams and teams from Mexico's top league the event that Inter Miami won last year is scheduled for July 26 through August 25. There are no MLS regular season matches planned in that window.
The tournament begins two days after the MLS All-Star Game, to be played July 24 in Columbus. MLS CUP REMATCH Columbus, which beat Los Angeles FC 2-1 earlier this month in the MLS Cup championship game, will visit LAFC on July 13.
The 2024 MLS Cup final will be on December 7. EL TRAFICO The LA Galaxy and LAFC will meet at the Rose Bowl once again on July 4 for El Trfico, just as the teams did last year when setting an MLS attendance record of 82,110 fans.
(With AP inputs)
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