Sunday, October 6

What are Lionel Messi's next tournaments and challenges at Inter Miami?

Inter Miami has two more tournaments in the following days.
Inter Miami has two more tournaments in the following days.

Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

EFE

By: EFE

You can still hear the glasses of champagne and the euphoric celebrations of the Inter Miami squad, that this Saturday took the Leagues Cup against Nashville on penalties. But the team led by Leo Messi will not have much time to relax as new challenges await them in the US Open Cup and MLS.

The most immediate is this Wednesday’s duel against Cincinnati in the single-game semifinal of the US Open Cup.

This tournament, similar to cup formats in other countries in Europe, will test the ability to resist physical and mental of an Inter Miami that has played seven games in the last month.

Inter Miami to get out of the bottom of the table in MLS

It should be remembered that, despite the miraculous and spectacular victory in the Leagues Cup, Inter Miami prior to the arrival of Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba He was sunk in the MLS as bottom team in the East with eleven consecutive games without winning (eight losses and three draws).

One of the most prominent names in Cincinnati is that of the Argentine Luciano Acosta, who has 12 goals in the league and is tied with Denis Bouanga (Los Angeles FC) as the second top scorer behind only Hany Mukhtar (Nashville, 13 goals).

Cincinnati fell precisely against Nashville in the round of 32 of the Leagues Cup, but that failure has allowed them to rest for more than two weeks before rejoining the MLS this Sunday in a difficult match against the Columbus Crew (both teams are rivals for the Ohio State).

MLS’s next rival

As for the league, Inter Miami will compete again in MLS on Saturday, August 26 and will do it away from home against the New York Red Bulls.

Subsequently, he will have two demanding matches a priori, since he will receive Nashville in Miamii and then they will travel to California to face Carlos Vela’s Los Angeles FC (LAFC), current MLS Cup champion.

Inter Miami, with only 18 points after 22 games, is obliged to sign a notable comeback in its last 12 league games if it wants to be in the playoffs.

Without counting the games this Sunday, the pink team is 12 points behind Wayne Rooney’s DC Unitedthe team that is currently ninth in the East (the last place that gives access to the playoffs).

Regardless of what happens in the US Open Cup and the MLS, Inter Miami has already guaranteed a place for next year in the Champions Cup of CONCACAF thanks to their victory in the Leagues Cup.

Keep reading:

– Messi gives Inter Miami its first trophy in history and they take the Leagues Cup in a penalty shootout not suitable for the faint of heart

– Monterrey is humiliated by the Philadelphia Union and not even third place can get Liga MX in the Leagues Cup

– Is the magic over for Miguel Herrera? The Xolos of Tijuana and their bad records with El Piojo