Messi wins FIFA Best Player Award for technical reasons
Lionel Messi was named Player of the Year at the FIFA Best Player Awards, beating Erling Haaland on a technicality.
Unbranded – Sport
Dallas soccer fans watched No. 10 make his mark Monday night.
But it wasn’t Inter Miami star Lionel Messi.
Instead, it was FC Dallas star Jesus Ferreira who scored three minutes into the preseason game, handing Messi and Inter Miami a 1-0 defeat in the Cotton Bowl on Monday night.
Messi, Inter Miami stars Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets and new signing Julian Gressel, last season’s MLS Cup winner with Columbus Crew, played the first 64 minutes of the game before being substituted.
Messi and Suarez certainly seemed like former teammates, innately knowing where the other would be during their time together on the pitch. But their passes intended to set the other up for a shot on goal did not reach the goal, change the result or remind football fans of their glory days at FC Barcelona.
Messi missed two shots towards the net while Suarez missed three chances during the game, including one where Suarez had to stretch and contort his body to receive a wonderful pass from Messi outside the penalty area.
Messi, wearing long sleeves under a black Inter Miami jersey, left the pitch in a thick black jacket towards the 87er’s dressing rooms.j A minute in which he waved to fans who braved the humid 40-degree night, to watch him play.
It was a far cry from the thriller Messi and Inter Miami played against FC Dallas last August, when Inter Miami came back from 3-1 and 4-2 deficits when Messi equalized in the 85th minute to make it 4-0 achieved. Inter Miami defeated FC Dallas 5-3 on penalties in the League Cup championship game.
Instead, this was a second warm-up game for Messi and Inter Miami, which has a busy schedule leading up to and during the 2024 MLS season.
When will Messi and Inter Miami play again?
Messi and Inter Miami return home on Monday evening and have four days before embarking on an extensive pre-season tour of Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Inter Miami will play two games in the Riyadh Season Cup, starting on January 29 against Al Hilal and on February 1 against Al Nasr, where Messi will face his rival Cristiano Ronaldo in what could be the last game together in their illustrious careers.
Inter Miami’s pre-season continues with games in Hong Kong on February 4th and Tokyo on February 7th. The club’s final home game will be in February at DRV PNK Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, FL) against Newell’s Old Boys. 15 (time not specified).
What do you know about the match between Messi and Ronaldo on February 1st?
Soccer fans around the world are preparing to take on Messi and Ronaldo in what could be their final showdown. The game will be streamed with the MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Messi’s Inter Miami will face Ronaldo’s Al Hilal in the Riyadh Season Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 1. Event organizers promoted the game as a “last dance” when it was first announced.
The game will only add to the heated debate between Messi and Ronaldo around the world about who is the best football player in the world.
Inter Miami will fly more than 25,000 miles in preseason
Messi and Inter Miami’s pre-season world tour will stop in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Tokyo over the next three weeks.
Inter Miami will fly 25,165.54 miles, an official revealed to USA TODAY Sports – enough distance to make a trip around the world.
When does Inter Miami’s regular season start?
Messi and Inter Miami will open the 2024 MLS season against Real Salt Lake on February 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
The club will also close out the MLS opening weekend with an away game against the LA Galaxy on February 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Click here to find out more about Messi’s expected schedule, including Inter Miami and Copa America games, in 2024.
Leo Messi’s evening was over as other Inter Miami stars left the game.
Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and new signing Julian Gressel left the field in the 64th minute of the game in a 1-0 loss to FC Dallas.
Just before they left, they fired one last shot into the net.
The order was: Messi to Robert Taylor, Messi to Suarez, but the ball stopped right at the net.
Messi misses his left shoe in the 55th minutej Minute 1: FC Dallas 1, Inter Miami 0
Leo Messi shot from outside the penalty area, but his left boot was blocked by the Dallas goalkeeper before the 55th minute.
Inter Miami’s stars are certainly exploring their style of play and shaking off the rust as their second pre-season game enters the second half.
We will see how long Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba will play in this game.
Two minutes later, Alba missed a cross pass to Suarez, who was left behind in midfield. Inter Miami was ruled offside.
Maybe it’s a deficit.
Maybe it’s because Inter Miami still has a week until their next warm-up game in Saudi Arabia.
But Messi, Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba are on the pitch for Inter Miami at the start of the second half.
Inter Miami’s tempo and style of play certainly became more appealing after Dallas star Jesus Ferreira scored three minutes into Monday’s preseason game at the Cotton Bowl.
Leo Messi and Luis Suarez connected on several passes but failed to find the net in the first half.
It is not clear if Inter Miami’s big four of Messi, Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba will ever have time in the second half. They did not play in the second half of the first pre-season game last Friday in El Salvador.
But after trailing 1-0, you could see Inter Miami playing with its stars in the opening minutes of the second half.
Messi hit Suarez’s perfect pass towards the left side of the goal area, but Suarez had to turn his body to hit the ball.
Suarez made contact, but the ball deflected to the right instead of hitting the goal. It was a beautiful pass from Messi and a beautiful attempt from Suarez, but to no avail.
Dallas star Jesus Ferreira was on the field with an apparent injury but was able to play on his own as a substitute.
It’s preseason once again and as much as Inter Miami needs to keep its star players healthy and ready for the season, Dallas is doing the same.
Ferreira was eliminated after making his mark, scoring in the first three minutes of this pre-season game against Messi and Inter Miami.
Asier Illarramendi misses a shot on goal in the 29th minute: FC Dallas 1, Inter Miami 0
FC Dallas midfielder Asier Illarramendi saw the opportunity to shoot on goal, and this time Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callendar was ready.
It was FC Dallas’ second shot on goal in the game.
The only thing is that Dallas scored its first goal three minutes into the preseason game against Messi and Inter Miami.
Messi and Suarez’s relationship shakes off the rust: FC Dallas 1, Inter Miami 0
Messi couldn’t help but smile and gave Luis Suárez a thumbs up.
Suarez ran to the right corner and fired a pass towards the center of the penalty area for Messi.
Messi hit the ball, but it went up into the stands.
It’s been a few years since they played together, but it’s still great to see the former Barcelona stars bonding on the pitch like old times.
Luis Suarez, Luis Ruiz out before the 15th minute: FC Dallas, Inter Miami 0
Luis Suarez missed a shot on goal with a kick that lacked enough power, while youngster Luis Ruiz also missed a chance outside the net.
Inter Miami has significantly increased its aggression after the early 0-1 defeat.
Messi missed a shot on goal in the 12th minute: FC Dallas 1, Inter Miami 0
Sergio Busquets found Messi among several Dallas defenders who fired an open shot into the net, but Messi was unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
Messi’s shot skidded to the right side of the net as he grimaced after missing the shot.
A moment earlier, Messi fired a shot into the net, but the goalkeeper blocked it in the penalty area.
Messi shoots the ball into the net after a corner, but without a goal: FC Dallas 1, Inter Miami 0
Messi takes a corner kick in the 8th minutej As soon as the ball reached the center of the net, the Dallas goalkeeper made sure it didn’t get past.
While Inter Miami’s Sergio Busquets was ahead near the net, FC Dallas managed to keep them scoreless.
After one scene, Luis Suarez stumbled after a competition and was seen limping back into action.
No. 10 scored. But not for Inter Miami.
FC Dallas’ Jesus Ferreira scored in the third minute of Monday night’s game to give Messi and Inter Miami an early deficit.
Inter Miami is trailing for the first time in two games and has now won 1-0 in the preseason.
An hour before the game, Inter Miami announced that Messi would be in the starting lineup against FC Dallas alongside Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callendar will be in the squad after training with the US national team.
Here is the basic setup:
Could Inter Miami vs. FC Dallas be epic again?
Messi put in an outstanding performance in his first game against FC Dallas during the League Cup tournament last August.
Messi and Inter Miami – in only their fourth game together – appeared to be on the defensive, trailing 4-3 until handover in the final minutes of regulation time.
Messi scored two goals in the first six minutes of the game, the equalizer came in the 4th minute of the 85th minute, and Inter Miami led FC Dallas 5-3 on penalties.
How much time did Messi play in Inter Miami’s first pre-season game?
Inter Miami’s big four – Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba – only played in the first half against El Salvador last Friday.
Messi missed two shots on goal in the same sequence and a free kick while he was in the game.
Coach Tata Martino was scrupulous about playing time and had his entire team (except the backup goalkeeper) play during the game.
A series of substitutions followed in the 63rd minute in minute 8, but Inter Miami finished the game with ten players after young rookie Facundo Farias (21 years old) left the game due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Inter Miami announced he will miss this season.
2024-01-23 01:29:30
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