FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Will Lionel Messi play as Inter Miami returns to action in the Concacaf Champions Cup tournament tonight?
Messi’s playing status is a topic of discussion as Inter Miami hosts Jamaican Premier League champions Cavalier FC on Thursday night at 8 p.m. inside Chase Stadium.
Here’s what we know: Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano said Messi is healthy and practiced with his teammates, but did not divulge whether Messi would play. Messi’s status is essentially “the same as the rest of the players.”
“We’ll see,” Mascherano said of Messi on Wednesday. “He’s in good health, but we’ll see what’s good for us.”
What’s good for Inter Miami is obviously Messi returning to action after he did not travel for last Sunday’s match against the Houston Dynamo. Inter Miami opted to rest Messi because of the congested start of the year where he predominately played in three matches during a six-day stretch from Feb. 19-26. Including five preseason matches Inter Miami played Las Vegas, Peru, Panama, Honduras and Tampa Bay, Florida from Jan. 18 to Feb. 14, Messi has played eight matches in a 40-day span to begin 2025.
“Obviously, with the matches, he has felt the fatigue, he has had an overload, but that’s why we decided he not go to Houston. That’s why,” Mascherano said of Messi. “We have already had some injuries, and we don’t want to fall back on a player so important to us, because what if we don’t give him a certain rest, he ends up injured and we don’t want to be out for a month.”
If Messi plays Thursday night, it will be his first match in nine days. However, it also begins another stretch of three matches in a week for Inter Miami. On Sunday, Inter Miami hosts Charlotte FC in an MLS regular-season match. Next Thursday, Inter Miami will complete its round-of-16 matchup with Cavalier FC at National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica — where Messi is expected to play his first match in the country in front of an already sold out crowd of 35,000 ticket buyers.
Stay tuned here as USA TODAY Sports provides live updates from tonight’s match between Inter Miami and Cavalier FC.
Is Messi playing tonight?
Messi’s status will be confirmed when Inter Miami announces its starting lineup, about an hour before the game begins.
A pregame report from Deporte Total USA says Messi will not play or be available as a substitute to continue resting.
What time is Inter Miami vs. Cavalier FC match?
The match begins at 8 p.m. ET (9 p.m. in Argentina).
How to watch Inter Miami vs. Cavalier FC match on TV?
The match will be available to watch on FS2 in English and ViX in Spanish.
What to know about Cavalier FC?
Cavalier FC is playing in the Champions Cup tournament for the second time in as many years. They qualified directly into the round of 16 by winning the Concacaf Caribbean Cup in December.
The matchup against Inter Miami will be the second time Cavalier has faced MLS competition. Cavalier lost to FC Cincinnati by scores of 2-0 and 4-0 in the first round last year.
Cavalier FC coach and sporting director Rudolph Speid said Wednesday: “We’re really looking forward to doing well. I think it will inspire a generation of players in Jamaica itself, just because of what will happen. We’ll play them here. Everybody will be watching on TV. And, also in the return leg where we expect a packed stadium, and everybody just talking about the game. That inspiration is much more for the country than just our team.”
Messi’s upcoming schedule with Inter Miami, Argentina
Messi could play in the following six matches with Inter Miami and the Argentina national team later this month:
March 9: Inter Miami vs. Charlotte, 4 p.m. ET (MLS)
March 13: Cavalier FC vs. Inter Miami, 8 p.m. ET (Champions Cup)
March 16: Atlanta vs. Inter Miami, 7 p.m. ET (MLS)
March 21: Uruguay vs. Argentina, 7:30 p.m. ET (World Cup 2026 qualifier)
March 25: Argentina vs. Brazil, 8 p.m. ET (World Cup 2026 qualifier)
March 29: Inter Miami vs. Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. ET (MLS)