MIAMI — This weekend, The Lionel Messi Show travels for the first time as Inter Miami faces FC Dallas in the Round of 16 of the Leagues Cup and looks to maintain its winning streak.
The Argentine star will cost spectators a fair lot to see him in person at Toyota Stadium on Sunday.
When tickets for the elimination game became available to the general public on Thursday morning after all presale tickets, which started at $199, had been sold out as of Wednesday night, they quickly sold out. Prices immediately shot up on the secondary market. The least expensive tickets were available as of Friday afternoon for $462 on TicketMaster, $413 on Vivid Seats, and $447 on Stub Hub.
Seats are in high demand at Toyota Stadium because of its 20,500 capacity, which is comparable to Inter Miami’s home stadium, DRV PNK Stadium.
Messi’s five goals have helped Inter Miami to victories in each of its first three cup contests. He scored two goals against Atlanta United, two goals on his debut against Cruz Azul, and another brace on Wednesday against Orlando City.
Inter Miami has emerged as the club to beat this summer in the Leagues Cup and the U.S. Open Cup despite being mired in last place in the league rankings with to the additions of Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba. On August 23, Miami takes on Cincinnati in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.
DeAndre Yedlin, a right back, anticipates that every opponent will be extra eager to play against the men in pink and black.
We know what kind of squad Dallas is, so we’re anticipating a difficult game, Yedlin said. They have excellent players, particularly up front. They can be really dangerous, and I’ve played with a number of such people, so I am familiar with their traits. It’s expected that every team would aim to play their best against us. The same drive would drive me if I were on the other team.
Dallas players will undoubtedly be eager to test themselves against Messi and may seek to annoy him in the same way as Orlando players did.
Coach Tata Martino said when asked about Messi’s angry performance against Orlando: “Certainly, the game of the other day was absolutely different from the previous two. There was more rubbing. It merited him at some point saying, “Hey, our team is here, too,” because over the course of 90 minutes, everyone wants to win. I attribute that to the fact that there were many Latin American players on the field, especially many South Americans, including lots of Argentines, Brazilians, and Uruguayans. Clearly, there is respect toward the best player in the world.
The best is still to come, according to Martino, who took over the team from Phil Neville in early July. Martino feels comfortable about what the team has demonstrated thus far.
Along with Messi, Busquets, and Alba, the squad also signed Under-22 players Diego Gomez from Paraguay, Facundo Farias from Argentina, and Tomas Aviles from Argentina last week. When Gregore, Jean Mota, Nico Stefanelli, Franco Negri, Coco Jean, and Ian Fray return from their injuries, Martino is also interested in seeing how the squad performs.
The former captain Gregore is anticipated to recover from foot surgery earlier than the others.
Leo Campana, an Ecuadorian forward who came in the 83rd and 81st minutes of the last two games, is one previous starter who has seen minimal action recently. Instead, Martino chose Venezuelan Josef Martinez, a player he previously coached for MLS winner Atlanta United in 2018. Martinez scored a goal against Orlando on a penalty kick on Wednesday.
Leo is striving to become the best version of himself that got him to the English league, according to one of the first discussions we had with him, Martino stated. “He is trying to prove in his few minutes and in training that he deserves to start,” the coach said. “Knowing the past two games he has had very few minutes, knowing the coach has been inclined to start another center forward, knowing this team will not have many opportunities to play two forwards together.”
Numerous improvements have been brought about by Messi’s presence at the stadium and training facility. On Friday, a pair of portable air conditioners were spotted near the margins of the practice field.
Yedlin grinned and remarked, “It gets really hot out there on the field. It was actually blowing hot air, not cool air, “I think they need to fix the units a little bit, but it’s still nice to have a little breeze when you’re hot,”
And they’ve been heated since Messi and company arrived. It remains to be seen if they can maintain it.