Messi wins FIFA Best Male Player award on a technicality
Lionel Messi was named the men’s player of the year at the FIFA Best Awards, beating Erling Haaland on a technicality.
unbranded – Sport
Lionel Messi smiled for a moment. Then, he was in disbelief.
Messi found the back of the net on a goal that could have tied Inter Miami with Al Hilal at 2 during the first half of their Monday match at the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia. The match can be seen on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
It would have been Messi’s first goal of Inter Miami’s worldwide preseason tour.
Instead, referees ruled Messi’s teammate Luis Suarez, who scored one minute earlier, was offside.
A few minutes later, Al Hilal scored again – for the third time in the first half.
Messi and Inter Miami trail 3-1 at halftime in their third preseason match of the year.
Aleksandar Mitrović scored in the 10th minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored in the 13th minute, and Michael rose up for a header to help Al Hilal take a 3-1 lead before halftime.
The match was one-sided until Suarez scored his first Inter Miami goal in the 34th minute to give the MLS club some life. One minute later, it appeared Inter Miami’s early deficit would just be a thing of the past when Messi found the back of the net.
Instead, the second half will begin with a tough test for Inter Miami. Can they respond or will their stars get an early exit considering it’s still preseason?
Follow Monday’s game live below:
Michael scores header goal: Al Hilal 3, Inter Miami 1
The nightmare continues in Saudi Arabia.
Al Hilal star Michael rose up for a header kick past Inter Miami goalie Drake Callendar to take a 3-1 lead just before halftime. Just when it seemed Inter Miami had a chance, and nearly tied the match at 2 minutes prior, Al Hilal struck again with a goal to regain a two-goal lead in the contest.
Leo Messi denied goal: Al Hilal 2, Inter Miami 1
Inter Miami was so close to tying Al Hilal in the 39th minute of the match.
Leo Messi found the back of the net one minute after Luis Suárez scored for Inter Miami, but was the goal was negated because Suarez was offside during the initial approach to goal before the ball was deflected and kicked into the net by Messi.
Luis Suárez was livid at the referee. And he turned out to be correct.
Suárez scored his first goal with Inter Miami, which was confirmed after VAR after being ruled offsides.
It was easily Inter Miami’s best sequence of the season: Messi was crowded by three defenders, and found Jordi Alba, who found newcomer Julian Gressel streaking down the middle.
Gressel found Suárez streaking down the right side, and had an open net after the Al Hilal goalie came out to contest Gressel’s pass.
It’s Inter Miami’s first goal of the preseason.
Inter Miami with its best opportunity on goal as DeAndre Yedlin found Sergio Busquets inside the goal area, but Busquets kicked the shot over the net.
The opportunity came following two corner kicks by Inter Miami.
Three minutes later, Inter Miami goalie Drake Callendar deflected an open opportunity by Al Hilal to keep things at 2-0 in 28’. Michael kicked his shot, and Callendar deflected it away after a perfectly placed pass.
Inter Miami newcomer Luis Suárez had a sliding attempt toward the net, but missed.
But Suárez and another Inter Miami player, David Ruiz, were offsides as the referee ruled after the attempt.
Inter Miami appears a step slow like they were in their first two preseason matches.
Uh oh.
Al Hilal’s Abdullah Al-Hamdan scored in the 13th minute to take a 2-0 lead.
And one minute later, Luis Suárez missed a wide open shot on the net. He would’ve been offsides anyways, but not the best of opportunities for Inter Miami this preseason.
Leo Messi and Inter Miami are down early again.
Aleksandar Mitrović scored in the 10th minute to give Al Hilal a 1-0 lead over Messi and Inter Miami. It’s the second straight preseason match Inter Miami has trailed early. They were down 1-0 after the first three minutes.
Leo Messi had his first touch in the match before the four-minute mark, and was challenged by an Al Hilal player around midfield.
How to watch Inter Miami in Saudi Arabia?
The Inter Miami match against Al-Hilal on Monday at 1 p.m. ET is available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Inter Miami’s match against Al Nassr is on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET also is available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Brazilian star Neymar is out due to a knee injury, while Koulibaly and Bono are playing in AFCON, and Ali Al-Bulayhi, Saleh Al-Sherhri, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Aedulelah Al-Malki and Mohammed Kanno are playing in the Asian Cup.
Leo Messi is in Inter Miami’s starting lineup, alongside fellow former Barcelona stars Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. But how much will they play against Al Hilal with a second match this week?
Messi, Suárez, Busquets and Alba played in the first half of their preseason opener, while Messi, Suárez and Busquets played into the 64th minute of their last match, while Alba played longer.
Here are the starting lineups for both sides:
The pink Inter Miami jerseys Leo Messi made famous in his first season have returned with some upgrades. And the hope is they remain as popular with Messi wearing them.
Inter Miami unveiled it’s 2024 pink primary kit – the 2getherness jersey – before Monday’s game against Al Hilal. They will also be worn in Thursday’s match against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
Fans can begin purchasing Inter Miami jerseys on MLSstore.com on Monday at 10 a.m. ET.
The new jersey has a centered design with Adidas logo, Inter Miami’s club logo and the Royal Caribbean logo (a crown sitting on an anchor) run vertically down the middle of the team’s new jersey.
Inter Miami’s new pink jerseys are also a shade darker (easy pink) than the previous ones, which black cuffs around the jersey sleeves and the neck.
Down the collarbone, the new pink jerseys house three black stripes which stop midway to the sleeves, which feature two sponsors that remain on the jersey: Apple TV and Fracht Group.
The new kit no longer features a raised polo shirt collar on the pink jerseys, which Inter Miami wore almost exclusively since Messi joined the team.
Pink jerseys feature black logos, while the black jerseys (announced last week) have pink logos.
Here’s an early look at Messi before Monday’s match:
Inter Miami preview
Messi stopped his car in the middle of Miami traffic to sign a fan’s Argentina jersey and then christened a new Royal Caribbean cruise ship. Now, he’s on the other side of the world with Inter Miami playing in two matches of the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Inter Miami kicked off against Al-Hilal at 1 p.m. ET Monday, continuing their worldwide preseason tour to promote the club and Major League Soccer behind Messi’s celebrity, while preparing for the 2024 MLS season.
“Leo Messi is the best player in the world and his presence in the match makes the event and the match exceptional,” Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said in a press conference Sunday.
Messi plays against Ronaldo’s club, Al-Nassr, Thursday. Ronaldo has a calf injury, and his status for the match against Messi is in question.
Leo Messi continues to be big business worldwide
Before arriving in Saudi Arabia, Messi helped Inter Miami debut their 2024 La Noche black jersey during a promotional event with corporate sponsor Royal Caribbean aboard the new Icon of the Seas cruise ship.
It was also announced Messi will star in a Michelob Ultra Super Bowl commercial, which will air during the NFL’s championship game on Feb. 11.
Messi was also featured in an advertisement promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia this week.
Will Ronaldo play against Messi in Riyadh Season Cup again?
The match was initially dubbed “The Last Dance” and could be the final match between Messi and Ronaldo in their distinguished careers.
But it’s unclear how fit Ronaldo will be for Thursday’s match against Inter Miami at the Riyadh Season Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“So, as you can see, I feel sad. I know you are sad, too, especially the people who love Cristiano,” Ronaldo said during a news conference last week, announcing his calf injury and the cancelation of two Al-Nassr preseason matches in China.
Messi and Inter Miami are scoreless through two preseason matches, a scoreless draw against El Salvador Jan. 19 and a 1-0 loss to FC Dallas last Monday.
But they could score a preseason win this Monday against Al Hilal, which is missing several players who are playing with national teams in the Asian Cup and African Cup of Nations.
Inter Miami’s preseason has been centered around the arrival of former FC Barcelona standout Luis Suarez joining his former teammates Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, while MLS Cup winner Julian Gressel is also a newcomer.
And, of course, Inter Miami’s preseason tour, which features more than 25,000 miles of travel worldwide. The club will finish its tour with a friendly in Hong Kong on Feb. 4 and Tokyo on Feb. 7.
- Inter Miami vs. Al Hilal SFC at Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) Monday at 1 p.m. ET.
- Messi vs. Ronaldo: Inter Miami vs. Al Nassr FC at Kingdom Arena (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
- Inter Miami vs. Hong Kong Team at Hong Kong Stadium (Hong Kong) on Feb. 4 (time TBA).
- Inter Miami vs. Vissel Kobe at Japan National Stadium (Tokyo) on Feb. 7 (time TBA).
- Inter Miami vs. Newell’s Old Boys at DRV PNK Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Feb. 15 (time TBA). This is Inter Miami’s final preseason match.
- Inter Miami begins the 2024 MLS regular season against Real Salt Lake at DRV PNK Stadium (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. ET.
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