Florence Broglie
Lionel Messi is back in the Inter Miami squad, yet his first involvement on American soil since Argentina’s World Cup final agony will come from the substitutes’ bench. The 39-year-old has been named among the replacements for the Herons’ Major League Soccer meeting with Columbus Crew at Nu Stadium, his first match involvement since that draining night at MetLife Stadium.
The reintroduction was always going to be a careful one. Messi carried Argentina to a second successive World Cup final, started every minute of the showpiece and came away on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline against Spain on 19 July. His eight goals and four assists across the tournament rewrote the record books once more, but the physical and emotional toll was evident — hence a fortnight’s rest before he returned to training earlier this week.
De Paul straight in, Casemiro’s home bow
If the headline act begins the evening watching, his Argentina midfield partner Rodrigo De Paul goes straight into the starting XI. De Paul, a fixture in La Albiceleste’s engine room and on the pitch for 70 minutes of the final, lines up alongside Casemiro, who makes his home debut for the club after signing last week.
For the pair it ends an extended absence that also cost them two league matches — the trips to Chicago Fire and CF Montréal — and a place in the MLS All-Star Game, from which both were excused without sanction after being selected.
Hoyos happy to have his stars back
Manager Guillermo Hoyos was frank on Friday about the delicate business of reintroducing players who had just endured the most demanding summer imaginable. He conceded the duo had only just returned and that a proper conversation about their involvement in Saturday’s fixture had not yet taken place, while stressing how delighted the club was simply to have them back in the building.
There is no great mystery about why Miami would handle this with kid gloves. Messi’s last outing for the club came on 24 May, a home meeting with Philadelphia Union, and the Supporters’ Shield race has not paused for him. The Herons remain firmly in contention, and every point between now and the season’s climax carries weight.
What the bench role means
Starting Messi from the bench is less a demotion than a statement of intent — an acknowledgement that a player who gave everything through the summer cannot be thrown straight back into the furnace. It also hands Hoyos a remarkable option: the greatest player of his generation waiting in reserve, ready to change a match if it refuses to turn.
The schedule offers little mercy. Saturday’s league business done, attention swings to the Leagues Cup, with Atlético de San Luis arriving at Nu Stadium before meetings with CF Monterrey and Club León in the group stage. Miami, the reigning MLS Cup champions, will expect to go deep.
Expect the noise to build the moment Messi begins his warm-up. His return was always going to be the story of this fixture; that it starts with him on the bench only sharpens the anticipation. Whether he enters shortly after the interval or later, the message from Florida is unmistakable — the Herons’ season truly begins now.
Based on reporting by ESPN. Read the original article in full here: Lionel Messi starts on Miami bench following World Cup heartbreak
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