Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez miss training as Mascherano eyes changes

Inter Miami head coach Javier Mascherano confirmed changes will be made to the starting line up for the match against FC Dallas on Sunday afternoon at Chase Stadium due to the 72-hour turnaround after the Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) first leg semifinal game versus the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez may look to play secondary roles after the two were absent from the first 15 minutes of training open to the media on Friday. Starting goalkeeper Oscar Ustari also failed to train with the rest of the group, while midfielder Sergio Busquets worked separately with an individual from the coaching staff.

“One thing is to play every three days. Most of our players are used to it, another thing is to play with less than 72 hours. We finished playing on Thursday at midnight in Miami and we’re on to play Sunday at 5 p.m,” Mascherano said.

“It’s not even 72 hours, with a trip of 6 hours. Clearly, it’s not the same situation as against Toronto because we had played against LAFC on a Wednesday. We had more time on the recovery. I think it was Wednesday, Sunday, Wednesday. So, yes, we’ll see.

“In the end, we rested yesterday morning. Now we will see. Surely there will be changes in the team. Because clearly I think that it’s important to prioritize the next game and to get out of the defeat we need to win.”

Miami are coming off of a 2-0 loss against the Whitecaps in the Concacaf Champions Cup, leaving the team to score atleast twice in the second leg on Wednesday night at Chase Stadium.

Mascherano revealed Messi felt some fatigue afterwards potentially due to the synthetic field.

“Messi ended the game well. Obviously he was fatigued, playing on synthetic grass can make a player even more fatigued due to the floor. But he finished the game well,” he said.

The Miami boss had previously labeled the semifinal match against the Whitecaps as one of the most important games in club history, treating the series as if it were a final.

Inter Miami qualified for the semifinal for the first time ever when defeating LAFC in the 3-2 comeback victory, after being eliminated in the quarterfinals by CF Monterrey in 2024.

Though the team remains determined to succeed in the CCC, the focus now stands on FC Dallas.

“Now I’ll prepare for the game against FC Dallas. We don’t have too much time until tomorrow. We want to think about Dallas, and the fact that we have a good position in MLS and we want to continue that,” Mascherano added.