Inter Miami will have a tough month of June.
Messi to miss up to six games with Inter Miami during Copa América
Lionel Messi is set to miss over four games with Inter Miami in MLS ahead of his participation in the 2024 Copa América with Argentina this summer.
Messi, who will play his seventh edition of the South American tournament in the Albicelestes’ effort to defend the title won in 2021, will play his last match for Miami this Saturday against St. Louis City SC before joining the national team camp in Argentina.
The Argentine’s international duties will see him play two friendlies against Ecuador on June 9 and Guatemala on June 14 before their debut Copa América match against Canada on June 21. They will play Chile on June 26 and Peru on June 30 to close out the group stage.
A qualification to the next round of the tournament — which is more than likely for the 2022 World Cup champions — will force Messi to miss five games with Inter Miami, with a possible run to the final pushing the number of absences with The Herons to six.
Messi has scored 13 goals, providing 11 assists across 14 matches with Miami this season — numbers that have helped the club sit in first place of the MLS standings with 34 points after 17 games.
What MLS games will Lionel Messi miss with Inter Miami during Copa América?
The Inter Miami captain will miss the fixtures against Philadelphia Union (June 15), Columbus Crew (June 19), Nashville SC (June 29) and Charlotte FC (July 3).
Argentina’s potential qualification to the knockout stage will also see Messi miss the match against Cincinnati FC (July 6), with an appearance in the final putting his participation against Toronto FC (July 17) in jeopardy.