{"id":2899,"date":"2026-02-20T00:37:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=2899"},"modified":"2026-02-20T00:37:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T00:37:43","slug":"lionel-messi-german-berterame-set-to-play-opening-day-for-inter-miami-vs-lafc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=2899","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi, German Berterame Set To Play Opening Day For Inter Miami vs. LAFC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Lionel Messi trained fully with Inter Miami on Wednesday after dealing with a muscle issue during preseason.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>New Designated Player Germ\u00e1n Berterame also trained with the group following the approval of his work visa. Both players are available for Saturday&#8217;s match against Son Heung-Min&#8217;s LAFC at BMO Stadium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Messi had been dealing with a recent muscle issue that sidelined him and disrupted plans for a preseason appearance against Independiente del Valle in Puerto Rico. Earlier projections suggested a recovery period of around two weeks, but the Argentine star\u2019s progress has advanced quicker than anticipated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>He trained at full intensity with the squad under head coach Javier Mascherano as Inter Miami prepare to face Los Angeles FC on Saturday in the MLS Opening Day clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The expectation is that Messi\u2019s workload will continue to increase gradually in the coming days, positioning him to log minutes in the highly anticipated matchup.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>The Florida-based club, aiming to defend its MLS title, could also have another key reinforcement available. Forward German Berterame has officially received his work visa after delays prevented him from integrating fully with the group following his transfer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Berterame\u2019s clearance means he is eligible to make his MLS debut this weekend against LAFC, providing an additional attacking option for Mascherano as the new campaign begins.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Both players participated in Mascherano\u2019s South American preseason tour, though their availability for Saturday had been uncertain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Messi\u2019s status was in doubt due to lingering muscle discomfort, which led to the postponement of the friendly in Puerto Rico against Independiente del Valle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>Berterame, meanwhile, was unable to train fully with the group while awaiting his work visa. Now cleared, the Mexican forward is available for the season opener.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-d04fc069>The two clubs have met five times, with LAFC winning three matches and Inter Miami winning two. There have been no draws. Three meetings came in MLS play, while the other two occurred in the 2025 Champions Cup, where Inter Miami eliminated LAFC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY Lionel Messi trained fully with Inter Miami on Wednesday after dealing with a muscle issue during preseason. New Designated Player Germ\u00e1n Berterame also trained with the group following the approval of his work visa. Both players are available for Saturday&#8217;s match against Son Heung-Min&#8217;s LAFC at BMO Stadium. Messi had been [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}