Ahead of a long and arduous 2024 campaign, Lionel Messi and Inter Miami fittingly begin a taxing preseason schedule on Friday as they travel overseas to take on the El Salvador national team in a friendly.
Prior to Inter Miami’s first competitive match of the coming season on February 21, Inter Miami will take flight on a three-week preseason tour that sees them cover 23,000 miles with visits to Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Dallas, Texas, in addition to this opener in the Caribbean.
Head coach Tata Martino has had a full offseason to consider how best to manage the workload of a squad full of aging stars headlined by 36-year-old Messi, who’s joined by Sergio Busquets (35), Jordi Alba (34), and new signing Luis Suarez (36). It will remain a talking point all season, especially after Inter Miami fell short of the playoffs last year in part thanks to an injury to Messi that ignited the conversation about season-long congestion.
The Sporting News brings you a full look at the first of the seven-match preseason journey for Inter Miami, which takes the MLS club to San Salvador.
Inter Miami vs El Salvador live stream, TV channel
TV Channel: None Streaming: MLSsoccer.com (English), MLSes.com (Spanish)
The 2024 preseason friendly between Inter Miami and the El Salvador national team will be streamed exclusively on MLSsoccer.com around the world.
A Spanish-language broadcast is also available at MLSes.com, the league’s official Spanish-language website.
MORE: Full Inter Miami schedule for 2024 competitive season set to begin in February
What time does Inter Miami vs El Salvador kick off?
This friendly match kicks off at Estadio Cuscatlan on Friday, January 19 at 7 p.m. local time in San Salvador.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:
Date Kickoff time USA/Canada Fri, Jan. 19 8 p.m. ET USA/Canada Fri, Jan. 19 5 p.m. PT UK Sat, Jan. 20 1 a.m. BST Australia Sat, Jan. 20 10 a.m. AEST India Sat, Jan. 20 5:30 a.m. IST
Inter Miami vs El Salvador lineups & team news
The 2024 preseason will begin with Lionel Messi a part of the Inter Miami squad, but how many minutes he will play remains to be seen. After a 2023 season where the 36-year-old’s minute load was a huge talking point, it was thought highly unlikely that he and his fellow aging stars Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, and Luis Suarez are all in the lineup. Still, they are unlikely to play more than 45 minutes as they ramp up full match fitness.
That in mind, Inter Miami have nearly their full squad available for the match, with some exceptions. Most notably, starting goalkeeper Drake Callender is not with the squad, as he is currently linked up with USMNT January camp, and could be pushing to start in the friendly against Slovenia on Saturday. Midfielder Jean Mota also is not with the side, while Ian Fray and Franco Negri continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Inter Miami starting lineup (3-5-3): Dos Santos (GK) — Gressel, Yedlin, Aviles, Allen, Alba — Busquets, Gregore, Cremaschi — Messi, Suarez.
El Salvador head coach David Doniga will not have regulars Alex Roldan or Eric Zavaleta as part of their squad, with those players instead choosing to begin their preseason ramp-up with their MLS clubs.
Experienced full-back Bryan Tamacas and his 63 international caps lead the El Salvador side for this match, deployed on the right flank. 33-year-old forward Nelson Bonilla is the main threat up front in this squad, with 19 international goals to his name across 56 caps.
El Salvador starting lineup (3-5-2): M. Gonzalez (GK) — Tamacas, Clavel, Sibrian, J. Cruz, Flores — Ceren, Cartagena, C. Martinez — Bonilla, Ferman.
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