Toronto FC of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) hoped for Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) to play.

According to the American media ‘The Globe and Mail’, Toronto’s interim coach Terry Dunfield emphasized ahead of the game against Miami, “We want to meet Messi.” Toronto, which is playing an away game against Miami on the 21st (Korean time), is worried that Messi may miss the game.

Messi took a tempo break in a recent MLS game. In the Atlanta United match held three days ago, Messi was not listed on the playing list. During his A match period, he was called up to the Argentina national team and participated in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup.

Messi completed a considerable schedule before joining the Argentina national team. In mid-July, he joined Miami and played tightly packed matches in a short period of time, including the North and Central American League Cup, the US Open Cup, and the league. Due to the nature of the cup competition being held in a tournament format, leading Miami to the League Cup victory increased the number of games and required a significant amount of physical strength.

Currently, Messi’s fatigue has reached its maximum. Messi is rarely seen leaving the field during a game, but after scoring a goal against Ecuador, he directly requested a replacement in the 44th minute of the second half.

Regarding this, Messi directly expressed how he feels his 36-year-old age, saying, “I’m tired. This probably won’t be the last time I get substituted in the middle of the game.” Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni also said, “Messi directly requested a replacement.” In the end, Messi missed the second game against Bolivia.

Even after returning to Miami, Coach Tata Martino announced that he would start to manage Messi’s physical strength, saying, “We will manage Messi in the future. It is difficult to play in all home and away games every 2-3 days as it is a time when there are more games.”

As a result, Miami, who traveled to Atlanta without Messi, lost 2-5. The undefeated streak that had continued since Messi joined ended at 12 games. Messi is ready to play again. The game against Toronto is both a home game and an opponent we must beat. While Miami succeeded in getting out of last place, Toronto is currently in last place.

Toronto wants to compete with Messi, whom they cannot easily meet. Interim coach Dunfield expressed his awe, saying, “Messi’s performance has been great since he came to the United States. Not only Messi’s stock price, but also that of his Miami teammates, has risen. Of course, the value of MLS has also risen,” and seemed to hope for friendly competition.

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