Friday night Lionel Messi named as FIFA’s best player began the preseason with Inter Miami of MLS, which played to a scoreless draw with the El Salvador national team in an exhibition.
Luis Suarez made a subdued debut, he signed for Major League Soccer’s Miami last month from Gremio Brazilian club and started in attack alongside Argentine superstar Messi at the Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador.
Messi came closest to opening the scoring on 36 minutes, latching on to a clever touch from Busquets and rifling a volley towards goal only to be denied by Mario Martinez, El Salvador goalkeeper. Goalkeeper Martinez was also alert four minutes later when Alba burst into the box only to see his shot parried away. El Salvador almost tried to snatch victory in the last 83rd minute, but Styven Vasquez’s clever header cannoned off the bar.
Messi during his 45 minutes of game time failed to produce a Hallmark moment, the Miami captain thrilled fans before the match when he shared an embrace with Salvadoran legend Magico Gonzalez on the field.
Gerardo Martino, Inter Miami’s coach during the second half decided to rest key players like Messi, Suarez, Busquets, and Alba. Despite all the changes, Inter Miami held onto possession, but Salvador came close to scoring when Steven Vázquez’s shot hit the crossbar in the 83rd minute.
On Monday at the Cotton Bowl, Inter Miami’s next challenge is against FC Dallas. Following that, they’ll embark on an international journey, facing Al Hilal on January 29 and taking on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on February 2.
