Inter Miami-Club América live updates: Lionel Messi scores goal, highlights

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami will begin their MLS preseason preparations in earnest Saturday with a friendly against Mexican giant Club América that will be played in Las Vegas.

This high-profile preseason game will be Miami’s first step into the spotlight under new coach Javier Mascherano, adding an element of intrigue for a team that will view 2024 as a mixed bag. The Herons won the MLS Supporters’ Shield as the league’s regular-season champion, but lost at the first hurdle in the playoffs. That followed a pattern that in knockout play, a team with Messi, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba was ultimately too vulnerable at the back to win the biggest games.

Miami will not face regular-season play in MLS until Feb. 22, and their first game of consequence (a Concacaf Champions Cup first-round clash with

Sporting Kansas City

) is exactly one month away. That makes a test against América — winners of the last three Liga MX championships — vital to hit the ground running next month.

Here are our live updates from Inter Miami’s first preseason game of 2025, including time, date, and how to watch.

Inter Miami vs. Club America penalty kicks

Round 1: V. Dávila misses for Club América, F. Redondo misses for Inter Miami
Round 2: A. Cervantes misses for Club América, D. Martínez scores for Inter Miami.
Round 3: R. Sánchez misses for Club América, J. Gressel misses for Inter Miami.
Round 4: J. Dilrosun scores for Club América, D. Ruiz scores for Inter Miami.
Round 5: C. Calderón scores for Club América, M. Weigandt misses for Inter Miami.
Round 6: R. Juárez misses for Club América, S. Morales scores for Inter Miami.

Toto Aviles goal: Club América 2, Inter Miami 2

Inter Miami defender Toto Aviles scored a header in the 92

minute, from a corner kick by Julian Gressel, to help Inter Miami tie the match against Club América to force penalty kicks.

Israel Reyes goal: Club América 2, Inter Miami 1

Club America is on top again, after a failed clearance by the Inter Miami defense, resulting in a goal by Israel Reyes in the 52

minute.

Lionel Messi goal: Inter Miami 1, Club América 1

Messi has scored a header in the 34th minute, taking a pass from Suarez right in front of the net to tie this game quickly for Inter Miami after Club America opened the scoring.

Alba started the sequence with a pass to Saurez, and Inter Miami is tied against the LIGA MX champions.

Henry Martín goal: Club América 1, Inter Miami 0

Henry Martin snuck behind the Inter Miami defense, and sent a pass from Brian Rodríguez into the lower right corner of the net.

Messi misses shot on goal: Inter Miami 0, Club América 0:

Jordi Alba found a streaking Messi running down the middle of the pitch toward the net. But Messi sailed Alba’s pass over the net and into the stands in the 21st minute. It was Messi’s first shot on goal, and the first for Inter Miami in the game against the LIGA MX champions.

How to watch Inter Miami vs. Club America: Time, TV, streaming

The MLS preseason friendly between Inter Miami and Club América of Liga MX is set to take place Saturday, Jan. 18, with the star-studded teams meeting at Allegiant Stadium just outside Las Vegas. The game can be streamed for free on

Apple TV

Date

: Saturday, Jan. 18

Time

: 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT)

: None

Streaming:

Apple TV

Location

: Allegiant Stadium (Paradise, Nevada)

Inter Miami vs. Club América starting lineups

Is Messi still playing for Inter Miami?

Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in soccer’s history, will play for Inter Miami in the 2025 MLS season. However, there are no guarantees after that, as Messi’s two-and-a-half-year contract,

announced back in July 2023

, expires at the end of the 2025 season.

It’s an inflection point for Miami, MLS, and Messi, who will turn 38 this summer. From Messi’s perspective, he’s been able to dominate the league as expected: the former Barcelona star has scored 34 goals and added 18 assists in a total of 39 appearances across all competitions, and

won the MVP award

last season. It’s not the largest sample size, but no player in MLS history has comparable numbers over the same span.

On the other hand, Messi’s appearance total would be much higher if not for some persistent injuries and obligations outside the league. Messi has missed 21 matches over that same spell owing to thigh and ankle issues, not to mention national team duty for 2022 World Cup champions Argentina. That may give him pause in terms of how much longer he wants to play — particularly with the heavy travel demands in place with Miami, who will participate in the upcoming Club World Cup — and could impact the offer the team wants to put forward.

Club owner Jorge Mas has said he is personally handling

talks over a contract extension

. Beyond the obvious cache of the world’s most famous player suiting up for the Herons, Miami has a financial incentive to keep Messi in the fold. The club has a stadium under construction in Miami, with Freedom Park due to open in 2026. That should bolster Inter Miami’s stature, as the club’s current home Chase Stadium a temporary venue constructed in Fort Lauderdale.

Finally, MLS is also looking at 2026 as a massive year. The thinking goes that the 2026 World Cup will supercharge attention for soccer in the U.S., as was the case after the 1994 World Cup. MLS will not have the option of simply signing another Messi if the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner retires or finds another club.

How did Inter Miami MLS season go in 2024?

Inter Miami had a lot of positives to take from the 2024 MLS season. The club won its first truly major trophy, bringing home the Supporters’ Shield (given to the top team in MLS’s regular-season standings). Lionel Messi won the league’s MVP award, and the Herons’ total of 74 points set a new league record for points in a single season. It was, by any reasonable measure, one of the best seasons an MLS team has ever had.

However, the defining memory might be three bad results in knockout play. In April, Miami lost home and away to Mexican powerhouse CF Monterrey, crashing out of the Concacaf Champions Cup at the quarterfinal stage. Four months later in the Leagues Cup, the Columbus Crew trailed by two with just 23 minutes to play, only to eliminate Miami by coming back to win 3-2.

Most of all, a playoff upset for the ages looms. Miami entered the MLS playoffs having lost just once in its final 17 regular-season games, and faced an Atlanta United side that needed to survive incredible drama just to claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami won the opening game in a best-of-three series as expected, but lost games two and three (despite taking a lead in both of those matches).

Inter Miami game location

A bit of a departure geographically, Saturday’s match for Inter Miami will be played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.

Messi, Inter Miami preseason tour

Inter Miami’s “The Americans Preseason Tour”

begins in Las Vegas when Inter Miami plays Mexican champions Club America at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 18.

Inter Miami will face Peruvian side Club Universitario de Deportes, the country’s first division back-to-back champions, at Estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru on Jan. 29.

Four days later, Inter Miami will face Sporting San Miguelito at Estadio Rommel Fernández Gutiérrez in Panama City, Panama on Feb. 2. —

Safid Deen

USMNT defeat Venezuela Saturday

Jack McGlynn, Patrick Agyemang and Matko Miljevic will never forget their first.

The three U.S. men’s national team players scored the first international goals of their young careers Saturday, in a 3-1 win over Venezuela, during a friendly played in front of 18,008 people at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium on Saturday. —