Inter Miami players lift forward Lionel Messi after they defeated Nashville SC. Messi’s goal in the first half led Miami to its first-ever championship with the 2023 Leagues Cup trophy.
mocner@miamiherald.com
Memo to Inter Miami fans: Just as you were settling back into the MLS race after the two-month World Cup break, league play will pause again briefly for the Leagues Cup group stage.
Miami is one of 18 MLS teams competing against 18 teams from Mexico’s Liga MX in the international tournament that runs through early September. The three-game opening stage takes place over the next eight days with Inter Miami facing Atletico de San Luis on Wednesday, Monterrey on Saturday and Leon on Aug. 12.
All three matches are at Miami’s new home, Nu Stadium.
Lionel Messi made his memorable Inter Miami debut in a League Cup match against Cruz Azul in the summer of 2023. The Argentine icon came off the bench in that match with the score knotted 1-1 and won the game with a spectacular curling free kick in stoppage time. Inter Miami went on to win the tournament in a dramatic penalty-kick shootout over Nashville, its first trophy in the club’s short history.
Inter Miami reached the final again last year but was trounced 3-0 by the host Seattle Sounders in front of a sellout crowd of 69,314.
The match ended with a brawl as tempers flared. Luis Suarez was one of the instigators, spit on a Sounders officia, and was punished with six-game Leagues Cup suspension, which means the Uruguayan forward is banned from the entire 2026 tournament.
Suarez’s absence will be felt, as he has been on fire of late with seven goals during the past four games.
German Berterame is also expected to miss the game as he remains on concussion protocol after a hard hit to the head in the road game against Montreal last week that resulted in him exiting the field in an ambulance.
“We were very scared, all of us who were on the field, and it’s a blessing that it wasn’t anything more severe,” Inter Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos said of Berterame’s injury. “I want to thank the doctors and medical staff because we were scared and didn’t know what to do. Berte is doing well, and we are waiting the necessary days to get him back on the field. I think he will be back soon, and that will make us very happy, not just for him as a player, but as a person.”
Asked how they would fill the void in the attack without Suarez and Berterame, Hoyos would not reveal his plan. One option would be Mateo Silvetti as center forward, or perhaps Messi could play up front flanked by Silvetti and Daniel Pinter or Preston Plambeck.
“In the case of Luis, players like him are irreplaceable, they have changed the sport,” Hoyos said. “As for who will play in his place, I’d have to talk to the player first rather than say that publicly.”
Inter Miami enters Wednesday’s game on a seven-match unbeaten run. The team won six games in a row and settled for a 2-2 tie against the Columbus Crew on Saturday in the return of Messi and Argentine teammate Rodrigo De Paul from their post-World Cup vacation.
San Luis has lost its last three Leagues Cup openers by a combined score of 12-3, losing 4-0 to the Portland Timbers in the opener last summer. But the team is under the direction of coach Diego Mejia, who took over May 31 and led the team to a pair of ties and a loss in his first three league games.
Among the San Luis players to watch is attacking midfielder David Rodriguez, who played for Mejia on loan at Atletico Ottawa last season.
Rodriguez made international headlines last winter when he scored both goals for Ottawa in a 2-1 win over Calgary in the 2025 Canadian Premier League final, which took place amid a snowstorm. His first goal was a bicycle kick in the snow, which came to be known as the “icicle kick.”
Rodriguez has experience with soccer in the United States, having spent time at the FC Dallas academy and with USL club North Texas SC.
“For us to come play Inter Miami is a great experience, and we want to prove that San Luis can compete in a tournament outside Mexico,” Rodriguez said. “I know from my time at FC Dallas what American soccer is, and I know what Mexican soccer is, and these days there isn’t much difference. The only difference between these two teams is the level of [Miami] players such as Messi, Casemiro, and the rest. We must prove ourselves on the field, no matter which players are out there.”
Mejia said despite the challenge of playing Messi and Miami’s other elite players, San Luis will not be intimidated.
“You’re talking about one of the best players in the history of football and there are two ways to approach that,” Mejia said. “You’re either the victim or you take the initiative, and he can hurt you either way. If you just defend, he can make a difference. If you are the protagonist, he can hurt you in transition. I am the type of coach who likes to brave and likes to be the aggressor.
“We are here to compete. It’s a great opportunity for us to play in this type of tournament and to land in this group with two of the best MLS teams in Miami and Nashville.”
The addition of the Leagues Cup to the schedule means Inter Miami will play six games over the next 18 days. Midfielder Yannick Bright said he and his teammates are ready for the challenge.
“Playing every three days is tough; last year we got a little taste of it, but you’ve got to be extra in everything you do with nutrition, rest and how you train,” he said. “Last week I was at the All-Star Game, we played Saturday, now Wednesday, then Saturday, then Wednesday again and then we fly out [to Nashville for an MLS game] next Friday. It’s going to a pretty intense month, but that’s what a soccer player plays for, moments like this, for the ability to show ourselves in games like this.”
The Leagues Cup grants three qualification spots for the 2027 Concacaf Champions Cup, one for the champion, runner-up and third-place finisher. The champion advances straight to the round of 16 of that competition.
Inter Miami vs San Luis tickets, TV information
The Inter Miami-San Luis game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Nu Stadium. Tickets start in the $30-40 range and are available through TicketMaster and the online secondary marketplace. The game will be shown on Apple TV.
This story was originally published August 4, 2026 at 3:17 PM.
Michelle Kaufman
Miami Herald
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.