How to watch Inter Miami vs El Salvador

Inter Miami return to action later this week for the first friendly fixture of a busy pre-season schedule.

The Herons’ opening game of a seven-date global tour sees them take on the El Salvador national team at Estadio Cuscatlán in San Salvador, El Salvador. The squad returned to training over the weekend and looks ready to compete for MLS Cup in Lionel Messi’s first full season with the club.

Their first friendly fixture of 2024 will take place on Friday, 19 January with kick-off at 8pm (ET) / 5pm (PT).

The game will be available to stream exclusively on MLSsoccer.com (English) and MLSes.com (Spanish).

Will Lionel Messi play against El Salvador?

Last year Inter Miami stunned the world by bringing Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to MLS. They have also added Luis Suárez to their cadre of former Barcelona players and the El Salvadorian supporters will be eager to get a glimpse of them on Friday.

Lionel Messi, along with the other three ex-Barça stars, will make the trip to El Salvador for the game, but he is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.

The Argentine made a sensational start to life in Miami last year but soon picked up an injury after weeks of relentless fixtures. Herons head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino confirmed that he plans to make changes during the tour to keep players fresh.

“We comprehend both the business and sports aspects,” he explained. “We will try to manage the players’ minutes judiciously, understanding that the contractual obligations involve the presence of our key players.”

It looks like Messi will play some part again El Salvador, but Martino will be careful to ensure that his star player hits top form when it matters in 2024.