MLS
Is Inter Miami’s game against Vissel Kobe being broadcast on TV or streamed in the United States?
Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez are doubts due to injury, and we will be able to see for ourselves whether they play in Japan.
After winning their first preseason game - without Lionel Messi - at the fifth attempt in Hong Kong on Sunday, Inter Miami take on Japanese club Vissel Kobe on Wednesday before returning to the United States ahead of the start of the 2024 MLS season. The Argentina captain and recent signing Luis Suárez are again doubts to face Andrés Iniesta’s former team having already missed out at the weekend.
Preseason hasn’t exactly gone smoothly for The Herons, who drew their first warmup game against El Salvador but then lost three in a row, including a 6-0 thrashing in the Riyadh Season Cup against Al Nassr, who were missing Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez all started in that heavy defeat in Saudi Arabia, although Messi came off the bench for less than 10 minutes. A few days later, there was outrage in Hong Kong after the former Barcelona star and Suárez didn’t feature, with late decisions on their fitness against set to be made in Japan.
How to watch Inter Miami - Vissel Kobe
Inter Miami have suffered a number of setbacks in preseason, from players suffering long-term injuries (Facundo Farias, Benjamin Cremaschi), to Messi’s own fitness issues, to poor performances on the field in Saudi Arabia.
It looked as if there would be another off-field problem for Las Garzas to deal with when the MLS revealed to Pro Soccer Wire that Wednesday’s game against Vissel Kobe in Japan wouldn’t be broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, which had been the original plan.
“As with all international matches in Inter Miami CF’s preseason tour, production of the host feed of the match is the responsibility of the promoter. Unfortunately, for the Vissel Kobe match, the local promoters are unable to provide a world feed for distribution in the timeframe required to meet our technical needs, which directly impacts our ability to produce coverage for MLS Season Pass or the MLS website,” read the MLS statement.
However, Inter Miami have stepped in to save the day, with MLS announcing late on Tuesday that The Herons would be steaming the game live on their own website - InterMiami.com. The match between Vissel Kobe and Inter Miami begins at 5:00 a.m. ET / 2:00 a.m. PT.
After taking Vissel Kobe on Wednesday, Miami and Messi will return to the United States, where they will then face Messi’s boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys on 15 February before starting their MLS campaign at home to Real Salt Lake on 21 February.