Lionel Messi can follow in Pelé’s footsteps in Jamaica

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami look to continue their impressive start to 2025 when they travel to Jamaica on Thursday. They will take on Cavalier FC in the second leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup round-of-16 clash and are heavy favourites to progress.

The Herons hold a two-goal lead from the first leg but that has done little to extinguish the optimism in Kingston ahead of the game. Soccer has rapidly grown in popularity on the island and the arrival of the star-studded Inter Miami will be a major event.

Cavalier usually play at the 3,000-seat Stadium East Field but they will move to Independence Park for the Miami game. The venue, commonly-known as The Office, is a 35,000 capacity multi-sports complex in Kingston that has played host to one of the greatest players of all time.

In 1975 the New York Cosmos played a friendly there against an all-star Jamaican team. In total around 45,000 packed into The Office to see Brazilian legend Pelé play for the NASL side.

Is Lionel Messi playing against Cavalier?

The stadium will be packed on Thursday evening as the home crowd looks for an unlikely second leg turnaround against Miami. But they will also be hoping that Messi returns to the field after three games in a row without featuring.

Messi did not play in either of the past two Concacaf fixtures against Sporting Kansas City and Cavalier, but was also rested for last weekend’s MLS game against Charlotte FC. The club have insisted that he is not injured, but that they are simply looking to give him time to rest as the team embarks on a gruelling 2025 schedule.

This week Miami head coach Javier Mascherano explained why Messi, who was on the bench last weekend, did not feature for a single second against Charlotte: “The reality is that, in Leo’s case, we considered giving him minutes in the game, but given that the game was played with one less player, and taking into account how long he’s been out, we decided it was better to preserve him. We didn’t want to risk him.”

We do know that Messi has travelled to Jamaica for the second leg and Mascherano looks likely to give him some minutes on the field to keep his fitness up. After the game, Miami travel to Atlanta United for a Sunday evening match-up with the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year. Scores to settle for Messi and co.

Get your game on! Whether you’re into NFL touchdowns, NBA buzzer-beaters, world-class soccer goals, or MLB home runs, our app has it all.

Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more – plus, stay updated on the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.