Lionel Messi to debut for Inter Miami CF in Leagues Cup: How to watch game vs. Cruz Azul
Lionel Messi has officially signed with Inter Miami CF, was formally unveiled in front of fans and presented with a new jersey adorned with his familiar No. 10, and has hit the pitch for his first training session with his new team.
Now, the ⚽ 🐐 needs to make his competitive debut for Miami.
The timing of Messi's arrival comes at a unique time in the season for Inter Miami and Major League Soccer. The league is on a month-long break from regular-season play to participate in the inter-continental Leagues Cup, a 47-team World Cup-style tournament that includes every club from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX.
Here is everything you need to know for Messi's Inter Miami debut:
What is Lionel Messi's first game with Inter Miami?
Messi's Inter Miami debut will take place in the Leagues Cup opener at 8 p.m. ET on Friday. Their opponent is Liga MX's Cruz Azul, and the game will be played at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Where to watch Lionel Messi's Inter Miami debut
Messi's Inter Miami debut vs. Cruz Azul, as well as every Leagues Cup game, will be available for streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The Inter Miami-Cruz Azul game also will be broadcast on Univision.
What is the Leagues Cup?
The Leagues Cup has been held twice before (2019 and 2021) with limited participation from MLS and Liga MX teams. This year, every team from both leagues ― 29 MLS and 18 Liga MX clubs ― will take part in a World Cup-style tournament. The teams were divided into 15 groups in four regions: East, Central, South and West. The group stage starts July 21 and continues until July 31. The top two finishing teams from each group ― with the exception of Group 1 in the South Region ― will advance to the single-elimination knockout rounds, which start Aug. 2. The final will be held Aug. 19.
Explaining Leagues Cup: What you need to know about the MLS vs. Liga MX tournament
Who is Inter Miami CF?
Inter Miami CF is one of the newest teams in Major League Soccer, having played its inaugural season in 2020. The genesis of the team goes back to David Beckham's signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007. Part of Beckham's deal with the league was an option for him to buy an MLS expansion team for $25 million. In February 2014 Beckham exercised that option to bring a team to Miami, and on March 1, 2020 Inter Miami CF finally made its debut.
On the field, Inter Miami has not broken through as one of the premier MLS teams. In 2020, Inter Miami lost in the play-in round of the playoffs. After missing the postseason in 2021, Inter Miami finished sixth in the Eastern Conference in 2022, but lost in the first round of the playoffs. Inter Miami, however, is currently in contention to collect the first trophy in team history. It has advanced to the semifinals of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and will play FC Cincinnati on Aug. 23.
Inter Miami plays its home games at DRV PNK Stadium. The 19,100-capacity stadium is part of a 34-acre training facility for the club. The team is expected to move into a new soccer-specific stadium at Miami Freedom Park in 2025. With Messi under contract for two and a half seasons, it is likely he would still be a member of the team when it christens its new stadium.
Who is Cruz Azul?
Cruz Azul is one of 18 teams that compete in Liga MX, the top division for club soccer in Mexico. Cruz Azul is one of two teams (Club América is the other) that plays its home games at Mexico City's famed Estadio Azteca, which also is the home stadium for Mexico's national soccer team.
Cruz Azul ― founded in 1927 ― is a six-time winner of the Concacaf Champions League, which has been rebranded as the Concacaf Champions Cup for the 2023-24 competition. Cruz Azul also won the first Leagues Cup in 2019, defeating Liga MX rival Tigres UANL in the final of the eight-team tournament.
Apple TV's enhanced Leagues Cup broadcasts for Inter Miami
With Lionel Messi playing his first games for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV will feature enhanced productions for those games. The broadcasts will include 18 cameras, a Steadicam, four slow-motion cameras, a Skycam and a drone camera. There will be sideline reporters for Spanish- and English-language broadcasts, as well as a dedicated one-hour pregame show on site.
Jake Zivin and Taylor Twellman will call Inter Miami's Leagues Cup matches against Cruz Azul (July 21) and Atlanta United (July 25) in English, with Katie Witham reporting from the sideline. Sammy Sadovnik, Eduardo Biscayart and Carlos Hermosillo will cover in Spanish, with Mark Gonzalez handling sideline duties.
What is Inter Miami's remaining 2023 schedule?
July 21 vs. Cruz Azul (Leagues Cup), 8 p.m. ET
July 25: vs. Atlanta United (Leagues Cup), 7:30 p.m. ET
Aug. 20: vs. Charlotte FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Aug. 23: at FC Cincinnati (U.S. Open Cup), 7 p.m. ET
Aug. 26: at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m. ET
Aug. 30: vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 3: at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 9: vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 16: at Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 20: vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 24: at Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m. ET
Sept. 30: vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4: at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 7: vs. FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. ET
Oct. 21: at Charlotte FC, 6 p.m. ET
How to watch Lionel Messi with Inter Miami
With the exception of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal game on Aug. 23 (which will be available on CBS Sports' Golazo Network), all other Inter Miami games are available to watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lionel Messi Inter Miami debut: Leagues Cup vs. Cruz Azul how to watch
