Inter Miami returned to training after a nearly two-week break. Messi trained separately during this time, before rejoining his teammates to prepare for their first official match since the Copa America final in mid-July.
Messi’s return has significantly increased Inter Miami’s strength in the remaining stages of the MLS qualifying round. Accordingly, in the remaining 7 matches, the team of President and co-owner David Beckham only needs to win 15 points out of 21 maximum points to secure the Supporters’ Shield title.
Inter Miami has also officially added veteran goalkeeper Oscar Ustari (38 years old, Argentine), temporarily replacing reserve goalkeeper CJ dos Santos who suffered an injury and required surgery.
Inter Miami currently has 59 points after 27 matches, leading the Eastern Conference standings, 8 points ahead of second-place FC Cincinnati. Including the Western Conference (a total of 29 clubs), Inter Miami is still leading and 7 points ahead of the second-place LA Galaxy (28 matches played). Potential rivals that can usurp Inter Miami’s position, Columbus Crew, are currently ranked 4th with 49 points after 26 matches.
Therefore, the opportunity to own the first Supporters’ Shield championship title is in the hands of Inter Miami. They also have the return of Messi in the decisive stage of the season, after officially having a place in the first round of the MLS Cup championship (late October).
This is also the period when Messi returns to competition, which will help coach Scaloni of the Argentine team officially include his name in the competition list in the FIFA Days schedule in October, with matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America including against Venezuela (October 11) and Bolivia (October 16).
Meanwhile, after the match against Philadelphia Union, Inter Miami will play Atlanta United on September 19 and New York City FC (September 22) both away, before meeting Charlotte FC (September 29) at home. If Inter Miami wins these matches, they will soon win the Supporters’ Shield, the first title of the 2024 season.
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Suarez wants to play for the Uruguay national team until the end of the year, but…
According to ESPN, veteran striker Luis Suarez intends to play for the Uruguayan national team until the end of the year before retiring. The reason is that he wants to contribute and help the home team in the context of the main striker Darwin Nunez being banned from playing 5 international matches because of a brawl with fans at Copa America.
However, after talking with coach Marcelo Bielsa (before the 7th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America on September 7), the 69-year-old coach confirmed that he could not guarantee to call up Suarez for the next match.
Therefore, Suarez has decided to keep his previous intention of announcing his retirement in a match at home. He will not be present in the next match when Uruguay meets Venezuela at 5am on September 11.
“After a few days, I can now write to thank you for the beautiful moment I have experienced, it was so unique and special to experience it all with my family. It was the best goodbye I could have had, surrounded by my loved ones, people who have seen me grow up and who truly know who I am.
“I want to thank all the Uruguayans for their love. I am no longer a player of the Uruguayan national team, but I will always be a loyal fan of theirs,” Suarez said in a message posted on his social media accounts on September 10.
Suarez has now returned to Inter Miami and is focusing the rest of his career on the club, alongside close friends like Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
